More acts have been announced for Mostly Jazz Funk and Soul Festival (Friday 7 to Sunday 9 July 2023).
The latest line-up additions include appearances from Ezra Collective (Saturday), Incognito (Sunday), and Jamz Supernova (Sunday), plus Jasmine Myra, Mica Millar and more.
They join the previously announced Fat Freddy’s Drop, Goldie, Jungle DJ Set, Mr Scruff, Crazy P Soundsystem, and DJ Norman Jay.
Ezra Collective are one of the UK’s most exciting jazz acts. Their latest album, Where I’m Meant To Be, seamlessly marries jazz, Afrobeat, hip-hop and dancehall sounds with life-affirming results, and sees Londoners collaborate with a series of special guests, including Sampa The Great, Kojey Radical and Emile Sandé.
Formed in 1979, Incognito are a defining voice in British music. Following the Top 30 success of their 1981 album Jazz Funk, they hit their stride the following decade with such hits as Don’t You Worry ‘Bout A Thing, Always There (featuring Jocelyn Brown), and Everyday, and went on to work with such A-listers as Stevie Wonder, Paul Weller and 2017 Mostly Jazz headliner, Chaka Khan.
A key member of Leeds’ creative cross-genre music scene, Jasmine Myra is a saxophonist, composer and band leader. Her debut album, Horizons, was released via the forward-thinking Gondwana Records last year to much acclaim.
Winner of Jazz FM’s prestigious Soul Act of The Year 2022 award, Mica Millar made an electrifying appearance at the EFG London Jazz Festival’s Royal Festival Hall opening gala, back in November. Her debut album, Heaven Knows, sees her draw inspiration from numerous vintage soul, blues, gospel and jazz sources.
Jamz Supernova should need no introduction. Having spent 12 years at BBC Radio 1Xtra, she’s built an enviable reputation for unearthing exciting new sounds – from alternative RnB and left-field hip hop, to jazz and electronica.
Joining them at the Birmingham festival are masked artist Lynks, who wowed audiences at Leeds and Reading Festivals 2022, and duo Young Gun Silver Fox (aka Shawn Lee and Andy Platts), who serve a potent blend of West Coast AOR and soulful grooves.
With further Mostly Jazz Funk and Soul Festival announcements to follow, John Fell, Festival Manager, said: “This year we wanted to delve into the UK scene more, so to have Ezra Collective headlining Saturday night is incredibly exciting!
“This year feels like our most rounded and contemporary line-up to date – and we still have more exciting news to come, including details of further emerging artists, After Shows and our expanded food and drink offer.”
Tickets for the festival are back on sale on Friday 3 February 2023 from £55 per day or £135 for the full festival (plus booking fee). For more details, see: mostlyjazz.co.uk
Mostly Jazz Funk & Soul 2023 line-up so far:
Friday 7th July
- Fat Freddy’s Drop
- Goldie (Live)
- Jungle DJ Set
- Crazy P Soundsystem
- Eva Lazarus – Jasmine Myra – Lynks – TrueMendous – Leftfoot DJs – Reli.ah – Nikhil Beats
Saturday 8th July
- Ezra Collective
- Mr Scruff
- Young Gun Silver Fox
- Boca 45
- Alogte Oho And His Sounds Of Joy – Mafalda – Heavy Beat Brass Band – Leftfoot DJ’s – Toni
Sunday 9th July
- Incognito
- Norman Jay MBE
- Jamz Supernova
- Emma Jean Thackray (DJ set) – Mica Millar – Leftfoot DJ’s
Image credits:
Jason Holroyd
Richard Shakespeare
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