SLABS: March Highlights
Now that April Fools is well and done, we can confirm – with full sincerity – Concrete’s favourites of March 2025
It was a month of unveiling – of the distant horizon of a summer full of Brummie festivals, From Flatpack to Forward to the Druid’s Heath Fashion Week. Concrete got into the groove of ‘What’s All This, Then?’ – a weekly update on our most anticipated events each week. Everything’s coming up and refusing to come down.
But before looking entirely forward, let’s look back! Here were two of our favourite moments in Brum this March
It was a month of unveiling – of the distant horizon of a summer full of Brummie festivals, From Flatpack to Forward to the Druid’s Heath Fashion Week. Concrete got into the groove of ‘What’s All This, Then?’ – a weekly update on our most anticipated events each week. Everything’s coming up and refusing to come down.
But before looking entirely forward, let’s look back! Here were two of our favourite moments in Brum this March
‘Restless’ – A Member’s Screening at The Mockingbird
Jacob Rose
On the 26th March, Mockingbird Cinema offered a free preview screening of the Indie British indie film Restless, open to any of its Birdmembers. Excited by the prospect of both free cinema (of course) and to see what group of interested individuals would form for such an event, I let myself wander along, with one pint and one Wetherspoons-egg-burger in the stomach.
The preview screening began with a part I was most keen to see – an update on how the Mockingbird was doing, and the exciting plans it had upcoming. After meeting Lee for an interview a week before the event (one you’ll soon read, I hope), it was a comfort to sink back into the Mockingbird seats, hearing events we’d discussed in even higher confidence and detail.
Restless itself, a dark comedy to the fullest extent, was exciting mostly in the context of its place in The Mockingbird. A debut feature in all regards, it was a sweet experience to see the standing interest the Mockingbird has in championing new, local filmmaking. What could have been an easy movie to stick on from a streaming service was accentuated to its heights in the cinema space – a great venue to hear Restless’ visceral sound design especially. It feels strange to call the moment cosy, considering the near-gruesome extents of Restless’ narrative, but my mind remained beyond the screen, grateful to have a Birmingham cinema in its prime.
The preview screening began with a part I was most keen to see – an update on how the Mockingbird was doing, and the exciting plans it had upcoming. After meeting Lee for an interview a week before the event (one you’ll soon read, I hope), it was a comfort to sink back into the Mockingbird seats, hearing events we’d discussed in even higher confidence and detail.
Restless itself, a dark comedy to the fullest extent, was exciting mostly in the context of its place in The Mockingbird. A debut feature in all regards, it was a sweet experience to see the standing interest the Mockingbird has in championing new, local filmmaking. What could have been an easy movie to stick on from a streaming service was accentuated to its heights in the cinema space – a great venue to hear Restless’ visceral sound design especially. It feels strange to call the moment cosy, considering the near-gruesome extents of Restless’ narrative, but my mind remained beyond the screen, grateful to have a Birmingham cinema in its prime.
Check out The Mockingbird’s upcoming screenings here!
Kings Heathens at the Red Lion Folk Club, 26th March
Kings Heathens are a duo made up of David Fisher and Evan Ritchie, their partnership a chance encounter born from David heading into Evan’s barber shop for a haircut, carrying the implements of his busking trade. Coincidentally, this is also how I know Evan (less the musical appendage) and I wasn’t sure what to expect. The Red Lion Folk Club is very established and well-regarded, so they had to be decent, right?
RIGHT!
They delivered a mix of original tracks that more than held their own against the traditional shanties and ballads that have stood the test of time. Their vocals and stage presence are so well matched, it’s difficult to believe how they met, but it’s the kind of story that nicely befits a folk act. Both carry off uninhibited vocals, alternating who takes the lead, with the guitar, banjo and harmonica accompaniment swelling the sound to a beautiful intensity, imbuing the crowd with energy.
If you can catch Kings Heathens live, you won’t be disappointed.
RIGHT!
They delivered a mix of original tracks that more than held their own against the traditional shanties and ballads that have stood the test of time. Their vocals and stage presence are so well matched, it’s difficult to believe how they met, but it’s the kind of story that nicely befits a folk act. Both carry off uninhibited vocals, alternating who takes the lead, with the guitar, banjo and harmonica accompaniment swelling the sound to a beautiful intensity, imbuing the crowd with energy.
If you can catch Kings Heathens live, you won’t be disappointed.
Follow Kings Heathens on Instagram – @kingsheathensfolk
and give their album, Old Tall Stories, a listen Here!
and give their album, Old Tall Stories, a listen Here!