LIVERPOOL SOUND CITY: THE UK’S LONGEST RUNNING SHOWCASE FESTIVAL

Festival season is upon us once again, and Sound City is  first out of the blocks with a usual feast of musical magic over the early May bank holiday weekend.  

The line-up this year looks a strong one, with headliners Katy Baser and The Snuts joined by a strong local contingent reveling in the opportunity to showcase their talents to an eager festival audience. 

The conference on the Friday is well worth attending; a great chance to get involved with current industry debates, catch up with old friends or do a bit of good old-fashioned, in-person networking. Obviously I’m biased, but one session to look out for this year is a panel on Northern music cities – myself and colleagues from across the North will be sharing conversations we’ve been having recently about how we can be stronger and have more influence nationally, if we work together. 

One of my favourite memories from past conferences was the hilarious occasion when  Dave  Haslam gamely continued to try to  interview The Fall’s late great Mark E Smith. Smith was at his unpredictable and non-interviewable best after turning up straight from the pub, armed with a carrier bag full of tinnies.

I’ve been pleased to see that over the last couple of years, the festival has  returned to its roots with grassroots venues at its very heart.  Once again there is a focus on  city centre venues  in a tight geographic area, so you can easily wander between them and see  more of the emerging talent as a result. For me, one of the joys of any festival is happening upon artists you have never seen before, and this format enhances that possibility. 

Certain things from the early years stick in my mind, like early headlining gigs by The Wombats and The Zutons in the glorious surroundings of the Concert Room at St George’s Hall. Alma De Cuba is another venue that stands out where, despite some technical problems around insufficient power, Santigold and The Whip managed to deliver storming sets against the stunning backdrop of this old church. And just up the road from Alma, I was lucky enough to be one of those who made it into a special gig by The Kooks. This was in the grounds of the Bombed Out Church, which under the night sky, looked absolutely spectacular. 

Sound City has always prided itself on platforming emerging artists. Ed Sheeran, Stormzy and Florence Welsh are amongst a long list of those who played the festival on their way to becoming huge stars. I remember being in the Zanzibar when the 1975 played an early gig, there were hundreds outside trying to get into the jam packed club. I didn’t get it then (and still don’t rate the band), but there was such a buzz about them that night that you could tell they were destined to be successful.

Another very different night still sticks in my mind. I was a big fan of US garage band Black Lips and was excited when Revo (the Sound City booker at the time), booked them for The Masque. Their  live sets were always ferocious, but on this occasion, the fiery nature of their performance spilled over into an altercation with the security staff and their heavy handed treatment towards stage divers. The friction generated by the stand-off between band and security was absolutely palpable, and added an extra layer of menace to what was already a high tension the set. 

Sound City became much bigger after those first few years, creatively turning city centre spaces into venues before taking a big step to a large outdoor space at Bramley Moore Docks. By its very nature it was never going to be a pretty site, but when the sun went down it looked amazing. There were memorable headline spots from the likes of John Cale and Flaming Lips, Loyle Carner and Self Esteem. However after a few years on this dockside site, Sound City returned to the city – first in the Baltic, and now right back to the heart of the city centre where it all began. 

Festivals like Sound City are an absolutely vital ingredient in making Liverpool a music city.  We are blessed to have such a great range of festivals including Africa Oyé, On the Waterfront, Liverpool Gospel Music Festival, the big shows at Anfield Stadium  and many more, including newcomers In The Park and Liverpool Celebrates. It isn’t all about Liverpool either, with Future Yard over in Birkenhead presenting Future Now, plus the third year of Knowsley Music Festival in Knowsley. The Salt and Tar in Bootle is also moving onto their second year, after the magical moment of last year where a few thousand Red Rum Club fans continued to party to the band, despite the biblical downpour that was unleashed towards the end of the set. 

Why are festivals important to us? They show the diversity of our music offer and enhance our international reputation as a music city. They encourage music fans to visit the city and, while this has an obvious economic impact in terms of visitor spend, it also means that music fans get to see Liverpool at its finest. Hopefully they’ll want to come back again and again to experience everything the city has to offer. 

Sound City proudly boast that they are the UK’s longest running showcase festival. We should celebrate what they have achieved and look forward to what they do next, as they move closer to celebrating 20 years of lighting up the city.