NO PLAY FESTIVAL
Music fans in Liverpool are really fortunate. Whatever genre you are a fan of there is normally somewhere in the city that caters for you and your particular tribe. This richness is reflected in the incredible array of festivals we are lucky enough to enjoy.
No Play Festival is one of these festivals which will enter its fourth year on 5th September with a day long multi venue event centred on the Arts Club. Headliners this year include Stick To Your Guns, Roman Candle, and Pest Control. If those names don’t mean anything to you then you obviously aren’t down with the kids like me! According to promoters Adam and Ted it’s a festival for people who are into punk and hardcore, emo, or anything alternative. Or as they say’ if you like any form of distorted guitar music then you will find something you like’. And if that still hasn’t got your interest then this year has the added bonus of ‘no barriers’ which means if like me you love jumping on stage before diving back into into the crowd, well then you can fill your boots.
The people behind No Play are Adam McCarter and Ted MacDonald who have been putting on gigs for a decade since they were around 17 years old. They initially met at a gig and because there were very few gigs in Liverpool featuring bands that they liked they decided with the sweet naivety of youth to do something about that themselves. Their first ever event rejoiced in the name of Tedfest and took place at the Magnet when most other venue managers, quite understandably, decided they weren’t going to take a risk on a couple of kids they’d never seen before. Ted and Adam happily own up to having no clue what they were doing in these early days. Although I do think Ted is secretly proud of their first poster he did for the festival which he designed on Powerpoint on a school computer when he was in the 6th form at school.
Both Ted and Adam then attended different Universities but kept their connection to Liverpool alive, promoting regular events under the name Halfway Home. They credit this as an important part of their learning experiences as they began to understand how to work with agents. Their contacts across the music industry also got stronger due to the fact that Ted was now working with a range of artists selling merch for them on their tours.
No Play started up after Covid in 2021 and they utilised Ted’s industry contacts to start to bring some bigger names to do shows in Liverpool. They also started the Guillotine sessions which takes place on the last Tuesday of every month at the Jac. These shows are local band showcases with tickets priced at £3. Like all these sort of events these nights provide an opportunity for bands to get experience of playing in a proper venue. It also helps the promoters to see what talent is coming through and develops an audience and a community. Adam tells me ‘people who met at these shows have gone on to form bands together’.
They started the No Play Festival in 2023 and is often the case with the early years of festivals they lost a fair bit of money over the first few years. Undeterred they persisted and despite all the many issues impacting all festivals they are still here and readying themselves for this year’s edition on 5th September which they see as the culmination of everything they have experienced over the last few years.
Adam and Ted explain to me that while the festival is aimed at a local audience, as it’s reputation has grown they are now welcoming festival goers from as far away as the US. Audiences they tell me are typically between 18 -35 but there’s lots of festival goers outside this age range. And contrary to some stereotypes the gender split in artists and audiences is pretty equal.
Promoting is a risky business at the best of times and it’s harder than ever in today’s difficult climate so I ask Ted and Adam what advice they would give to young promoters starting out now. ‘Just do it. Involve yourselves in the scene, go to shows, and meet people. Local promoters like Veso helped us out at the start and we are always happy to help others out.’
Being honest No Play cover a genre that isn’t really my thing but I’m made up they are doing what they do so well in Liverpool. There’s a massive audience out there and it’s great that local band Loathe, one of the biggest bands from this scene, are doing a huge homecoming show at the Olympia on 17th July (further info at www.liverpoololympia.co.uk)
For further info and tickets for the No Play Festival go to www.noplay.uk
