It’s the merry month of May, and festival season is now in full swing. Locally we’ve got the (free) International Pop Overthrow, and the (free) Crosby Music Festival. Unfortunately the Hub Festival (21st to 22nd) is now charging (presumably so they can pay for Funeral For A Friend…) and Liverpool Sound City (19th to 21st) has slimmed down it’s local acoustic input considerably from previous years. Maybe it’s a sign of the times.
Here at Liverpool Acoustic we’d like to give a huge thank you to everyone who turned up to the Palm House last month for the Liverpool Acoustic gig featuring the legendary Leon Rosselson. A large, appreciative crowd were entertained by opening act Rich Man’s Ruin before Leon took to the stage with his one man show which took us on a journey through five decades of songwriting. We had such a great night that we’d be interested in doing it again, so if you have an idea who we should book for the Palm House drop us a line.
LIVERPOOL ACOUSTIC EXTRA
Our new monthly event takes place on the second Friday of each mont and continues to bring you some of the best acoustic talent that the local scene has to offer, from established acoustic performers to indie bands playing acoustic sets.
You’ll find the next Liverpool Acoustic eXtra on Friday 13th May featuring the following fantastic artists.
- Nick Ellis – the lead singer of The Maybes treats us to a solo acoustic set
- Sense of Freedom – are a local rock band turning their hand to the acoustic stage especially for Liverpool Acoustic eXtra
- The Southbound Attic Band – are firm favourites at the View Two with their songs of distant oceans and tales from the riverbank.
- John Holmes – runs his own acoustic night at the Blackburne Arms and is a well-known face on the local scene
Tickets are available in advance at £4 from wegottickets.com and £5 on the door.
Doors open at 8.00pm with music starting at 8.30pm sharp. The night finishes at 11.15pm.
Facebook event is here.
LIVERPOOL ACOUSTIC LIVE
This month’s Liverpool Acoustic Live takes place on Friday 27th May, and is a varied showcase of local and national musical talent.
- David Harbottle and the Friendly Cats are an 8 piece band from Liverpool featuring various combinations of acoustic guitar, bass, trombone, drums, keyboard, violin, viola, and electric guitar. The band members met at the University of Liverpool and have been firm friends ever since.
- Alex Hulme is a second year LIPA student from Garstang in Lancashire who has already released two well-received EPs on the Cityscape label. Great songs and sweet guitar playing make Alex one not to be missed.
- Troy Faid from Leeds is a “stunning guitarist and songwriter” [Tom Robinson – BBC6 Music] who is playing for us the day before appearing at the Strummercamp Festival. We like our guitarists at Liverpool Acoustic Live and are delighted to welcome Troy to Liverpool.
Tickets are £5 available online at wegottickets.com/liverpoolacoustic
Entry on the door is £5, so you’ll save money by ordering your tickets in advance. It also means you’ll have more cash in your pocket on the night to spend in Ken Martin’s lovely View Two Gallery bar.
Doors open at 8.00pm with music starting at 8.30pm sharp. The night finishes at 11.15pm.
Facebook event is here.
DIARY NEWS
After last month’s unprescedented royal flush of new events (see what we did there?), May is not surprisingly quiet. Here are the movers and shakers this month.
All change…
- Last month we told you about Soul Doubt‘s Wednesday evening residency at the Hilton. The news is it’s been moved to Sunday afternoons from 1pm to 4pm.
You say goodbye…
- This month we say goodbye to… er.. nothing. We’ve not heard of any regular events finishing so it’s “as you were, chaps”.
And I say hello…
- We’ve just been told about the Stonetown Sessions, a monthly acoustic show upstairs at the Zanzibar on the last Saturday of the month. Entry is £5 on the door and it runs from 8.30pm until midnight. The format is to have five acts on each night, with established artists playing alongside up and coming talent. Thanks to Alan Roy for filling in the details – it’s just the kind of event we like here at Liverpool Acoustic!
- Sundays at Sudley started as a one-off event, but the venue manager was so happy with how it turned out it’s set to become a regular event. The next one is 1st May (if you read this in time!) at Sudley House on Mossley Hill Road and runs from 1pm to 4pm. Details get posted on the Come Strut Your Stuff facebook group and if you want to perform you can turn up on the day or email kehoesongs@yahoo.co.uk to book a slot.
MAY DIARY SELECTION BOX
Here’s a selection of some of the acoustic events taking place in May. Click on the event in the diary for full details and links. And remember, the information in the diary is only as good as the information we’ve been given, so if you know of something that’s wrong or out of date please let us know.
- Friday 6th – Niall Teague and The Fast Company @ St Brides. Visiting Liverpool from Ireland, Niall and the band will be supported by The Ratty Little Fingers. 8pm start and £5 on the door. As always at St Bride’s it’s BYOB (Bring Your Own *Bottle/Booze/Bubbly/Bacardi Breezers) *delete as appropriate!
- Saturday 7th – Jam in the Park II @ Vale Park, New Brighton. The second of this summer’s free acoustic concerts featuring resident band The Talismen, plus special guest performers from Wirral, Liverpool and North Wales. Free parking, cafe open all day, and lots of lovely deck chairs!
- Sunday 8th – James Vincent McMorrow @ The Static Gallery – another cracking gig from Harvest Sun, with support from Eva Petersen. Tickets £8.
- Monday 9th – Come Strut Your Stuff @ The Egg Cafe. This regular event moves from its normal ‘first Monday of the month’ date to the second Monday when there’s a bank holiday. 8pm start, 7.30pm to get your name on the list. Open floor poetry and acoustic music in one of the best little venues in town.
- Wednesday 11th – Olof Arnalds @ The Static Gallery. Harvest Sun bring the lovely Olof Arnalds to Liverpool, with support from Jonas Alaska. Tickets £7 from Probe or Ticketline.
- Thursday 12th – Real Ale Event @ Bier Keller. Courtesty of Liverpool CAMRA, with event has live acoustic music and open mic too – a perfect combination!
- Thursday 12th – Joanna Chapman-Smith [Canada] @ Grateful Fred’s. 8pm doors, and tickets only £6.50.
- Friday 13th – Liverpool Acoustic eXtra @ The View Two Gallery, with Nick Ellis, Sense of Freedom, The Southbound Attic Band, and John Holmes. Tickets £4 in advance and £5 on the door. Doors open at 8pm and music starts at 8.30pm
- Saturday 14th – Mellowtone @ The View Two Gallery. Mellowtone are back to their roots at the View Two with the return of Jack Cheshire, and support from Ian Dunn and Mark Byrne, plus Beaten Track DJs. Doors 7.45pm, and tickets £5/4 from Skiddle.
- Thursday 26th – Woody Guthrie Folk Club @ The Ship & Mitre – these are regularly sold out well in advance, so get your tickets while they’re still available.
- Friday 27th – Liverpool Acoustic Live @ the View Two Gallery, featuring David Harbottle and the Friendly Cats, Alex Hulme, and Troy Faid from Leeds. Tickets £5 in advance, £6 on the door. Doors open 8pm and music starts at 8.30pm.
- Saturday 28th – The Stonetown Sessions @ Upstairs at The Zanzibar. 8.30pm to midnight, £5 on the door. 5 acoustic acts mixing established artists with up and coming talent.
AND FINALLY…
The button above says it all! If you haven’t done so already then why not join us on Facebook? You can reach our page by clicking the logo or here. Not only do you get that warm fuzzy feeling of belonging, you also get automatically invited to all our events!
If you’d like to review a gig or CD just drop us a line using the Contact Us form or by emailing contact[at]liverpoolacoustic.co.uk
Graham, on behalf of the Liverpool Acoustic Team