Goat Girl – One of the acts performing at this year’s Liverpool Music Week (Photo by John W. King)
Bestival and Festival No 6 this weekend pretty much marked the end of the summer outdoor music festival season for 2017. But there’s no need to wait until next year for your next festival fix as there is Liverpool Music Week to look forward to in October, based in some of Liverpool’s finest indoor venues.
Now in it’s 15th incredible year, it’s no surprise that it won “Best metropolitan festival” in the UK Festival awards last year.
Whilst 1 day festivals can sometimes lead to sensory overload, LMW is liberally spread out between the 26th October and 4th November. So, no need for camping or booking time off work.
Chic
I think I mentioned in my initial preview how excited I was that Chic are opening the first night. They aren’t just a novelty 70s Disco Band, Nile Rodgers has penned and/or produced massive hits for some of the worlds biggest and influential artists, from Bowie to Madonna to Daft Punk. Every song they play is a crowd-pleaser and I can’t think of a better act to kick off the party!
The Orielles
In the 1980s, particularly around the C-86 era, “Indie” bands had the independence to create the music they wanted to create, without an accountant breathing down their neck to produce hits. At the other extreme, Stock Aitken Waterman and “hair rock” had pretty much taken over the Top 40 with formulaic pop and rock, so for those of us who wanted something more interesting, the Indie labels gave us our fix.
Time moves on, and the meaning of Indie has changed – the commercial success of BritPop lead a lot of “career plan” artists to try and capture the sound, without really capturing the soul of what made it special, leading to the term “landfill Indie”.
So when I say The Orielles are an Indie band – I mean it in the best possible way, producing timeless exquisite jangle surf pop up there with the best material by the likes of The Shop Assistants, The Fizzbombs and Mighty Lemon Drops but with enough originality to be more than just a tribute to those great bands.
Check them out and get down to the closing party where they share the bill with Everything Everything, Zola Jesus and Perfume Genius.
Bella Union 20th Anniversary
The Bella Union record label was of course started by Simon Raymonde of the Cocteau Twins, and has been home to a huge number of cutting edge artists over the years including: John Grant, Fleet Foxes, Cashier No. 9, PINS, Roy Harper, Mercury Rev, Lanterns on the Lake, I Break Horses, The Low Anthem, Emmy the Great. In my opinion it’s a label really worth celebrating!
Simon will be performing with his current band Lost Horizons and supported by BC Camplight and Hilang Child
Dawn Penn
Positive Vibration have been doing a sterling job of building a reggae scene in Liverpool, successfully bringing iconic reggae legends to the city. Their Horace Andy show was fabulous a couple of weeks back.
They have teamed up to bring the incredible Dawn Penn to Liverpool Music Week.
Everyone knows her massive 1994 hit “You don’t love me (No, No, No)” but she’s no 1 hit wonder – her earliest material dates back to 1967.
Zola Jesus
Reminiscent of Dead Can Dance, with elements of Joy Division and Kate Bush, her cinematic symphonies are a joy to the ears! Word has it that she is also excellent live.
Japanese Breakfast
I don’t know a lot about them to be honest, but on first listen it sound like quirky uplifting experimental pop that requires further investigation.
Jungle
Some people are quite sniffy about Jungle, and fair enough they are unashamedly pop – you’re as likely to find them on Radio 1 as 6 Music, or indeed in an advert or as background music in a tv show. But they are good!
I’ve listened to their debut a lot since it was released and often when I listen to an album a lot, there are tracks that I start to tire of and skip, but I tend to listen to Jungle’s debut in it’s entirety.
They weren’t a band I really thought about seeing live (particularly after seeing the, frankly dreadful videos for Busy Earnin’ and The Heat) but they were playing Glastonbury a few years ago, and when you’re at a festival it’s easy to go and check out an artist on spec – and they put on a surprisingly good performance, and it was great to hear their songs played loud. Well worth checking out, plus the Invisible Wind Factory is a great venue.
Dan Croll
Stoke Born, Liverpool based artist Dan Croll had phenomenal success with his hit “From Nowhere” which appeared on the Grand Theft Auto soundtrack, and pops up in adverts and on tv shows. I last saw him at Beacons festival several years ago, where he put on a good show, so I’m keen to check him out again.
I say that was the last time I saw him, I actually saw him recently walking down Bold St and I acknowledged him enthusiastically – which freaked him out a bit! I must keep in mind that just because I’m friends with someone on Facebook and been to a couple of their gigs, doesn’t mean to say they know who I am 🙂
These are the acts who jumped out at me, but it looks like it’s well worth check out the others. Goat Girl for example are excellent live.
Here is the full timetable, so it’s time to get planning, and don’t forget to book your ticket – at only £65 for a week’s worth of entertainment (and you don’t even need to book time off work) they are bound to go quickly!
26th Oct
Chic Feat. Nile Rodgers – Liverpool Echo Arena
27th Oct
Mount Kimbie – Invisible Wind Factory
28th Oct
Kero Kero Bonito – Heebie Jeebies
29th Oct
Dan Croll – Arts Club Theatre
Spinning Coin – Heebie Jeebies
Abstract Orchestra Plays Madvillainy – 24 Kitchen St
30th Oct
Bella Union 20th Anniversary – Leaf
Girl Ray – Heebie Jeebies
31st Oct
Japanese Breakfast – Heebie Jeebies
Blanck Mass – 24 Kitchen St
1st Nov
Jungle – Invisible Wind Factory
Childhood – The Magnet
Little Club – Heebie Jeebies
2nd Nov
Dawn Penn – District
Goat Girl – Heebie Jeebies
3rd Nov
Princess Nokia + Gaika + Moor Mother – Invisible Wind Factory
Gengahr – The Magnet
4th Nov
CLOSING PARTY: Everything Everything, AJ Tracey, Zola Jesus, Perfume Genius, The Orielles – Liverpool Guild of Students
