2017 has already been an incredible year for live music in Liverpool.
After last week’s phenomenal shows from Gary Numan and Brian Wilson it felt like the high-water mark, like nothing could possibly come close to the excitement generated by those shows again this year, but then, not even a week later, comes the fantastic news that Chic ft Nile Rodgers are to headline Liverpool Music Week!
I wasn’t really a Chic fan when I went to see them on the West Holts stage at Glastonbury in 2013. I went along, not knowing a lot about them other than their famous hits, expecting a feel-good novelty disco act at the end of a hard days slog around the mud on too much cider, but in reality they blew me away with an incredible performance of hit after hit!
At first, I wondered why they were doing so many covers – until it dawned on me that Nile Rodgers wrote and produced massive hits for the likes of David Bowie, Madonna, Diana Ross, Duran Duran, INXS, Grace Jones, Steve Winwood, Sister Sledge, Peter Gabriel and more recently of course with the likes of Daft Punk, Disclosure and Sam Smith. And of course, the Sugarhill Gang sampled “Good Times” for Rapper’s delight – arguably the first huge hip-hop song.
Aside from his enviable back catalogue and huge talent for penning and producing hits, Nile Rodgers comes across as a very genuine, likeable guy, with no massive ego.
If you love a party and enjoy great pop music – trust me, you need to get tickets for this one – £40/£45/£55 advance on sale 9am Thursday 3rd August 2017 – set a reminder now! It’s at Echo Arena on 26th October 2017.
Of course Liverpool Music Week isn’t all about Chic, there are 10 days of events across various venues across the city centre including Leaf, The Magnet, EBGBs and the rather wonderful Invisible Wind Factory as well as hidden gems and pop-up venues. It will run for 10 days from 26th October to 4th November.
I’m particularly interested in the 20th Anniversary Celebrations for the Bella Union label (founded by the Cocteau Twin’s Simon Raymonde) plus there is the likes of Mount Kimbie, Perfume Genius, Zola Jesus, AJ Tracey, Princess Nokia and many more.
I’ll be writing more about them once I’ve got over the initial excitement of Chic 🙂
Unsurprisingly, Liverpool Music Week was crowned “Best Metropolitan Festival” at last year’s UK Festival awards. It is the UK’s biggest indoor winter music festival and attracts tens of thousands of visitors to the city each year. It started in 2003 at a single venue and has grown steadily over the past 15 years to the massive event it is now.
More details at www.liverpoolmusicweek.com
