The Birmingham Jazz & Blues Festival could be heading to Walsall for the first time in its 43-year history, following a successful 2026 event that attracted more than 62,000 people across the West Midlands.

Festival founder Jim Simpson and Walsall solicitor, poet and songwriter Ian Henery are working together on proposals to bring part of the festival programme to the town in 2027, with a number of potential venues already under consideration.

The 2026 festival featured 178 performances across 102 venues in Birmingham, Sandwell and the wider West Midlands, with 165 events offered free of charge. Organisers say audience feedback was overwhelmingly positive, with the vast majority of attendees rating performances as either “very good” or “good”.

Henery, who is currently delivering creative writing workshops across Walsall and Sandwell through a programme supported by Transport for West Midlands and the West Midlands Combined Authority, said discussions about bringing the festival to Walsall began after he was introduced to Simpson through music industry contacts.

Simpson, who also manages Big Bear Music and was the first manager of Black Sabbath, said strong audience support had given organisers confidence to expand the festival’s reach in 2027.

Potential locations being explored in Walsall include Gallery Square, The Bridge and the Community Hub at Walsall Bus Depot, with organisers keen to create a walkable trail of performances through the town centre.

Among the ideas being considered is a canal-side opening event that would see musicians arrive in Walsall by narrowboat before performing at the town’s basin near The New Art Gallery Walsall.

The Birmingham Jazz & Blues Festival is one of the largest events of its kind in Europe and regularly attracts acclaimed performers from across the UK and around the world, alongside emerging local talent.