Liverpool Acoustic live music events » About our events

Liverpool Acoustic Live is a double award winning live music event which takes place on the first Friday every other month (February, April, June, August, October and December) in the venue space at 81 Renshaw. Run by Graham Holland and Derek King, it features a mix of local, national and international musicians playing top class folk, roots, blues, singer-songwriter, Americana – in fact, any genre so long as it’s acoustic and we like it! Scroll down to read our booking policy.

[divider] [/divider]

‘Midweek Melodies’ Liverpool Acoustic Open Mic takes place every Wednesday evening in the front cafe bar at 81 Renshaw on Renshaw Street. This event is run by Derek King, and features one or two booked guests with 20-25 minute slots, with the rest of the evening 3 song/15 minute open mic slots. To sign up to the Open Mic in advance leave a request on theFacebook event page. To request a guest slot send a message via our Facebook page. This is a free event so there is no money for expenses or fees.

[divider] [/divider]

Liverpool Acoustic Afternoon takes place takes place on the first Saturday of the month in the venue space at 81 Renshaw. This popular event runs from 1pm to 4pm and is family friendly. The afternoon features two booked guests with 25 minute slots, with the rest of the time filled with open mic performers. These afternoons are always busy and open mic slots should be requested in advance on our Facebook event page.

We also run the occasional Liverpool Acoustic Afternoon as part of other events and festivals.

[divider] [/divider]

Liverpool Acoustic presents are occasional events at other venues. To date we’ve presented shows at the Liverpool Philharmonic Hall Music Room, LEAF on Bold St, Thornton Hough Village Club and Bar, Sefton Park Palm House, and TATE Cafe.

[divider] [/divider]

• The dates, booked acts and ticket links for all future confirmed events can be found at liverpoolacoustic.co.uk/events. If you’d like to receive emails with advance information about our events click here.
• Entry to ticketed events is by advance ticket, or payment on the door (if spaces remain).
• Our regular Liverpool Acoustic Live event takes place at 81 Renshaw (map) on Renshaw Street, Liverpool L1 2SJ. This is normally on the 1st Friday every other month.
• The performance space at 81 Renshaw is in the back room and has a licensed bar.
• The Liverpool Acoustic Spotlight is an online audio show featuring one track from each of the artists due to appear at each new gig.

LIVERPOOL ACOUSTIC LIVE – BOOKING POLICY

If you’re a musician who is interested in playing at our monthly Liverpool Acoustic Live event then feel free to get in touch on our Contact page. (If you want a featured guest slot at our Tuesday open mic see the details above.) To get a good idea of what our Liverpool Acoustic Live event is all about we ask that you first read the blog post here.

1. We like variety and will book any genre or type of music so long as (a) we like it, (b) we think it’s good enough, and (c) it has a prominent acoustic element to it. We tend to favour original music and are unlikely to book generic cover bands.
2. We won’t book anyone unless we’ve heard their music first, either live, online, or on CD. If you’re a band or musician who doesn’t normally play acoustically but are looking for an acoustic gig then you’ll need to send us links so we can hear how you sound.
3. We tend not to book anyone unless they have at least one online presence (website, facebook, bandcamp, soundcloud, reverbnation, etc.) as it’s considerably harder to promote a musician otherwise.
4. We promise to listen to the music of everyone who asks for a slot. If one of us likes it we’ll add you to the list of artists to consider. However, this isn’t a first-come, first served waiting list, and we don’t book people in the order they apply. Instead, for each event we carefully choose acts to create a varied, balanced and complimentary lineup of top-class acoustic music.
5. Names of potential artists will remain on our list for a period of three years from the date of their first enquiry. After this time if they’ve not been booked their name will be removed. They are more then welcome to reapply after this time.
   
6. We try to keep one slot at each event reserved for an out-of-town act, which means the list of these acts to be considered is even longer. We have a maximum of ten out-of-town slots available across the calendar year and tend to book these slots many months in advance, often to coincide with pre-arranged tours. The majority of these will be support slots for the headline acts.
7. With so many musicians, and a limited number of spaces to fill, the reality is that most people who apply won’t get a slot. We’re really sorry, but there’s nothing we can do about this. Please be assured, though, it’s not a reflection on your music or your ability as a musician.
8. After we’ve covered our costs (printing, advertising, room hire, etc), the remaining money from tickets and door entries is divided between the artists, taking into account length of set, distance travelled, and any pre-arranged minimum fee or percentage.
9. 81 Renshaw is a small venue, and with our normal ticket price the amount of money we can pay out-of-town acts is limited. We will pay you as much as we can, but we can’t fund hotels or provide accommodation. If you’re looking for more than £100 as a minimum then this probably isn’t the event for you (unless you’re a big name and can guarantee a large turn-out!).
10. Liverpool Acoustic will promote the event using the website, facebook, twitter, posters, flyers, and local media contacts on our events mailing list. In order to help us do this we ask artists to provide a biography, publicity photos, links to websites, and an mp3 of one of their songs to play on the Liverpool Acoustic Spotlight audio show (and other related shows).
11. PLEASE NOTE: Artists are expected to fully utilise their website, social media profiles, mailing lists, etc, to do their bit to promote the gig and the sale of advance online tickets alongside the efforts already in place from Liverpool Acoustic. Liverpool Acoustic reserves the right to cancel the booking of an artist if they fail to do this. Come on, guys, it’s not rocket science!

What other people are saying about us…

• Live Music Night of the Year 2012 and 2013 – Liverpool Music Awards

• “The definition of a safe pair of hands when it comes to promoting in Liverpool, Liverpool Acoustic consistently champion the new and established among the singer-songwriter fraternity” The Skinny

• “Long may Liverpool Acoustic reign!” Billy Butler, BBC Radio Merseyside

• “Varied and impressive Liverpool Acoustic Live bill” Sean Bradbury, Getintothis

• “A truly memorable experience… I urge all those passionate about acoustic to get stuck into Liverpool Acoustic Live” Annastacia Simon, Studio Lotus

• “I admire Liverpool Acoustic for giving new artists a platform to develop and explore their performing skills, how else can a musician grow?” Chumki Banerjee

• “A warming brew of words and sound in cool and creative surroundings. Phew, what a great night of music.” Sebastian Gahan

• “Mathew Street’s View Two Gallery is an oasis of calm above the choppy waters of Liverpool’s most famous street… a place where acoustic musicians gather every month to play for an appreciative audience at the regular Liverpool Acoustic nights… They’re popular. And very often great.” Alan O’Hare

• “What a great evening! The Liverpool Acoustic team has done it again! Tonight we had performances from four exceptionally talented artists, in the delightful ambience of the View Two Gallery, all for the price of a couple of pints. I don’t know how they do it!” Peter Cowley, FATEA Magazine

• “Awesome night at Liverpool Acoustic. Think I may have found the perfect place to spend Friday nights.” James Addis (Addistock)

about liverpool acoustic live events and booking policy