Event type: Workshop

Liverpool Philharmonic Music Industry Careers Fest 2026

 

Our annual music industry careers day is back – bigger and better than ever in 2026!  

Sponsored by Sentric, in partnership with AdLib, LIPA, UK Music, PLASA and PPL

Want to kickstart your career in music? We’ve got everything you need.

Hear from Liverpool legends Guy Chambers (songwriter to stars including Robbie Williams, Tina Turner, Diana Ross and Mark Ronson) and Natasha Hamilton, who topped the charts with pop group Atomic Kitten and has since founded Morpho Records. 

The largest music careers event in the North West returns, with industry powerhouses ready to share their vast experience and how they got to where they are.

Sponsored by Sentric, this year’s event also features BBC, UK Music, PPL, Spotify UK, Universal Music, Small Green Shoots, PLASA and Adlib, who will be on hand, sharing advice to help you find a path to success in the music industry. There’ll be panel discussions, hands-on workshops and fascinating demonstrations, covering everything you’d want to know about working in music, including: 

  • Music industry myth busting 
  • Building your career as a music creator
  • Building your brand, social media and building your fanbase
  • Music distribution and getting your music heard
  • Music broadcasting 
  • Working in Artist Development
  • AdLib music tech showcase 
  • How to stay healthy, creative and sustainable in Music

​So whether you’re looking for advice and inspiration, or ready to take the first step and launch your career, you’ll find it all here.

Music Careers Marketplace

We’ll be hosting our Music Careers Marketplace, where attendees will have the opportunity to chat to representatives from leading music organisations and employers. The Music Careers Marketplace will be specially tailored across the morning and afternoon sessions, but organisations and employers such as BBC, Help Musicians, Future Yard, Glyndebourne Academy, JAMES, LIPA Music Mark, Musician’s Union, PPL, RNCM, UK Music & Discover! Creative Careers, Young Sounds UK, City of Liverpool College, Edge Hill University, LMA, SAE & ICMP, DITTO and The Creative Well will be in attendance throughout the day.

 

Alison Spittle

 

Age guidance 14+Under 16s must be accompanied by an adult.

Following an award winning sold-out run at the Edinburgh Fringe, Alison Spittle is touring “her finest show to date” (The Scotsman).

A man told Alison to sit down and now she’s doing a whole stand up show about it. After an encounter on a train with a man triggers a series of events that change Alison’s life, she ponders if it’s easier to change herself than the world around her. This is a big show about making yourself smaller.

Alison has made appearances on House of Games, Celebrity Goggle Box and Pointless Celebrities, and on the popular podcasts Off Menu, The Gargle and Trusty Hogs. She is the co-host of the new podcast Magazine Party, and has also co-hosted Wheel of Misfortune and Guilty Feminist. You may have also seen Alison as the support act for Fern Brady, Rob Delaney and Maria Bamford on tour.

 

Here We Go Gathering Cups in May

 

Spend an evening in the company of Reds legends Phil Thompson, Alan Kennedy and Jimmy Case, presented by Peter McDowall and featuring singing narrator Marc Kenny alongside esteemed fans from every era of LFC greatness.

The story of Liverpool in Europe, from Shankly to Klopp, St Etienne, trains to Rome, on the wine in Gay Paree to jelly legs in Rome, that Night in Istanbul and Divock in Madrid, when the Reds go Gathering Cups in May the fans go gathering stories and songs. Our finest stories from days on the ale in Europe, all told in one night. Here We Go Gathering Cups in May.

 

Visual Vernacular Workshop with Zoë McWhinney

10:30am – 5pm

Join one of the UK’s leading Visual Vernacular (VV) performers, Zoë McWhinney, for an immersive full-day workshop exploring the power of visual storytelling.

Visual Vernacular blends sign language, mime and gesture to create cinematic narratives that captivate Deaf and hearing audiences alike. Through precise use of facial expression, body movement and spatial awareness, VV performers sculpt entire worlds in the air — shifting seamlessly between characters, objects and environments. Stories can zoom in and out, slow down or speed up, and unfold like films projected directly into the audience’s imagination.

In this workshop, participants will:

Explore the foundations of Visual Vernacular storytelling

Learn how to create clear visual narratives using gesture, facial expression and body positioning

Experiment with role shifting, scale, perspective and rhythm

Develop confidence in creating vivid “long shots” and “close-ups”

Gain insight into how VV can be used in performance, poetry and theatre.

The day will be practical, playful and creative, suitable for performers, poets, signers and anyone interested in visual storytelling.

About Zoë McWhinney

Zoë McWhinney (She/They) is a BSL poet and Visual Vernacular performer based in South East London. Born to a Deaf Northern Irish father and a Belgian-Finnish CODA mother, Zoë grew up deeply immersed in Deaf culture alongside her three Deaf/HoH brothers.

Zoë has performed at major venues including The Roundhouse, Sam Wanamaker Playhouse and The Barbican, and made history as the first Deaf and BSL poet published in British Sign Language by Modern Poetry and Translation magazine. Their work has been shortlisted for the Forward Prizes for Poetry 2025 – Best Single Poem (Performed). Zoë’s BSL poetry performance of Dot Miles’ classic poem The Staircase (available for free online at LumoTV) showcases their exceptional ability to create rich, cinematic storytelling using elements of VV in her BSL.

They served as British Deaf Association BSL Poet Laureate for 2023–24 and 2025–26, and leads workshops for the Deaf community in range of settings from afternoon teas to and Deafinitely Youth Theatre and academic institutions such as the Royal Central School and The Royal Conservatoire of Scotland. Known internationally as her Instagram alter-ego “rapuznel,” she shares her art as a Visual Vernacular (VV) performer in various shows and competitions online and offline. She has been invited to perform her sign language poetry around the globe from Oslo, Norway; Piran, Slovenia and the United Nations headquarters in Geneva to Osaka in Japan.

photography:

Stephen Iliffe

Deaf Mosaic
deaf-mosaic.com

Collective Encounters Open Day

Drop in any time between 11am and 2pm to meet our staff and participants, explore some of our recent work, and get involved in fun activities led by our members, to help raise money for our work over the coming year.

This is a great chance to find out more about what Collective Encounters does and how you can get involved.

The event is completely free to attend and there is no need to book. If you would like to make an online donation during the event, it will be DOUBLED as part of the Big Give’s Arts for Impact campaign.

Wellington Yard Open Day

 

Join us as residents open the yard to visitors. Open studios from Olive Can Fly stained glass, RMo Pottery Studio, Fibres woodworking co-operative, plus challenges by on-site powerlifting gym, Essential Strength, and excellent pies by Piesmiths. Pop-ups by Bold As Brass Tattoo studio and Mary Mary Florals.Dereks and Bold Street Coffee will also be joining us on site, bringing sandwiches and coffee.Entry is free. All are welcome.Mostly step free access but access to the lift to the studios on the first floor are via a small set of stairs.See socials for more information:@wellingtonyard@olivecanfly@rmostudio@fibres_workshop@essentialstrengthgym@piesmiths

Wellington YardAccessible from Picton Road or Wellington RoadLiverpoolL15 4JN

 

Creative Bookbinding Techniques

In this one day workshop, you will be guided through three creative ways of making and binding your own books – Japanese Stab Stitch, Blizzard Binding and Concertina Binding.

You’ll learn binding, paper folding, tearing and creating concertina pages for your books. You’ll end the session with a set of handmade, hand-bound books to take home with you.

Handmade books are perfect for using up any paper, printmaking or crafting offcuts and the finished books make beautiful gifts.

£75 (all materials included)

 

Hummingbird Healing

Hummingbird Healing CIC drop-in wellbeing session at the Williamson.

 

We’re looking forward to welcoming you to our new community wellbeing session.

Sessions will take place on the second Monday of each month. We’ll take our inspiration from the surroundings and blend crafting projects – Supplies will be provided – with chat, connection, meditation and mindfulness.

 

About

Hummingbird Healing CIC is a new Community Interest Company (CIC).

We are a small organisation focused on bringing beautiful ancient healing practices like meditation and Reiki into spaces to support wellbeing in a creative and crafty way. We are an inclusive organisation and welcome people of all genders.

We look to the community to guide what we do and how we do it.

 

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Creative Crafts for Adults

Join Amber Button CIC for a relaxed, friendly short course exploring book folding, decoupage and weaving in the beautiful setting of Williamson Art Gallery.

Funded by National Lottery, Recraft for Change explores creative ways to reuse and repurpose everyday items that might otherwise go to waste.
FREE to attend.
No experience needed and all materials provided. Plus, the lovely Williamson café will be open for delicious refreshments.
To book: WhatsApp 07727 102956
More about Amber Button CIC 
Follow on social media:  Facebook   and  Instagram
Dates:
Monday 2, 9 & 16 March
1:00 – 3:00pm

Guest Artist: Kate Stewart

Factory Floor Jewels is a growing UK jewellery brand by independent design-maker Kate Stewart.

 

Each piece is meticulously handmade in her Liverpool studio and tells the story of her fascination with the engineering and marine history of the city which stems from her relationship with her engineer father.

 

Inspired by the enduring strength and beauty of industrial materials and processes, each Factory Floor Jewels collection features an eclectic mix of materials, including silver, steel, brass, and copper, creating jewellery that is both captivating and versatile.

Most of her designs begin with scrap or waste materials gathered from local engineering workshops.  Her final collections sometimes feature these repurposed materials and all silver used is recycled.

 

Kate creates pieces that have a timeless look, with clean lines and classic silhouettes that never go out of style.  Factory Floor Jewels pieces tell a story and are always conversation starters designed to make you stand out from the crowd.  They also make perfect gifts for those who appreciate unique design and a touch of industrial flair.

 

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