Future Yard welcomes the return of Duke Garwood, a multi-instrumentalist and singer-songwriter known for his brooding, atmospheric sound that blends blues, rock, and experimental elements.
An often collaborator with the likes of Mark Lanegan, Duke has a distinctive sonic style marked by deep, textured guitar work and haunting vocals. Garwood’s music evokes a sense of dark introspection, drawing listeners into a world of smoky, raw emotion.
Daníel Hjálmtýsson and Whelligan supports.
Future Yard are thrilled to welcome UK Garage legend Wookie to the Future Yard decks on Saturday 29th March.
A name that has become synonymous with a distinct sound that has shaped the landscape of electronic music, Jason Chue, aka Wookie, stands tall as one of the most influential founding fathers of UK Garage.
From the early days of his musical career, Wookie released timeless classics like ‘Scrappy’, ‘Down On Me’, and ‘Storm’ through his esteemed label, ManChu Recordings. In 1995, he signed with Jazzie B’s Soul II Soul production team. He subsequently embarked on a solo journey, working tirelessly to create his own distinctive sound. His dedication paid off as he released a series of white labels, instantly taking his career to new heights. The talented producer secured a deal with Jazzie B’s label and released his 2000 groundbreaking self-titled album. Rising to prominence with his UK top 10 hit ‘Battle’ and his remix of Sia’s ‘Little Man’, Wookie’s sound has become a major influence on a new generation of producers, including the likes of Disclosure, Rudimental, Skream, and Benga. His style laid the foundation for the birth of the current UK-born electronic bass movement.
With a busy production and DJing schedule, and the continued growth of his ManChu Recordings label, Wookie joins us as he embarks on the next exciting chapter of his musical career.
Future Yard are thrilled to welcome the funk soul powerhouse Tom McGuire and the Brassholes.
Combining rich arrangements with meticulous songcraft and untouchable in live performance, the band’s music is full of vitality, the sound of a new niche being cut, classic pop sensibility with high musicianship values and rewarding arrangement and rich production. At the root is soulful song, telling stories and sharing experiences of joy, turmoil, loss, celebration, sadness, happiness, confidence, frailty.
All told hyper distilled and delivered in finely honed funk pop parcels of aesthetic joy. Life is confusing and hard, but music is fun and great, so let’s talk about it whilst at one and the same time, getting down.
On Saturday 12th April, Future Yard teams up with BEFORCE PRODUCTION to bring reggae legends Manasseh, Brother Culture & Earl 16 to Birkenhead for their first-ever live date in the north of England.
Manasseh, a legendary selector, producer, and UK dub pioneer since the 1980s, built the Manasseh sound system in 1985 with a group of friends with the aim of playing reggae with a roots focus. In 1987, Nick began his show on Kiss FM. Manasseh has produced, mixed, written, and remixed music for many other artists and labels, including Reggae Roast Records, Foundation Records, Digi Signal Records, Dubkasm, Soothsayers, Emiliana Torrini, Pama International, Resonators, The Drop, J Star, The Trojans, and Rootikal Records amongst many others.
Brother Culture, one of the most important figures in the world of reggae and dub, is from Brixton, London, and has left a sizeable stamp on the genre across the globe. He has worked with many big soundsystems and producers, including Jah Revelation Muzik, King Tafari Love, On-U Sound, Manasseh, Mungo’s HiFi, Zion Train, and The Prodigy. Brother Culture shows no signs of slowing down, continuing to inspire new generations of listeners and artists alike.
Earl 16, a Jamaican reggae singer, deepened his involvement with Rasta culture, with most of his work based on roots, reality, and spiritual themes. His solo career continued growing in the late 70s and early 80s, as he sang for reggae luminaries such as Augustus Pablo, Mikey Dread, Earl Morgan from The Heptones, Linval Thompson, and the Ray Symbolic Sound System by Ranking Joe and Jah Screw. Over the years, Earl 16 has continued to live in London, working with many of the UK’s top producers.
Lisa Knapp and Gerry Diver, a dynamic duo, fuse their deep-seated love for English and Irish folk traditions into a vibrant project that’s as grounded in tradition as it is daring in innovation.
With Knapp’s distinctive voice and her skill in weaving the ancient with the contemporary, alongside Diver’s fiddle virtuosity and trailblazing production, they’re crafting an auditory journey that honours the past while boldly stepping into new musical territories.
Are you aged 16-24? Always wanted to produce your own electronic music? Got skills already that you want to develop?
Starting on Monday 10th March, 6pm – 8pm they’re partnering with Scrapyard Studios for a 6 week series of music production skills workshops as part of their project: Queue Up And Dance.
Every Monday 10th March – 14th April, 6pm, Scrapyard Studios
Melissa Kains, founder of female and non-binary DJ collective Sisu Crew will lead the workshops teaching us how to mix using different equipment, set up the decks and produce our own tracks.There’s also a chance to perform live mixing with your own track at a very special Quadrant Park event in May.
*Please note* one booking signs you up for all 6 of the workshops running every Monday from 10th March, 6pm – 8pm.
Queue Up And Dance celebrates legendary Bootle nightclub Quadrant Park, the UK’s first legal rave all-nighter. Although the club was short-lived, growing popular in early 1990 and closing at the end of 1991, it played a pivotal role in the evolution of club culture in the North West and beyond.
Queue Up And Dance is being funded by the Historic England Everyday Heritage grant programme, celebrating working-class histories. Made possible with National Lottery Heritage Fund, with thanks to National Lottery players and UKSPF who provided funding for laptops and software.
A nervous system reset.
One minute, the sound vibrates through you, your hairs pulled on end. The next: a blissful calm descends. There’s furious amplified sound and then mysterious, holy light to slow the pulse back down…Ever felt overstimulated by your phone screen? Ben Nobuto’s SERENITY 2.0 is a glitched-out collage of frenzied strings, percussion and samples. It cycles restlessly through Japanese pop, news anchors and vocal-fried YouTubers – but the calm after the doomscrolling is worth the ride.
Musician and DJ Nabihah Iqbal has a similarly eclectic approach to art and music. Her work takes her everywhere, from Boiler Room raves to the Turner Prize. What Psyche Felt, Nabihah’s first classical commission for string quartet and electronics, will be given its world premiere by the Collective. The finale? Eric Prydz’s colossal house anthem Opus, reimagined.
What Psyche Felt is commissioned by Manchester Collective with support from their Commissioning Club.
Pianist-composer Belle Chen brings her unique immersive live performance to The Tung Auditorium, reimagining her whimsical and imaginative album Ravel In The Forest live with award-winning Engines Orchestra Strings led by Phil Meadows (Metropole Orkest, BBC Concert Orchestra, Royal Northern Sinfonia) and special guests.
Notes fall like raindrops, quickening pace as the clouds gather. The piano melody splish sploshes into the electronic soundscape; the trees become denser, the journey more profound. Belle Chen’s new album Ravel In The Forest, leads the listener through ancient woodland, quiet clearings and tropical canopies. We’re accompanied by birds, a chameleon, a dragonfly – the wonder of the natural world is imbued into this imaginary space.
Praised as an artist that is “Original and provocative… feels like the sense of discovery” (Brian Eno), the Australian Music Prize-nominated artist’s latest album charted at #7 on UK Official Chart (Classical) and #15 on Australia’s ARIA Chart (Classical).
In her live shows, Belle takes a quirky, yet tender approach to musical storytelling. With the unmistakable influences of Maurice Ravel, Ryuichi Sakamoto and Joe Hisaishi’s melodic sweetness shining through, Belle blends sonic synth explorations and free flowing improvisations that feel equally at home on jazz or experimental stages.
Fresh off the 2024 EFG London Jazz Festival, Belle’s sonic explorations, classical virtuosity, and free flowing improvisations feels equally at home on jazz, classical, and experimental stages.
Presented in an innovative surround audio format, this special performance will sonically transform The Tung Auditorium.
Join Bluecoat for an afternoon of performances from young and emerging artists including sets from Remée and Jed Timms.
This event focuses on the next generation of Liverpool musicians, and is a chance for young performers and music fans to network and connect.
Sun 2 Mar 2pm
Free, drop in
Keith Marley takes over Future Yard on Saturday 8th February for a night filled with the best choice cuts in dub, reggae, house, beats and more.
A favourite across the region, they’re celebrating Keith’s 30 years behind the wheels of steel with FREE ENTRY and deals on drinks and pizza all night long.