We are so pleased to share that we won the Arts and Culture award at the Brum Awards 2024!

The Birmingham Awards are dedicated to recognising excellence across various sectors, fostering a sense of pride and unity within our community.

 

“We are thrilled to have won the Arts and Culture Award 2024, it’s great to be acknowledged for our work in the city, especially as this year we are celebrating our 25^th anniversary. It’s not been an easy journey but we feel very lucky to work with such extraordinary artists and to have a brilliantly dedicated team who make these projects come to life, and of course we have only been able to evolve and grow because of the support of our loyal audiences.”

Lisa Meyer – CEO/Artistic Director

 

Photos by Edwin Ladd

 

 

We are once again completely heart warmed by the incredible press, artist and audience response from this year’s festival. A huge thank you to all that joined us in creating joyous memories together. The festival wouldn’t be what it is without the support from our wonderful audience.

 

 

 

“Others are catalysts and cultivators – places where connections are made, communities are sustained and future collaborations may take root. The inspiring, tenacious Supersonic is one of the latter, and for anyone still in doubt of its value, for even a relatively blockbuster (in this context) artist like Oldham, decades-established in his own right, it remains integral.”

★★★★★

The Guardian, read full review

 

Bonnie “Prince” Billy by Robert Barrett

 

“As long as festivals as uplifting, as communal, and as defiant as Supersonic continue to defy the odds, there is hope.”

– The Quietus, read full review

“Artistic Director Lisa Meyer articulately expressed her aspirations for the three day event: “I hope that Supersonic will be a space for people to find comfort in one another, catharsis in music, and a celebration of an amazing community and extraordinary art.”… we are delighted to confirm that Meyer’s words transcended into a real life experience for us.”
– Get In Her Ears, read full review

 

 

Toya Delazy by Lucy Osborne

 

WATCH OUR SUPERSONIC 2024 HIGHLIGHT REEL

 

WE’RE RECRUITING A NEW ROLE FOR SUPERSONIC 2024!

 

We are thrilled to announce that this year’s Supersonic Festival is backed by Youth Music. Thanks to players of People’s Postcode Lottery, we have been awarded Incubator Funding which will go towards creating a new role for an emerging music industry professional, aged under 25 from an underrepresented background.

 

About Youth Music

Youth Music believe that every young person should have the chance to change their life through music. Yes their research shows that many can’t because of who they are, where they’re from or what they’re going through.

Their insights, influence and investment in grassroots organisations and to young people themselves means that more 0-25-year-olds can make, learn and earn in music.

Youth Music is a national charity funded thanks to the National Lottery via Arts Council England, players of People’s Postcode Lottery and support from partners, fundraisers and donors.

Thanks to this grant we’ll be able to give someone the opportunity to gain first-hand experience of working in the music industry, offer training with industry experts, a professional mentor, and the opportunity to devise and produce a creative project, inspired by their work with Supersonic Festival.

 

Role: Festival Assistant (supported by Youth Music)
Deadline for application:  Wednesday 3 April, 5pm
Interview date: Wednesday 17 April
Start date: subject to availability / for negotiation
Fee: £5,225 (55 days, £95 per day)
Location: this is an in person role, based in our Digbeth offices

 

Find out more about the vacancy here.

 

 

JOIN OUR BOARD

Capsule Board is seeking new members
Deadline: 5pm, Wednesday 21 February 2024.

 

“★★★★★ – The UK’s best small festival, Supersonic is world-class.” THE GUARDIAN

This is an exciting time for the organisation, 2023 saw us deliver a very special edition, celebrating 20 years of Supersonic Festival, in Digbeth where we have been based since the beginning. The city is undergoing major redevelopment work, and the cultural and creative landscape is changing – we are looking for board members to support and assist us in our move into the next exciting chapter.

Working closely alongside the Artistic Director and Executive Producer, our Board members play a key role in helping create Capsule’s vision, setting our long-term goals, monitoring progress and helping develop partnerships, increase income and ensure resilience and sustainability.

There are currently 6 Board members, and we are now looking to recruit up to 3 new members to join the Board from anywhere across the UK. We are particularly interested in attracting applications from individuals with experience in one or more of the following areas: 

 

• Marketing and / or PR expertise – we are looking for support to help significantly increase the awareness and / or raise the profile of our work 
  
  
• Finance, business, commercial strategy and / or entrepreneurial expertise – we would be interested to hear from anyone used to maximizing and generating revenue, as well as someone with expertise in financial reporting and / or accountancy
  
  
• Someone with a senior role from an arts, cultural and / or heritage organisation, with an insight into opportunities on the horizon and professional national/international networks you are willing to share
  
  
• Fans of our work –passionate about Capsule’s work and/or the music and art we champion, and willing and able to contribute invaluable insight and constructive criticism to improve what we do

 

We are committed to diversity and inclusion, and are keen to appoint candidates of different backgrounds, perspectives and experiences. We particularly encourage applications from LGBTQ+ candidates, under-represented ethnicities, and people with a disability.

 

For more information:

PDF: Capsule Board Recruitment Info Sheet

PDF: Capsule Organisation Information Sheet

 

And to apply please send the following information to [email protected] by Wednesday 21 February:

• a short cover letter, outlining your interest in and suitability for this role

• an up to date CV

• and a completed Equal Opportunities Monitoring Form

 

 

We’re delighted to share the news that Conor Boyle & Dani Mercier will both be joining the Capsule team!

 

Conor Boyle – Programme Assistant

A guitarist and graduate of the British and Irish Modern Music Institute with a degree in Music Production. Born and raised in Birmingham and surrounded by the lively traditions of a large Irish family, he finds his artistic outlet as a musician in the punk band Total Luck. When he’s not playing guitar, Conor is likely to be out at a local show or record shop, growing his 800 strong record collection, and trying to figure out how to fit them all in to his flat.

 

Dani Mercier – Operations Assistant

A Classics graduate with a keen interest in events, festivals, and arts and crafts. She runs her own events company centred around popular culture. In the last year she has successfully curated and hosted various events ranging from Barbie release parties to a Q&A with Succession Executive Producer, Lucy Prebble. Dani worked as Operations Assistant at Supersonic Festival in a short-term, freelance capacity earlier this year and is excited to now join the organisation as a member of the year round core team.

 

 

We are blown away by the amazing press we’ve been receiving for this years edition of Supersonic, which saw us celebrate 2 decades of the festival. The response from artists, audiences and press has really warmed our hearts.

 

“the care and community at this independent festival of outer-reaches sounds is evident in every single detail as it celebrates its 20th anniversary.”

★★★★★

The Guardian, read full review

 

photo by Cat Dineley

 

“Britain’s very best underground festival… Lankum might be riding high off the back of a universally lauded, Mercury-nominated masterpiece of a new album (tQ’s number one of the year so far, no less), yet the awe with which they speak about Supersonic is testament to the event’s oversized influence in the underground, a status earned over two decades hard graft. It’s not only the best festival they’ve ever played, Lynch, says, but the best they’ve ever been to.”

– The Quietus, read full review

 

photo by Snaprockpop

 

“Supersonic is full of these wild adventures. It’s one of the best festivals out there that defines the core of these gatherings – places that change your life and send you down a myriad of new rabbit holes. It takes chances, creates culture and disrupts culture in a true visionary style that makes it one of the key calender events.”

– Louder Than War, read full review

 

Backxwash by Snaprockpop

 

“Supersonic Festival has long boasted the talents of the most unique sounds in music from metal and beyond, so it feels fitting that in its 20th anniversary edition it would host an artist who so brazenly embodies the spirit of heaviness whilst sounding worlds away from traditional metal. That such a joyous and undeniably heavy artist has made her debut in the heart of the Home Of Metal only further cements the notion that Backxwash is representative of where heavy music in 2023, no longer defined by riffs and horror movie aesthetics alone.”

– Louder Sound, read full review

 

 

“a diverse crowd of musical eccentrics young and old, from all over the UK and far beyond were already there in droves.”

★★★★★

The Arts Desk, read full review

 

 

“Supersonic was ahead of the game on many fronts. The female-founded festival was up on gender representation long before the Keychange initiative drew attention to ways of trying to achieve gender parity in the music industry. Gender and sexuality find a safe space here. Even such things as metal being taken seriously by electronic musicians, and electronics coming to rock, and the now preponderant but still under-regarded creative economy of solo artists and DJs using electronics to create a huge sound. For organisational problems arising from gentrification, Supersonic is the test case for how to deal with it, and how to do it right. In society and culture, the ongoing backlash against progressivism has made us all suffer. But before the backlash even began, the backlash to the backlash started here— and it started in Birmingham.”

– London Jazz News, read full review

 

 

“On the Sunday afternoon there’s a ‘Supersonic Mass’ to mark the anniversary, part Pagan ritual, part local precinct ribbon cutting that ends with an unveiling of a spectacular banner, listing every artist that has played the festival in its 20 years. It is a truly remarkable list of names, from LCD Soundsystem and Kim Gordon to Max Tundra and Hype Williams. It shows not just the sonic breadth that Supersonic brings to the table, but, with how many people played early shows here before going on to be wildly influential, their eye for talent. You get the sense they’ve given a few people their new favourite artist over the weekend. A truly vital festival, long may it continue.”

– The Skinny, read full review

 

 

 

“The success of this summer’s Outbreak and Supersonic festivals mean a line has now been drawn in the sand: no longer can heavy music festival bookers utter the lie “We would book more women/people of colour, but there aren’t any”

– Metal Hammer, read full article

 

Stuart Maconie’s Freak Zone Supersonic Special | Listen Here 

Stuart presents a special show recorded at Birmingham’s Supersonic Festival, Britain’s premier celebration of adventurous and mind-blowing sounds. There will be interviews and highlights from across the weekend, including Silver Moth and Mercury nominated Lankum.

 

Capsule is looking to recruit two part time, freelance roles to support and deliver Supersonic Festival 2023.

 

Supersonic Festival which takes place 1-3 September in Digbeth, Birmingham will this year be celebrating 20 years since its inception. It has been named as the UK’s premier experimental music festival, with rave reviews from The Independent, Arts Desk and The Quietus to name but a few, and topping The Guardian’s Guide to the best experimental music festivals in Europe.

 

Supersonic Festival Marketing Assistant (Freelance)

This short-term, focused role is designed to assist the Festival Programme Coordinator, working across marketing and programme logistics support. 

Deadline for application: Wednesday 14 June, 2023
Interview date: Tuesday 20 June, 2023
Start date: Tuesday 4 July, 2023
Fee: £2600 / 26 days @ £100 per day

| DOWNLOAD: Festival Marketing Assistant – Person Specification |

| DOWNLOAD: Equal Opportunities Form |

 

Supersonic Festival Operations Assistant (Freelance Position)

This short-term, focused role is designed to assist the Executive Producer, working across all festival operations.  

Deadline for application: Wednesday 14 June, 2023
Interview date: Wednesday 21 June 2023
Start date: Tuesday 4 July, 2023
Fee: £2600 / 26 days @ £100 per day

| DOWNLOAD: Festival Operations Assistant – Person Specification |

| DOWNLOAD: Equal Opportunities Form |

 

Since 2003, we have been hosting superior weekends for the adventurous audience, taking care to present only the most artistically relevant and irreverent acts from the UK and across the globe, while simultaneously making sure to fill every moment with opportunities to let loose and party, or sit down at engaging talks, discussions and workshops, or take in exclusive screenings and exhibitions. Nowhere else will you find a festival experience quite like ours.

These freelance roles will work closely with Capsule’s Programme Coordinator & Executive Producer. Capsule’s office is in the Zellig building, Digbeth, and whilst some remote working may be required, predominantly these roles will be office-based.

We are a small but ambitious organisation. These roles would be ideal for emerging / early-career, freelance arts professionals, keen to expand their knowledge and enthusiasm and develop their skills in both the promotion and production of live events within a highly creative and dynamic organisation.

We actively encourage applications from practitioners who identify as at least one of the following under-represented in the music industries; Black, Asian or other underserved Ethnicity, female, LGBTQ+, from a low socio-economic background. Since its inception in 1999 Capsule has been female-led, uniquely championing female and Black, Asian or other culturally diverse artists.

 

Application process:

To apply for this opportunity please email the following to [email protected] by Wednesday 14 June 2023 with ‘Marketing Assistant application’ or ‘Operations Assistant application’ in the subject line:

• A completed equal opportunities form
• A letter of application outlining how you feel you would fulfil this role to (maximum of 2 sides of A4)
• Your CV + 2 named references

The deadline for applications is 5pm, Wednesday 14 June, interviews will be taking place on Tuesday 20 & Wednesday 21 June. We will notify candidates that we wish to interview by 5pm, Friday 16 June. If you haven’t heard from us by then please assume your application has been unsuccessful on this occasion. We cannot provide feedback on unsuccessful applications, but we will endeavour to provide feedback to those candidates we interview.

 

We’re thrilled that our Supersonic Festival 2022 was rated ★★★★★ and named as ‘a utopia’ by The Guardian this summer. We also received a plethora of glowing reviews of our 16th edition, including…

―

 

“★★★★★ – Supersonic is not just a music festival, but a site for resistance and community, a utopia made briefly real.“

READ THE GUARDIAN REVIEW HERE.

―

 

“★★★★★ – Audiences were treated to feral drum and bass, doom metal, twisted folk music and some seriously experimental weirdness, amongst much else… a weekend of serious musical strangeness” 

READ THE ART DESK’S REVIEW HERE. 

―

“This is one of Supersonic’s core strengths: the way it tone-shifts between grinding sonic despair and expressions of positivity rooted in inclusivity and solidarity.”

THE WIRE MAGAZINE

―

 

“When artists offer humble acknowledgement of how well they’re being treated by the crew and how nice it is to play for such a welcoming audience it just underlines what a special festival this is.”

READ THE ECHOES & DUST REVIEW HERE. 

―

“A community exists around it, a music crowd seeking discovery rather than some predictable homogenous party… A little gem with a mighty message, Supersonic seeks to make you smile, think and extend – it was a genuine mission accomplished.”

READ BACKSEAT MAFIA’S REVIEW HERE.

―

“When someone mentions Birmingham the first thing that springs to mind isn’t Black Sabbath. Nor is it Aston Villa F.C. Not even Godflesh. It’s Supersonic.”

READ THE SUN13 REVIEW HERE.

―

 

“In the bathroom after the performance, I can hear two women speak about how they’ve never felt safer at an event. It’s a serious compliment for Supersonic given the state of things.”

READ GODISINTHETV REVIEW HERE.

―

 

“In the bathroom after the performance, I can hear two women speak about how they’ve never felt safer at an event. It’s a serious compliment for Supersonic given the state of things.”

READ BIRMINGHAM REVIEW FOR FRIDAY + SATURDAY + SUNDAY 

―

 

“One of Supersonic’s true talents is finding heaviness and experimentation in the most unexpected of crevices, but that doesn’t mean the curators shy away from tapping into Birmingham’s storied metal heritage.”

READ ASTRAL NOIZE REVIEW HERE.

―