Threshold Festival - a treat for the weekend

Stealing Sheep

GRASSROOTS happening the Threshold Festival gives you no excuse to whinge that nothing ever happens in Liverpool in February.

It returns to the Liverpool Baltic Triangle this weekend.

Following the success of its maiden voyage at the defunct CUC in 2011, the underdog aficionados behind Under the Influence have one alliterative mission statement: Bigger, Better and Baltic bound.

Music, theatre, visual art and live art performances are promised to flow from one venue to another, in case you get bored easily.

Robyn-Woolston's
Field of DreamsOne thing that won’t be changing though, is the festival’s dedication to championing grassroots.

Over the three days (and nights), an almost uncountable number of up-and-coming and/or off-kilter acts will be making appearances (and waves) in Camp and Furnace, the Blade Factory, the New Picket, Elevator, the Nordic Church, the Lantern Theatre and the Brewery Tap.

This year’s festival will also tie-in some guerilla knitting. Also known as yarn bombing, it's about knitting around objects outdoors, usually lamp posts, street signs and bike racks but can also include tree trunks and anything else that happens to be stationary.  

There will also be a free fringe festival on the Sunday at the Albert Dock.

Right from the start, Threshold says its ethos has been to engage with arts, music and performance promoters, and provide them with a platform to create and explore.

Liverpool promoters on board include Mellowtone, Rebel Soul, Newpath, HeadSpace, Antipop and CALM, – and Liverpool Sound City will be programming a stage on the Saturday afternoon.

From further afield come Glastonbury, Bestival and Secret Garden Party favourites, Chai Wallahs on the Sunday. 

Scottish blues label Guardian Angels Records, Salford-based innovators Un-convention and alt-folk wunderkinds Imploding Inevitable Festival will also be showing their faces.

More exhaustive line-ups for Friday 10th, Saturday 11th and Sunday 12th can be found below, but here are some highlights to help you calculate a route along the Baltic Triangle’s hypotenuse of venues…

 • Liverpool Sound City at the Blade Factory features Tiro Lark, Cheap Thrills, The Vigilantes, The Dead Velvets, Einstein’s, and Filthy Licks.

 • Camp and Furnace features Louis Barabbas & The Bedlam Six, Chelcee Grimes, Man Get Out, HeadSpace’s Twinned exhibition, Liverpool Art Prize short-lister Robyn Woolston, Stealing Sheep and Picture Book, as well as Chai Wallah’s Closing Party which hosts Yes Sir Boss, CODA, and twice UK DMC champion, JFB.

 • The New Picket features Sandi Thom, The Hummingbirds and Un-Convention (in conversation with a special guest to be announced).

Dismembered Empire

 • The Nordic Church features Impropriety Threshold Soap Opera, Dismembered Empire, Jolly Boat, Random Acts of Wildness, Super Effective Retro Gaming, Dogstar Rose acoustic with: Thom Morecroft, Jo Bywater.

• The Lantern Theatre features Performing Shakespeare, a workshop by Max Rubin (Lodestar, Liverpool Shakespeare Festival), Script in Hand Theatre and Undercover BlonDDe.

 • Elevator features Venus Di Milo, Birdie Jackson & The Arbour and Police Squad.

 • The Brewery Tap features Philosophy in Pubs, discussing Culture of Capital.

In addition to the HeadSpace-curated ‘Twinned’ group exhibition, there will be visual art and 3D spectaculars from The Roost as well as Robyn Woolston, Michael Stevenson and Josephine Scales.

Another kind of craft that should prove popular will be Liverpool Craft Beer’s specially brewed limited edition Threshold Festival Beer which will be available in all the venues (except the Brewery Tap where you will have to make do with the Cains).