Photo Credit: Save Our Scene
Birmingham’s nightlife community is joining forces for the Save Digbeth Block Party on 11 October, protesting proposed railway expansion plans that could put around 50 independent businesses at risk, including several of the city’s best-known music venues.
Organised by the Digbeth Music Venues Alliance and Save Our Scene, the £15 protest event spans Lower Trinity Street, XOYO Birmingham (2pm–9pm), and Mama Roux’s for an afterparty. The lineup includes Silva Bumpa, Fleur Shore, Low Steppa, Monki, Jess Bays, Fat Tony, Illyus & Barrientos, TCTS, Beth, and Act On. The protest targets the £1.75 billion Midlands Rail Hub project, designed to improve Birmingham’s rail connectivity, over concerns that widening the Bordesley Viaduct and redeveloping near Birmingham Moor Street station could demolish Digbeth’s cultural spaces. Planning and consultation are ongoing, with construction potentially starting in 2030.
The campaign unites venues like XOYO Birmingham, Luna Springs, Club Colette, Mama Roux’s, and The Night Owl, and has spurred over 4,000 emails to MP Shabana Mahmood. The protest features a branded fire truck as one of three stages. DJ and producer Low Steppa emphasised Digbeth’s essential role in nurturing Birmingham’s electronic music scene, warning that years of culture could be lost to a few planning decisions.
A Digbeth Music Venues Alliance spokesperson emphasised that the campaign isn’t against development, but opposes proposals that erase the area’s cultural identity without offering equivalent spaces. The alliance urges the public to attend the event and reach out to Mahmood.
