Bands In The Park – Birmingham
VENUE : Birmingham Botanical Gardens, Edgbaston, Birmingham
LOCATION : Edgbaston. Quite a long way from New Street Station and Digbeth Coach Station, but nothing impossible. Nearer to Five Ways.
TIME : 2pm to 4.30pm, Sunday, and Bank Holiday Mondays
TRANSPORT LINKS : Trains run from Euston to Birmingham. Coaches run from Victoria to Birmingham.
COMMENTS : One of the truly mixed band seasons, with some good features, and many terrible ones.
On the positive side, Birmingham’s season is the longest of all, with bands starting in April, and finishing at the end of September. It has even been known for the odd event to be held in October. They are also the only season with the sense to use the Bank Holiday Mondays. Also on the positive side is the extra half hour allocated for the events, which other seasons would do well to copy.
The Gardens are an education in themselves, so try to get here early.
The first negative is that you are charged £7 and fifty new-fangled pence (£7 10s of English money) for entry to the Gardens. Not unreasonable, but you would have thought that that would have meant a higher standard of bands, in an attempt to get more fans through the gates, but you would be sadly wrong. Birmingham does not book the quality of band which you might expect, at least not consistently. The average standard is poorer than most of the free seasons in the West Midlands. You would also have thought that a £7 10s entry would have entitled you to a chair to sit on, but you can forget that as well.
(EDIT 2010 – The standard of “bands” booked by the Birmingham Botanical Gardens has now plummeted through the floor. This season is now nothing more than a sick joke. Despite having more dates available than any other season, Birmingham is just taking the wee. Hardly any of the dates have been allocated to a proper brass band, or even a military band. I did attend the Gardens on April 5th, when the Melbourne Town Band gave an excellent performance in extremely cold weather, but that will definitely be my only trip here this year.
For God’s sake start booking some proper bands. Birmingham is the most expensive of all the band seasons, yet 90% of the events are just total dross. Unless you get the right band on the right date, go somewhere else.)
The final negative is not one the Gardens are responsible for – the distance of the Gardens from the main transport links. There are buses which go down Westbourne Road, so I will try to update this page with the correct information.
Birmingham is also notorious for its total lack of public conveniences. Make sure you go before you leave the coach or train, and use the facilities in the Gardens themselves. You will find nothing anywhere else.
MARK : 1/10
WHAT BIRMINGHAM COULD DO TO IMPROVE : Improve DRAMATICALLY the standard of bands which are booked to play at the Botanical Gardens. When you think of how many Championship Section and Section One bands there are who could get to Birmingham within a couple of hours, it is an outrage that the standard here is so poor. Don’t forget this is the one season which is charging money for entry. Get some top quality bands in, and make more money. I also find it absolutely pitiful that you are charged £7 10s for entry, and then not provided with a chair to sit on. This is so easy to put right. The potential in Birmingham, with the truly outstanding venue they have, is unlimited, but it is being totally wasted.