Despite being a fairly new band, officially starting only earlier this year, The Speakers have already begun to carve out a name for themselves in the Birmingham music scene. Not long after their first official gig on the 7th of March, the band have already gone on to win UoB’s Battle of the Bands, securing themselves a spot on the headline stage at Valefest 2025.

The Speakers is a band comprised of 6 musicians: Akin Akinfenwa on the bass guitar, Bill Keanan on the saxophone, Emma Sherriff on the keyboard, Fyfe Irwin on the electric guitar, Kian Sutton on drums and Konyinsola Salako as the vocalist.

But let’s look further back in time, for, in their earliest days, there were only three (well, kind of). It began with Akinfenwa, Sherriff, and Salako making music and experimenting with some other friends in a rather low-commitment environment. Fast-forward to the winter of 2024, and they soon expanded to a quintet, with Irwin and Sutton joining the group after meeting the other members through a mutual friend. Their newest and final member, Keanan, discovered his soon-to-be bandmates out in the wild – during a live music night performance at The Indie Lounge in Selly Oak. By early January 2025, The Speakers had evolved into the fully formed band you see before you on today’s stages. Their name, The Speakers, came about just as organically as their band’s conception: “We’re all very passionate and have something to say,” commented Irwin, and so The Speakers, with its double meaning and cool ’60s feel, felt like the obvious solution.

Being a six-member band, they each had their personal introductions to music before they found their way to The Speakers. Some were initially inspired by family in their early years, like pianist Sherriff, who first played her instrument with her grandmother, starting with classical piano and later going on to find her own sound. Likewise, Keanan’s first saxophone was his mother’s, picked up one day in his teen years and yet to be put back down. While still being inspired by adults in his life, drummer Sutton’s story is a bit different, having always been interested in instruments but needing his music teacher to reveal to him just how good music can be. Other band members, Akinfenwa and Irwin, found themselves more intrinsically inspired, teaching themselves a lot of what they know about their respective instruments and music in general. Both have viewed music as a creative outlet, and forming this band helped them to see music as more of a serious endeavour with many avenues. Lastly, for vocalist Salako, she was indeed ‘born this way’, – according to her mother, at least. “When my mum was pregnant with me, she used to hear this humming ‘ehhhhh’ sound from her belly. She thought there was something wrong and got all paranoid, but she was fine… After she gave birth, she kept hearing that sound because, turns out, it was me singing.”

Musically, however, The Speakers have many different inspirations, most notably Ezra Collective. The band feels that both they and the aforementioned collective share many musical parallels, like a strong bass feature and many melodic lines in their respective songs – this can be seen most in The Speakers’ ‘Lekki’s Island’. But it is not just in their music that The Speakers find inspiration, but also in how Ezra Collective interacts in their community. Ezra Collective often gives back to the area that made and nurtured them, all while remaining humble in their growing fame, something that The Speakers would love to do themselves someday. Getting back to the music, however, The Speakers also draw inspiration from Hiatus Kaiyote, Arthur Russel with the guitar, and Scar, who they believe demonstrated that music can hold a message, this being the same philosophy that inspired both their songs and name. “Music is almost rebellion, in a way,” commented guitarist Irwin, and this idea rings true throughout many of The Speakers’ tracks. Their sound reflects this amalgamation of influences: rather hard to define and pinpoint, yet an emphasis on identity and authenticity that remains prominent in The Speaker’s music.

When it comes to creating, The Speakers do not have a clear process. Their songs often start as lyrics conjured by Salako, the vocalist, in no specific or consistent setting. These lyrics will then be brought to the rest of the band, where they will be expanded upon and further explored, adding melodies and basslines until these words transform into the tracks they eventually perform. On other occasions, the band will start with the melody, writing lyrics to fit into the rhythm’s already formed mould. In both of these instances, however, the music made by The Speakers is always a collaboration from all of its members, which is what makes it so special and unique to the band. Due to Salako’s background in poetry, the lyrics of their tracks often tell a story, guiding the listener on a melodic journey. This is probably most notable in their songs ‘Elvis Presley’s Baby’ and ‘Motherf*cker’, but with a careful ear, this can also be spotted in most of The Speakers’ music.

Having just won UoB’s Battle of the Bands competition, The Speakers have come a long way since their first performance: a much more intimate show at Cherry Red’s Café Bar in Birmingham. This gig was planned and organised by the band in a (rather successful) attempt to start getting their music out there. The show had a 12-song set list and free entry to all those who wished to attend, resulting in an audience much larger than they had expected. For Salako and Keanan, this gig remains their favourite and, for their bandmates, it will always be a show held close to their hearts, even if Bill might wish that they had “rehearsed grass fields one more time”. It was this night that allowed them to start envisioning a future in music beyond this university campus, inspiring future plans to record music to be uploaded onto streaming services. It’s time for The Speakers to branch out beyond the bin strikes of Selly Oak.

Speaking of branching out, the members of the band have big dreams themselves. Akinfenwa, who sees music as a driver of community, has now begun to veer into DJing and event planning and has already thrown a few events under the name ‘OnOne’ in Birmingham, Leeds, and Bath. Salako has dreams closer to stardom and would love to be recognised amongst great musical peers someday. Festivals are a common ambition for all members of the band: “I would love to be on the smallest stage at the biggest festivals,” commented bassist Akinfenwa.

If you would like to keep up with The Speakers’ music (which I suggest you should), then why not start with the members’ favourite songs. ‘Elvis Presley’s Baby’ is a fave of Salako and Bill, while Akinfenwa and Sutton prefer ‘Headache’. Irwin stands alone with ‘Mi Amor’ as his stand-out song. Sherriff, however, favours an unreleased track that explores the disco and funk genres. I am definitely going to keep an eye out for that song.

If you would like to see The Speaker’s live (an activity I recommend), you can catch them at their upcoming gig in Digbeth on the 4th of June. Oh, and of course, you can catch them at Valefest on the 7th of June.

Drummer Sutton had one last thing to say: “I love my bandmates.”

Enjoyed this? You might also like:

Live Review: Supergrass

Single Review: Lana Del Rey – Henry, come on

Redbrick Meets: Caity Baser