This Is The Kit is the musical project of Kate Stables. One of time and change and careful listening.
It has carried Stables from Winchester to Bristol to Paris (where she’s lived for the last 15 years), and across tours and festivals around the world not to mention a prestigious Ivor Novello nomination.
In early spring of 2020, just before everything got weird, Kate and her band of trusty companions, (Rozi Plain, Jamie Whitby-Coles, Jesse D Vernon, and Neil Smith), knuckled down to record what would become This is The Kit’s fifth album Off Off On. Off Off On, was released in October 2020 to huge acclaim.
Uncut calling the album their “most multi-layered yet subtle work so far” and The Independent named them “One of the most original and musically gifted artists of today”.
Acutely sensitive to the pulses and currents of life, Off Off On shows Kate Stables to be a songwriter overflowing with ideas, ably crafting music of great beauty, of wonder and illumination, and seems one more step on This is The Kit’s to becoming one of the country’s most revered musical endeavours.
Martha Wainwright is beginning again.
The beguiling performer and songwriter returns with Love Will Be Reborn, out in August. Not since 2012’s Come Home to Mama has a Martha Wainwright record been so full of original written material. Wainwright’s fifth studio album follows recent years of loneliness and clarity in search of optimism and joy.
Martha Wainwright’s role as an artist has always been to embrace her wildness and sketch out her raw depth. This edge is what makes Wainwright uncompromisingly herself and continues to draw in an audience two decades on.
The Wirral Summer Pops festival in Cheshire welcomes headliners Hue & Cry and local talent Zuzu for 2022.
As the region prepares for a busy cultural season, the hugely popular Summer Pops at Parkgate Cheshire will be returning to the banks of the River Dee for Marquee Week at The Neston Club, formerly known as Neston Cricket Club, On Friday 8th July the venue will be welcoming a host of gifted and popular musical talents to make sure the visiting crowds will be delighted.
The Summer Pops event will be headlined by internationally renowned group Hue & Cry. This award-winning and bestselling duo, featuring brothers Patrick and Gregory Kane, took the music scene by storm in the eighties, after their first single ‘Labour of Love’ made the Top 10 in 1987.
Hue & Cry then enjoyed a series of hits including ‘Looking for Linda’ and ‘Violently’ which formed a part of their successful album releases during the decade. The band have continued to record and play live ever since, having now sold in excess of two million records worldwide.
Future Yard are super stoked to be bringing this mighty musician back to the North West!
Pedal and lap steel guitar ace Roosevelt Collier, so proficient he’s affectionately known as “The Dr,” brings his potent mix of blues , gospel , rock , and in his own words, ‘ dirty funk, swampy grime’ to Future Yard on April 28th .
They first witnessed the wonders of Roosevelt with world supergroup BOKANTÉ, lead by MICHEAL LEAGUE (from the Grammy-winning Snarky Puppy).
Brought up in the House of God Church in Perrine, Florida, Roosevelt built his “sacred steel” guitar prowess alongside his uncles and cousins in The Lee Boys, known for their spirited, soul-shaking live performances.
On his own, Collier’s become a sought-after talent both on record and on stage; at festivals, he is a regular “Artist at Large,” performing alongside musical luminaries in the fields of rock, blues and pop, including Snarky Puppy, The Allman Brothers, The String Cheese Incident, Buddy Guy, Umphrey’s McGee, Los Lobos, Robert Randolph, the Tedeschi-Trucks Band, and the Del McCoury Band. .
Some of the city’s best-known artists and DJs are set to appear in a fab Music Day to launch the new Liverpool Against Racism (LAR) festival.
The LAR Music Day on Sunday 24 April is part of a week-long series of cultural events championed by Mayor Joanne Anderson and is being held to promote conversations around progressive and impactful anti-racist practice.
It’s guaranteed to get Liverpool talking – and dancing!
Over 50 artists will be performing live in Baltic Triangle venues Camp & Furnace, District and 24 Kitchen Street. So if you’re up for a great day out why not grab yourself a ticket.
Tickets Available Now. £5 + fees per venue.
Phantastes inhabits an ethereal realm and explores the parallels of the seminal C19th fantasy novel of the same name by George MacDonald and the beginnings of Nick’s own love story from 1982.
The album was recorded, and is performed live on solo electric guitar, simultaneously triggering percussive electronic soundscapes.
This is the dream-like backdrop to a coming-of-age story set on the edge of an ancient magical forest and a year-long journey that culminates in a kiss.
Caribbean Music Festival hosts its official launch party with international DJ’s from the Caribbean ready to set the summer vibes for you with the best of Reggae, Soca, Dancehall and more.
The launch party is held at Melodic Bar, with sets from DJ Icebergg and DJ Rockshun plus a special guest DJ.
The event is held Melodic Bar, Liverpool, L3 8HB. Doors open 3pm and admission is free.
Blast! is back for its penultimate show Upstairs at Jimmy’s!
Blast! (4) features a host of familiar Spoken Word Scene faces, including Lyndsay Price, Saint Vespaluus, Cath Holland, Ali Harwood, Helen Jeffery, The Half Pint Poet, Victoria Ekpo and a host of others.
There will be music from Izzy (making her Liverpool debut) and Wirral favourites Bagsy!
Doors open at seven for a 7.30 start.
It’s a great night of music, spoken word and comedy – and if they can match the standard of Blast! (3), they’ll be more than happy!
A popular children’s book which teaches youngsters to love themselves just the way they are, has been turned into a live musical for the stage.
And Asa Murphy’s charming tale The Monkey With No Bum – The Musical is set to entertain young audiences and their families at venues across the Liverpool City Region this spring and summer.
The show, which features catchy original songs, enjoyed sold out success when it was premiered at Liverpool Theatre Festival’s Little LTF festival of new works last July – with an extra date added due to demand, and then went on to entertain Epstein Theatre audiences during February half-term.
The fun-filled show stars Lynne Fitzgerald as narrator Miss Jolly, Asa Murphy as headmaster Mr Plop and Brendan McCaffrey as Charlie the monkey.
Charlie is a fun-loving monkey, but he has one big problem – he hates his tiny flat bum. Things take an unexpected turn on his birthday when Charlie’s parents help him find the bum of his dreams. But he soon learns having a bigger, better bum may not be as important as he thinks.
The live stage show includes numbers like The Laughter Song, Perfect in Every Way and The Bum Bum Song.
Mellowtone present an intimate night of music and spoken word, with The Pelican Band, Muireann, Sam Batley and DJ Richie Vegas.
The Pelican Band
Songwriting duo Sean Butler (Sonic Hearts) and Andy Campbell (previously of The Tenements) create beautiful music, like Sparklehorse mixed with Everley Brothers. Country inspired, folk inflections, and filtered through a Wirral Instagram filter. Live, they play with members of Eyesore and the Jinx and Loose Moose String Band. Their aim? To sound like a beautiful death.
Sam Batley
Biog- Ex-Sniper for the Salvation Army. These are words from the electric stairs and the night bathing Siglow’s morning. Hung, drawn and quartered. Pocket editions not available.
Muirrean
Irish songstress and music-maker, Muireann has been lending ‘headturning‘ vocals influenced by her Co.Wicklow heritage to the bands of Liverpool, The NorthWest & London for the last decade. Now, she embarks on a solo adventure of her own.
DJ Richie Vegas
Richie Vegas cut his DJing teeth in his late teens – messing about with hip hop and breaks – before plundering his family’s record collections and forging a sound that includes soul, funk, jazz, afrobeat and reggae.
Test Match Special is his monthly radio show, and an opportunity to showcase a selection of tunes that doesn’t quite fit with live DJ sets, explore less-travelled paths and distill 20 years of musical musings. Expect lost monsters, obscure reworkings, stubborn earworms and wickets galore.
The event is held Downstairs at the Everyman.
