Above the Beaten Track this Saturday 30th August 2014

All you need to know about Above the Beaten Track this Saturday 

Above the Beaten Track Festival
Saturday 30th August
Location: The Bluecoat, School Lane, Liverpool, L13 3BX
Admission: Free

Following a two-year hiatus, the grass-roots event is back at The Bluecoat – shining a light on the city’s cultural underground; showcasing live music, DJs, artists, makers and audio-visual extravaganzas.  It remains FREE entry and open to everyone.

This year, Above the Beaten Track has been embraced as part of the Liverpool International Music Festival (LIMF) and the 2014 event will once again be held in the Bluecoat, the oldest surviving building in Liverpool city centre.

Above the Beaten Track is a festival for Liverpool.  With a philosophy of inclusion, it not only provides a platform for the hardworking musicians, DJs, artists and traders of the city but also lets the festival’s friends and partners have a hand in curating and running the event.

BBC Radio Merseyside’s Dave Monks will be opening the festival’s Garden Stage proceedings at 1.30pm which starts with Sunstack Jones, followed by Rebel Soul presenting Silent Cities and the Thom Morecroft Band. We’re excited to welcome the Threshold House Band which will be accompanying Emilio Pinchi, Mersey Wylie, Vanessa Murray and Alx Green. Mellowtone and Liverpool Acoustic will be joining forces to present Only Child, Paul Straws, and TJ & Murphy. And finally, Mellowtone and Beaten Tracks present TG Elias, ME & Deboe, Nick Ellis, and Broken Men. The festival closes with blues, soul and rock ‘n’ roll revival from The Viper Kings, featuring former members of The Zutons and The Coral.

Liverpool Acoustic will once again be compering the Sandon Room stage which kicks off at 12.00pm with Wild Writers, followed by storytelling and music from harpist and local folk legend Stan Ambrose at 2.00pm. This is followed from 2.30pm to 9.00pm by music from Rosenblume, Simon McKelvie, Rob Jones & Rob White, Jo Bywater, Simon Herron, Sophia Ben Yousef, Dominic Dunn, Niamh Jones, and Alex Hulme. Also joining us will be the Red Sofa Sessions featuring Mark Pountney and Oliver Gosling, and Threshold presenting Ben Stafford and Cheskimo.

Upstair in the Bar from 12.00pm sees Beaten Tracks programmed DJs with Mike Stout, Lord Borthbury, Colin Dilnot, Bryan Biggs, Mike Badger, Josh Ray, Phil Charnock, and Dave Butcher. The bar is also home to Screenadelica’s pop-up poster exhibition and a record fair.

The Hub plays host to Draw The Line for the adults and the Bluecoat’s Explore for the children. There’s music in the front garden too with Merseyrail Sound Station and occasional appearances from the Red Sofa Sessions. Finally, Capstan’s Bazaar will be taking up residence in the empty unit behind the garden formally occupied by Nook & Cranny.

Full details about all of the artists and partners, along with timings for each of the acts, can be found at abovethebeatentrack.co.uk

You can listen to a preview of Above the Beaten Track 2014 as featured on BBC Radio Merseyside’s Folkscene programme with Stan Ambrose. Use the SoundCloud player below or click here.

This year Above the Beaten Track is supported by Liverpool Craft Beer, American Pizza Slice, and Arts Council England.

The festival’s charity partner for 2014 is The CALM Zone

Follow the event on twitter at @AboveTheBeatenT and the hashtag #AtBT