A couple of weekends ago I was given a press pass for the Legitimate Peaky Blinders Festival in Digbeth, Birmingham. Although I have never watched an episode of Peaky Blinders, there were some great acts on, so I was keen to go along. I love a festival atmosphere and it was conveniently in my city! Over the weekend acts such as Liam Gallagher, Primal Scream and Slaves graced the main stage. Meanwhile, there was a dj set from Mike Skinner and a live Q&A with Series 5 director Anthony Byrne on the Arena Stage.

The Legitimate Peaky Blinders Festival 2019

The location

The Legitimate Peaky Blinders Festival was located in Digbeth, Birmingham. Digbeth is home to the Custard Factory and an eclectic mix of shops, bars and clubs. The Main Stage was located in Digbeth Arena – an open air venue which has previously hosted bands such as Garbage and Foals. The Legitimate Peaky Blinders Festival saw several of the roads around the area being closed to host numerous stalls and stages.

Food and drink

There were a lot of food and drink stalls located around the festival. I was particularly interested in a scotch egg stall. We decided to pop into Birdies for some loaded fries and a cocktail. I went for the fries with bbq pulled pork and chillies while my friend chose the vegetarian duck option. They had a great selection of Peaky Blinders themed cocktails. I went for one made with Kahlua, cream soda and topped with cream. It was almost like a vanilla latte crossed with butterbeer!

The atmosphere

If you’d gone to the Legitimate Peaky Blinders Festival, you’d have been forgiven if you thought you’d stepped back in time. The majority of the people in Digbeth over that weekend were dressed in the fashion from 1919. There were flat caps, tweed waistcoats and fur collars everywhere! I was so impressed with how much effort everyone went to. The fancy dress really added to the great atmosphere of the festival.

There were people performing in the street, every so often we’d stumble across a group of actors. Sometimes I had to remind myself that they were actors because they seemed so real!

One of my favourite parts was the Carousel Stage which is exactly as it sounds – a carousel with live bands playing on it. This was so unusual and I loved watching the dancers in the street nearby.

The music

For me, the main highlights of the festival was the music. They had some great bands playing across the main stage. On Saturday night the headliners were Primal Scream and Sunday night was Frank Carter & The Rattlesnakes. There was a secret set before Primal Scream, which was no longer a secret by the Thursday before. This was Liam Gallagher, who gave the game away by commenting on one of the Peaky Blinders Instagram posts.

Liam Gallagher

I wasn’t sure how I felt about Liam Gallagher, he’s not someone that I’ve ever listened to before. Back in the 90s, I was team Blur rather than team Oasis! However, I was pleasantly surprised by his performance. I really enjoyed listening to his set and I was in the second row, so I had a great view. Half of the songs he played were his own, while the other half were Oasis classics. This meant that I at least knew half of the songs! I would definitely make the effort to see him again!

Primal Scream

Saturday night’s headliners, Primal Scream put on a great show. I didn’t realise how many of their songs that I actually knew. I had a great spot, right on the barrier and really enjoyed the whole set. There wasn’t much interaction between the band and the audience, but there was a great atmosphere. I also really enjoyed Bobby Gillespie’s hot pink suit!

Slaves

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On the Sunday, we only stayed for Slaves due to having an early start the following morning. I took my friend Alice as my plus one and she’s a massive Slaves fan! Again, we had a great spot right on the barrier and I was looking forward to seeing the full set after catching a few of their songs at Y Not Festival a couple of years ago.

Slaves were brilliant and really knew how to entertain. They came on stage to Vengaboy’s ‘We Like To Party’ which certainly got the crowd going. The energy that they have on stage, particularly the drummer Isaac is amazing. They both interacted with the crowd and at one point Isaac climbed down into the audience! I’d definitely recommend seeing Slaves if you ever have the chance.

The Legitimate Peaky Blinders Festival is going to be back again next year. After the success of this year, they’re also going to try to have one in another location! Will you be getting tickets for 2020?