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.
After the huge success of the first Dark Reign metal festival in June, Future Yard are delighted to welcome back the 2025 edition on Saturday 3rd May.
Heart Of A Coward are celebrated stalwarts of the British metal scene, and they headline this year’s event alongside deathcore outfit Osiah from Sunderland. Joining them are Raised By Owls, Lokust, Draconian Reign, Dekaytah, Exhumation, Asleep At The Helm and Absolence, with more still to be announced.
More than just a festival, Dark Reign is a celebration of the enduring spirit of the music community in Merseyside. Immerse yourself in an all-day celebration of music, surrounded by energy and passion, with international artists from across the metal scene alongside the resurgent local metal music community.
Enormous Vocal Ensemble: A One-of-a-Kind Singing Experience!
Calling singers of all ages and abilities!
Enormous Vocal Ensemble is an exciting singing event in which the audience becomes an instant choir! Under the guidance of award-winning singing leader Jennifer John (Cream Classical, The Voice UK, Liverpool Complaints Choir), you’ll discover the powerful effects of collective singing.
Enormous Vocal Ensemble is designed for us to sing side by side and use our united voices in solidarity at a time when mainstream rhetoric often convinces us that we are different from one another! Let’s use our voices to connect, harmonise, instil confidence and celebrate community together.
The concept for Enormous Vocal Ensemble is this:
A song written by the guest artist is chosen
Jennifer John creates a unique choral arrangement of it and teaches it on the day to the audience who become Enormous Vocal Ensemble
The guest artist joins the event and sings the song with the ensemble
The event ends with a Q&A session
This year’s special guest is Joan Wasser aka Joan As Police Woman. She is a prolific singer/songwriter and an exceptional multi-instrumentalist whose uniquely distinctive sound continues to woo audiences globally, She approaches music and the creation of it like it is her second skin. She writes of love and loss in ways that are relatable and one cannot help but be drawn in by her intoxicating honesty.
The inexhaustible list of artists Joan has worked with is phenomenal and includes the late, great Nigerian/French master drummer and co-creator of Afrobeat, Tony Allen (Fela Kuti, Hugh Masekela, Grace Jones, The Good The Bad & The Queen), MeShell Ndegeocello (fresh from her Grammy award for Best Alternative Jazz Album 2025), the divine Anohni and The Johnsons (formerly Anthony and The Johnsons), David Okumu (The Invisible, 7 Generations), Rufus Wainwright, Nora Jones, Gorillaz, Iggi Pop, Lou Reed and so many more.
About to embark on a world tour to promote her 12th album, Lemons, Limes and Orchids, Joan As Police Woman has graciously agreed to be the special guest for Enormous Vocal Ensemble which is a real honour. The song for this year’s workshop is What A World taken from her 8th album, Joanthology.
No prior singing experience is needed—just bring passion, compassion, open heartedness, curiosity, enthusiasm, some water and comfy clothes.
“A little bit of defiance always goes a lot further when we do it together!” Jennifer John x
This event will be filmed.
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.
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 an interactive voyage of discovery for all ages around the Museum of Liverpool’s Wondrous Place gallery.
Discover how Liverpool became the pop capital of the world as we celebrate Liverpool’s creative entertainers, musicians and so much more. This is a very special welcome and introduction to our musical heritage, during a week in which Liverpool platforms its musical talent. Pop quiz responses and singing aren’t compulsory!
The safaris take place at 3pm on 3-4 May, 19-22 June, 24-26 August 2025
Each song city safari takes around 30-45 minutes.
There are a limited number of tickets available for each song city safari, which cost £5 per adult and £2 per child aged 6 years to 17 years old. Tickets can be booked on this page and will be available nearer the time.