Our Music Blog Cherry Blossom Concert, at last Two weeks ago on a sunny (yet quite breezy, obviously) Sunday we finally had our Cherry Blossom Concert in collaboration with Ikon Gallery, after 2 years of postponements! It was a wonderful turnout of people of all ages from all over the West Midlands, regardless of Sunday transport restrictions, which was one of my main concerns, to be honest. We had a total of 418 people book on in advance and around 150 walk-ups, which is amazing even in a pre-covid world. The strange and ambient sound you heard was Ryoanji for flute and percussion, composed by John Cage in 1984. The piece was inspired and named after the Zen Buddhist temple and rock garden in Kyoto, which is one of the most visited tourist spots in Japan. I'm sure you would agree, we couldn't have found a place (in the West Midlands...) more perfect for our concert if we tried. Whether you booked on in excitement a few weeks before or strolled up confused by the crowds on the day, it was a delight to have so many of you there experiencing something tranquil and beautiful together. Photo - Anthony Crutch Concert Highlights It was an absolute treat seeing people of all ages clutching their goody bags filled with handmade bits, from our very own pin-badges, to crocheted cherry blossom cards by local creative KnitNerdCo. Thank you to everyone who donated for one, we can't wait to show you what other new merch we have been working on over the winter. Goody bag photo - Twitter @alex_ne If you grabbed one of the goody bags during the concert or picked up one of the posters around town, don't forget to plant your seeded poster, and tag us on our socials when you see something growing! April is the best time to plant wildflower seeds in the UK so get cracking. It was also very exciting to see some people dressed in pink for the occasion, especially staff who received a chaotic WhatsApp message the week of the concert asking (begging) them to. Who doesn't love a theme? Your Tweets After a lunchtime stroll for a coffee today I noticed the cherry blossoms are already falling, which seems way too soon in my opinion, but I guess it's their transience that makes time spent underneath them so much more special. Did two years of waiting make our concert bigger and better than ever? Maybe. Should all of our concerts a have two-year lead-up time? If only the arts could be that predictable. Stay tuned for the future though, who's to say the concert can't return as the blossoms do? Want to stay in the loop? Sign up to our Newsletter for news on events, concert discounts and behind the scenes. Want to know what we've got coming up? Take a look at What's On. Manage Cookie Preferences