What Makes Birmingham a Music City?

When people talk about music cities, certain places usually come to mind. Liverpool, Manchester and London are often mentioned, and quite rightly. They have incredible musical histories and have produced artists and sounds that have travelled all over the world.

But what about Birmingham?

For me, Birmingham should be right up there with them.

This is a city that has produced some extraordinary music and some extraordinary musicians. It is a city that has been home to different sounds, different communities and different generations, all contributing to a musical story that is much bigger than any one artist or genre.

You only have to look at some of the names that have come from Birmingham to understand what I mean. Black Sabbath created Heavy Metal, a sound that would go on to influence many bands around the world. Duran Duran became one of the biggest bands of the 1980s. Steel Pulse and UB40 took reggae-inspired music from Birmingham to audiences across the globe.

But those are just some of the names we know.

Birmingham's music story doesn't stop with famous bands and musicians.

It is also a story about communities.

People have come to Birmingham from different parts of the world and brought their music, culture and traditions with them. Caribbean communities played an important part in developing reggae and sound system culture in the city. South Asian communities helped establish bhangra and other musical traditions as an important part of Birmingham's cultural identity.

These sounds didn't simply arrive in Birmingham and stay the same. They became part of the city. They mixed with other influences, developed new audiences and helped create new scenes.

Then there are the venues.

Every music city needs places where music can happen, and Birmingham has had plenty of them.Some have been famous. Some have been small. Some have disappeared completely.There have been pubs where local bands got their first chance to play, clubs where DJs introduced people to new music, community centres where different generations came together and larger venues where artists who would go on to become famous first stood on a Birmingham stage. The buildings themselves might change, but the memories remain.

And then there are the people who made those places come alive. The promoters, DJs, musicians, record shop owners, sound engineers, photographers and, perhaps most importantly, the audiences.

Because a music scene isn't created by musicians alone.

It is created by people.

People who turn up on a cold Tuesday night to watch a band they've never heard of. People who save up to buy a record. People who spend their Saturday nights dancing. People who start a club night because they think other people might want to hear the same music they do.

That is what I find fascinating about Birmingham's musical history.

There isn't really one Birmingham sound.

There are many.

Heavy metal sits alongside reggae. Bhangra sits alongside punk. Soul, funk, hip-hop, electronic music, indie, dance music and countless other sounds have all found their place here.

And perhaps that is exactly what makes Birmingham a music city.

It isn't about having one particular sound or one particular musical identity.

It's about the constant mixing of people, ideas and influences.

Birmingham has always been a city where different things come together. People arrive here from different places, cultures meet, ideas cross over and something new can come out of it.

Music is one of the places where you can hear that happening.

The Birmingham Music Museum is being created because I think these stories deserve to be brought together.

We want to celebrate the famous names and the big moments, but we also want to look underneath them. We want to understand the venues, the communities, the scenes and the people that helped make Birmingham's music history what it is.

And I think we are only scratching the surface.

There are still stories to find, people to talk to and memories to uncover.

So, what makes Birmingham a music city? For me, it isn't just the famous bands. It isn't just the venues. And it isn't just the music.

It's the people.

It's the memories.

It's the communities.

It's the places.

And it's the fact that, generation after generation have continued to make, play, listen to and share music.

That's what makes Birmingham a music city.

And that's the story we want to tell.