UK festivals need more black DJs and artists – Boxout Fest founder

Mel Grace, one of Boxout’s presenters, said she also wished larger UK festivals would highlight the many variations of black music and culture.

“There’s so many people that came from the Windrush generation and second, third generations that are involved in [Birmingham’s] culture, we want to represent ourselves as the Afrobeat’s culture, the dance hall culture and so much more.

Ms Grace added that as the UK’s second city it was important for Birmingham to demonstrate the importance of black music and culture to other parts of the UK.

“We want to show that we’re so proud of it.”

Ms Grace said people did not see a wide enough range of black music genres, such as R&B, Rap and Amapiano, as large festivals did not feature them.

“There are so many different segments of black culture that don’t get shown in the main festivals, so I’m glad we have Boxout as a platform.”