Aston Villa to launch new kit with Father’s Day music festival

The new Aston Villa team kit for 2013/14 will be launched with a special music festival

The new Aston Villa team kit is set to be launched amidst the fanfare of a special music festival organised by one of the city’s biggest online music magazines.

Following on from the success of last year’s event, Aston Villa Football Club has once again joined forces with events partner Counteract Magazine to curate a free family festival to mark the launch of the team’s 2013/14 home and away kit.

Record-breaking 14 loop rollercoaster unveiled at Alton Towers

Alton Towers has unveiled its record breaking 14-loop rollercoaster, The Smiler

Alton Towers Resort has unveiled the world’s first 14 loop rollercoaster, The Smiler.

The official Guinness World Record for the most loops in a coaster has officially been broken by the Staffordshire theme park, smashing the previous record of 10.

REVIEW: Walking with Dinosaurs, NIA Birmingham

Huge and incredibly lifelike dinosaurs, including this T-Rex, took to the stage at the NIA Birmingham.

We headed out to the NIA in Birmingham to catch  the “arena spectacular” Walking with Dinosaurs.  That’s a huge claim, but then we are dealing with huge animals, and I’d heard really good things. 

We were greeted with a Palaeontologist who acted at the narrator for the show, introducing the individual dinosaurs through easy-to-digest information or sometimes comical interaction. 

Young acoustic artists take to stage for Children’s Hospital

Charlie Pidcock will be performing at intimate live music venue Cafe Blend in Birmingham.

A young acoustic singer-songwriter from Derby, who has amongst his fans the likes of McFly, Zebrahead, Bowling for Soup and classical award-winning composer Conor Mitchell, is to perform in central Birmingham this week to help raise funds for city’s Children’s Hospital.

Midlands-based musician Charlie Pidcock – who already has three EPs to his name – will host a special evening of chilled-out acoustic sounds at the city’s unique urban bohemian hideaway, Cafe Blend, in Birmingham’s Navigation Street.

COMPETITION: Win tickets to see the King of Elvis tributes

Internationally renown Elvis Presley tribute artist Lee ‘Memphis’ King is heading to Birmingham

There are Elvis Presley tribute artists and then there’s Lee Memphis King.

“When I closed my eyes I could feel Elvis” were the words used by Elvis Presley’s long-term friend Joe Esposito to describe Lee’s amazing performance and now he’s bringing it to Birmingham’s Alexandra Theatre.

REVIEW: Alfie Boe and Emilia Mitiku, The NIA

Alfie Boe performs to a sold out venue at The NIA in Birmingham. (Photograph: Jack Kirby)

Braving the cold and snow last night was no easy challenge for the fans of Alfie Boe, who kicked off his Storyteller tour with a sold out show at the Birmingham NIA last night, but with the queue stretching around the building, there was no denying the eagerness to watch the Les Misérables star in action.

The Storyteller tour will be his first UK arena tour, however with three platinum albums under his belt, a score of shows and the fact that he has sang for the Queen herself, Alfie is no small fish.

REVIEW: Inspiral Carpets, Birmingham O2 Academy

Inspiral Carpets perform at the Birmingham O2 Academy. (Photo by Jake Mackinnon)

Alternative rock band Inspiral Carpets housed the fifth night of their Back To Life UK tour at the O2 Academy 2 in Birmingham.

The band’s main aspirations for this of the tour were to play their first studio album Life back to front along with selected hits from other albums. Despite Life being released in 1990, there was a very diverse range of ages amongst the audience; with fans as young as sixteen in attendance.

REVIEW: Phantom of the Opera, Birmingham Hippodrome

Earl Carpenter plays The Phantom alongside Katie Hall as Christine in The Phantom of the Opera at the Birmingham Hippodrome (Photograph: Alistair Muir)

Cameron Mackintosh’s production of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s The Phantom of The Opera has arrived at the Birmingham Hippodrome for a three week run.

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The sold out performance has a lot to live up to if it is going to compete with Webber’s original from more than twenty five years ago.

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COMPETITION: Urban Zombie game returns to Birmingham – WIN tickets!

Urban Zombie game 2.8 Hours Later returns to Birmingham with the launch of new format ‘Asylum’. (Photo: Adam Yosef)

Award-winning game designers, Slingshot, are marking the year of the zombie by announcing the launch of Asylum, the next chapter in their smash hit urban chase game, 2.8 Hours Later.

The game, now in its fourth year, has a new story, characters and game structure as it embarks on its second national tour of the UK, including dates in Birmingham in April.

Beyoncé announces second date for Birmingham’s LG Arena

Beyonce will be bringing the Mrs. Carter Show World Tour Birmingham’s LG Arena for two dates

Beyoncé has announced she will be opening the UK leg of The Mrs. Carter Show World Tour, with two dates at Birmingham’s LG Arena.

The Mrs. Carter Show World Tour promises to be the entertainer’s most ambitious undertaking to date.  It is expected to be bigger in scope and with a bolder state-of-the-art production than any of her previous shows.