Full festival line-up announced ahead of bank holiday weekender
With a reputation for being the first place to discover the artists destined to make it big, this year’s Liverpool Sound City is celebrating its 15th birthday with a typically multifarious line-up.
We’re not going to argue with boss bands, Bundo beers, bhajis and a vada pav or two.
From headliners Self Esteem and The Lathums to the likes of Yard Act, Stone, Mae Muller, Alfie Templeman, Baby Queen, Matt Maltese, Crawlers, The Reytons, Phoebe Green, Brooke Combe, Kawala, Matilda Mann, TV Priest, Abby Roberts, Chilli Jesson, Rose Gray, Rianne Downey, Speedboat and many more; the early May bank holiday promises plenty for casual music-lovers and indie trainspotters alike.
The line-up also features stage takeovers from Bella Union (celebrating its 25th anniversary with a special Sound City showcase featuring Tim Burgess), Jack Saunders’ raucous Hopscotch night, Sentric Music’s Back On The Road showcase and the Bundo Sessions - intimate free-to-access live music in the taste-bud tingling Bundobust restaurant.
Sound City is the place to discover the giants of tomorrow and was one of the first to host huge names like Ed Sheeran, Florence and the Machine, Stormzy, Jungle, Alt-J, Paloma Faith, The 1975, Christine & The Queens, Years & Years and many more at the beginning of their musical careers.
In 2015, the festival moved to an arena set-up at Bramley-Moore Dock, but since then has come back to its roots as a multi-venue festival across the city centre.
Grand Central Hall was one of the main venues last year but closed permanently in March after a dispute between the landlord and tenants. Sound City organisers say that they have been working tirelessly to find a solution and the main stage action will now happen at The Arts Club with two unmissable all-dayers. The other official venues include Jimmy’s, Zanzibar, The Jacaranda, EBGBs, Kazimier Stockroom, and The Shipping Forecast.
Bundobust Liverpool are the “official food partners” for this year’s festival and although we don’t really know what that means yet, we’re not going to argue with boss bands, Bundo beers, bhajis and a vada pav or two.
The Sound City+ conference launches on Friday 29 April and will feature guest speakers, panel events and Q & A sessions across various city centre venues, including FACT, Phase One, Leaf and the Jacaranda.
Sound City is the UK’s leading festival partner for Keychange, an international initiative which aims to transform the future of music with greater representation for women and underrepresented genders across the industry.
A key aim of the collaboration is to ensure that at least 50% of festival lineups are made up of women and gender minority artists, as well as tackling wider music industry barriers. This year, an Inspiration Award has been given to Rebecca Ferguson who will appear at the Sound City+ industry conference for an “In Conversation With” event.
The main festival runs across Saturday 30 April and Sunday 1 May, which means that you’ve got the bank holiday Monday to recover. Winner, winner, Bundo dinner.
Read next: Famous ‘Cains’ beer to be brewed again in Liverpool
Read again: Grand Central shut as landlord claims 'rent arrears of £1.2m'
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