From a festival down on the farm to rooftop cinema in the city, there's loads happening this month
August might be the last bank holiday of the summer, but it's always the best. And even though most of the big festivals like Creamfields have sold out, there's still loads of boss gigs and events happening across the region.
Dig out your wellies, sun-cream, camping chair and coolbox, because this month is going to be the blow-out we've all been waiting for.
FESTEVOL | Invisible Wind Factory | Saturday 7 & 14 August
If there’s an up and coming new artist that you need to know about then you can bet your hipster hat that EVOL is on the case. The Merseyside event promoter has come out from lockdown with all guns blazing and a stonking FestEvol line-up of live bands and DJs in the main room and garden bar of Invisible Wind Factory. Headliners on Saturday 7 August are Kelly Lee Owens, Working Men’s Club, Stealing Sheep and Tea Street Band, while Saturday 14 August features The Big Moon, The Orielles, Black Honey and Self Esteem.
Invisible Wind Factory, 3 Regent Rd, Liverpool, L3 7DS (1pm - 1am, tickets from £28.90 at SeeTickets.com)
COMEDY @ TURNCOAT | Turncoat Bar | Sunday 8 August
Turncoat Bar will be serving up lots of laughs alongside signature gins and pizza with the launch of its new monthly comedy nights. The bar is already a go-to for its amazing cocktails created using Turncoat’s own spirits distilled at its distillery just up the road in the Baltic Triangle. From August, Comedy @ Turncoat will become a regular diary date for comedy fans who can leave their entertainment for the night in the safe hands of resident MC Katie Tracey. Launch night includes Phil Chapman, Rob Thomas and BBC new comedy award finalist Hannah Platt.
Turncoat, Albert Dock, Liverpool L3 4AF (7pm, free tickets from Eventbrite.)
STRAWBERRY FIELDS FEST | Claremont Farm | Saturday 28 & Sunday 29 August
Two days of the best live local musicians around, plus beer, gin and food, setting the perfect scene for a bank holiday weekend down at the farm. Line-up includes Peach Fuzz, The Heavy North, Si Dale, The Left Backs, Natalie McCool, Hushtones, and Harry James. Local beers sourced by Black Lodge Brewery and a gin bar from Murphy's Distillery.
Claremont Farm, Bebington, Wirral CH63 4JB (12:00 - 11pm, tickets from £27.54 from Eventbrite.)
BRIDGE | Breeze Hill, Millennium Green | 5 - 7 August
Liverpool is building bridges with a three-day event that aims to bring together culture, communities and civic pride. The 72ft long and 19ft high bridge structure will be in Walton and each day it will host a series of free events, as well as two nights of performance. Artists and designers will come together to tell the story of County ward and the people who live there. At 8.45pm on Friday and Saturday, a gravity-defying circus with acrobatics, dance, comedy, theatre and live music - inspired by local people’s stories - will create a thrilling climax.
Breeze Hill Millennium Green, Liverpool L4 5QT (Free tickets from TicketQuarter.)
CINEMA IN THE CITY | Cotton Exchange | 13 - 15 and 20 - 22 August
A new cinematic experience by FACT that brings the best in new, independent film to extraordinary places across Liverpool. The summer of screenings continues at the Grade II listed Cotton Exchange rooftop garden with six recently released, critically-acclaimed indie films. Recognising Liverpool's local talent and rich film history, discover shorts by up-and-coming local filmmakers before the premiere. Films include Bloody Nose - Empty Pockets, Ammonite, Apples, The Killing of Two Lovers, Rare Beasts, and Stray. Pop-up food comes courtesy of Maray.
Cotton Exchange, Edmund St, Liverpool L3 9LQ (Doors 6pm, tickets £8.50 / £11.50 / £14.50 from FACT.)
HEATHERS THE MUSICAL | Liverpool Empire | 17 - 28 August
Liverpool Empire reopens from 5 August with a typically diverse month of events, from Frank Skinner to The Dreamboys. Following two record breaking West End seasons, Heathers The Musical embarks on its first national tour. Welcome to Westerberg High, where Veronica Sawyer is just another of the nobodies dreaming of a better day. But when she’s unexpectedly taken under the wings of the three beautiful and impossibly cruel Heathers, her dreams of popularity finally start to come true. This high octane, black comedy rock musical is back with a bang - missing out might just be the death of you.
Liverpool Empire, Lime St, Liverpool L1 1JE (Tickets from £13 at ATG Tickets.)
RIVFEST WEEKENDER | Old Market Square, Warrington | 6 - 8 August
The charity festival returns to Warrington with a three-day weekender of major names and tipped new talent. RivFest is presented by The River Reeves Foundation, an arts charity launched in 2016 following the tragic deaths of River, his band Viola Beach and their manager, Craig Tarry. This year’s line-up includes DJ Graeme Park headlining the Friday, Everything Everything in the headline slot on the Saturday and Abi Rose Kelly on the Sunday. All proceeds from ticket sales will be going back into the charity which provides grants of up to £500 to support young people and those from disadvantaged backgrounds achieve their artistic ambitions.
Old Market Square, Warrington WA1 1QB (Tickets free/£10/£20 from Official RivFest.)
GIFT & GRAZE MARKET | Blackburne House | Sunday 8 August
Gift and Graze is a marketplace of small independent businesses from all over the country and this month is holding its first market in Liverpool. Expect food, drinks, handmade gifts, games and live music from Charlotte and Conor, Anthony Brady, Erin Watkinson, and Performers Theatre School. With a range of gifts and treats on sale, as well as food and entertainment, don't miss this Sunday funday.
Blackburne House, Blackburne Place, Liverpool L8 7PE (11am - 5pm, free entry.)
INTERNATIONAL BEATLE WEEK | Various venues | 25 - 31 August
Stop groaning - we haven’t mentioned the Beatles for ages. With over 70 bands from 20 countries, International Beatle Week 2021 will celebrate 50 years of Let It Be, plus 50 years since the start of the Beatles fab solo careers. That's a lot of numbers. John Lennon will also be remembered in a very special show. Organised by Cavern City Tours, the event includes gigs, exhibitions, memorabilia sales, guest speakers, video shows, sightseeing tours and a convention. Yeah, yeah, yeah!
Various venues, for more information visit International Beatle Week online.
FUTURE NOW | Future Yard | 27 - 28 August
This two-day celebration of the best new music shines the spotlight on Birkenhead for bank holiday weekend, with headliners Marie Davidson & L'Oeil Nu (Friday) and Melt Yourself Down (Saturday) leading the charge on what is sure to be an incredible party. The line-up also includes Scalping, Nuha Ruby Ra, Yard Act, Stores, and Samurai Kip. Tom Ravenscroft DJs on Saturday with a flavour of his genre-hopping, otherworldly music taste.
Future Yard, 75 Argyle St, Birkenhead CH41 6AB (Tickets from £16.50 at SeeTickets.)
SING ALONG WITH HATTIE BEE | Western Approaches | 28 & 29 August
The special events keep coming at Western Approaches. During the bank holiday weekend, the secret WW2 bunker has planned an old-fashioned sing-a-long where vintage singer Hattie Bee will host the songs and sing all the classics for you to listen to in a unique atmospheric setting. There will be two 40 minute sets in the morning and the afternoon - usual museum entry fee is needed to enter the building and you can then spend an hour or so exploring the corridors, offices, sleeping quarters and of course the iconic operations room.
Western Approaches, Rumford Street, Exchange Flags, Liverpool L2 8SZ (Book advance tickets online at Western Approaches.)
Submit your events to liverpooleditorial@confidentials.com
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