Soul jazz diva Sarah Jane Morris released Sweet Little Mystery, an album of songs by Scottish singer-songwriter John Martyn, in 2019 – a joint project between Sarah Jane and long term collaborator and guitarist Tony Remy.
Together they pay homage to the sublime genius of the late John Martyn – a restless, often self-destructive artist, whose unique voice and music is both breathtakingly bold and achingly tender in its beauty.
Sarah Jane and Tony completely re-imagine John Martyns’ songs, retaining their original hypnotic fragility, with her voice matching the emotional and musical range of his and Tony’s arrangements and grooves, helping her voice create new and illuminating versions of the music. These are fresh and invigorating re-interpretations that make you listen anew to familiar tunes.
The performance, part of a show directed by comedian and activist Mark Thomas, will also include unreleased footage of John Martyn and interviews with his family and friends.
Sarah Jane Morris is a singer with an astonishing vocal range. Her thirty-year career, during which she has garnered a loyal and loving international audience, has been wide-ranging and her rich contralto voice goes from strength to strength.
She has performed with many groups over the years, from rock to soul to African blues, with classical orchestras, a one-hundred cello ensemble, with acoustic guitars and jazz big bands. Her voice, her versatility, and her emotional intelligence – the absolute authenticity of feeling which she conveys – make her a world-class compelling performer.
Luke Wright is about to embark on his most extensive UK tour to date which takes in the length and breadth of the country, from the Channel Islands to Scotland. It includes a date at Liverpool Philharmonic on 16 February.
Luke Wright enjoys an international reputation as one of the top performance poets around and has also had several books of his poetry published including 2021’s The Ballad Seller which featured illustrations by brilliant political satirical cartoonist Martin Rowson of The Guardian.
For over 20 years Luke has toured the world to perform his flamboyant, political and riotously funny poetry but that all came to an abrupt halt in March 2020. Undeterred he launched an ambitious series of shows via Twitter, performing a daily show live online to audience figures of up to 10,000 for each. He continued this for a record breaking 100 days which led The Daily Telegraph to dub him ‘the bard of Lockdown’.
Now he is ready to go back on the road. Luke has won multiple awards (including a Scotsman Fringe First, a Stage Award for Acting Excellence and three Saboteur Awards including Best Performer in 2021).
Libertine Carl Barat (Luke often acts as MC for Libertines gigs) said ‘Luke is one of the greats. A poetic pugilist. Beguiling and hypnotic.’ No less a legend than Patti Smith has praised his ‘Cool poems’.
LoneLady is a pseudonym of Manchester, UK musician Julie Campbell. She is a multi-instumentalist and producer who plays guitar, keyboards, cello, drum machines and drumpads.
The post punk star has been on a fierce upward trajectory ever since signing to Warp Records back in 2009 with début album Nerve Up. Her sound is both a celebration of Manchester’s rich post punk history, whilst bringing it up to date with a raw and atmospheric aesthetic that’s grown to take in elements of the funk of George Clinton’s Parliament and Funkadelic projects.
Foolhardy Folk Musician Beans on Toast will be doing a tour of some of his favourite independent venues. Singing simple songs about complicated subjects, the accomplished songwriter will be offering some hope and light relief from this bizarre world we find ourselves in.
Festival favourite and veteran of the road, he can’t wait to crawl out of the cocoon and get back to doing what he loves. Expect songs, stories, laughing, drinking, thinking and celebrating.
Suzanne Vega emerged as a leading figure of the folk-music revival of the early 1980s, and since the release of her self-titled, critically acclaimed 1985 debut album, she has given sold-out concerts in many of the world’s best-known venues.
Known for performances that convey deep emotion, Vega’s distinctive, “clear, unwavering voice” (Rolling Stone) has been described as “a cool, dry sandpaper-brushed near-whisper” by The Washington Post, with NPR Music noting that she “has been making vital, inventive music” throughout the course of her decades-long career.
Due for release on September 11, 2020 Suzanne Vega’s latest offering, An Evening of New York Songs and Stories includes songs that were inspired by New York City or for which New York provided the backdrop. Recorded in early 2019, it includes familiar songs like “Luka” and “Tom’s Diner” and deep cuts from Vega’s catalog including “Frank and Ava” and “Ludlow Street.”
Calling all young creatives, musicians and artists: join Liverpool Philharmonic for their annual Careers Fest, curated in partnership with LIMF Academy. The event is held in the Philharmonic Music Room.
This event offers young people the chance to learn more about careers in music, network with leading industry professionals and meet other like-minded young creatives. The day will include interactive and informative sessions on the range of options available, including performance, composition, conducting, production, management, technology, education, business, and health and wellbeing.
Featuring speakers from LIMF, Meta (Facebook and Instagram), Ivors Academy, PRS For Music, and Ticketmaster, the day will include interactive and informative sessions, with live music at lunchtime followed by a hands on lighting and tech workshop in the auditorium.
Refreshments will be provided.
Join Liverpool musical royalty China Crisis for this very special hometown show celebrating 40 years.
Eddie Lundon and Gary Daly are the founder members of the band, which started in Kirkby, Merseyside back in 1980, and released their debut album Difficult Shapes and Passive Rhythms in 1982.
China Crisis found major success in the UK with five Top 40 singles, ten Top 50 singles and five Top 40 albums and hits across Australia, Europe and the Americas. The band are known for their string of hit singles, including ‘African & White’, ‘Christian’, ‘Working with Fire and Steel’, ‘Black Man Ray’ and ‘Wishful Thinking’.
This special evening will be a huge treat for fans old and new, featuring all the hits with stunning arrangements and performed with a full band.
Toronto-based singer-songwriter Julian Taylor was nominated for his first two JUNO Awards in the ‘Contemporary Roots Album of the Year’ and ‘Indigenous Artist or Group of the Year’ categories. After a 20-year career of making great music, Taylor is delighted to be recognised for his achievements.
Taylor enjoyed a breakthrough year in 2020, when his second solo acoustic album, The Ridge, earned more than two million plays on Spotify, praise from press worldwide, and airplay from America to Australia to the U.K. The title song and first single from the album, ‘The Ridge’ hit No. 1 on the Indigenous Music Countdown in Canada.
Taylor was the artist of the month in November 2020 in The Bluegrass Situation’s Shout and Shine series, and the album was also heavily supported by Sirius XM Radio and Stingray Music. In addition to the recent JUNO nominations, Taylor was also nominated for two Canadian Folk Music Awards for The Ridge, in the ‘Solo Artist of the Year’ category and the ‘English Songwriter of the Year’ category.
Taylor, of combined Mohawk and Caribbean ancestry, is a Toronto music scene staple, and musical chameleon. His versatility as a songwriter is signature; one minute he’s onstage playing with his band spilling out electrified rhythm and blues glory, and the next he’s featured at a folk festival delivering a captivating solo singer-songwriter set. Taylor is as an explosive and captivating a live performer as you’ll ever see.
A double bill in Storyhouse’s main theatre as part of Storyhouse Sessions.
Welsh/Liverpool band Gintis bring with them a playlist of existentialist pop and country-tinged melancholia. Abergele’s favoured alt country sons Gintis have been part of the North West music scene for quite some time now – just over 15 years, in fact, making “silly songs for sentimental people”. Listen to Gintis here.
Wirral band and “Merseyside Dreampop Swedes” By The Sea, who are produced by Bill Ryder-Jones, bring their own brand of dream pop to the Storyhouse auditorium. Listen to By The Sea here.
The Shipbuilders and Sunstack Jones feature in a special double-bill at Storyhouse, part of Storyhouse Sessions.
Liverpool gypsy-surf-rock band The Shipbuilders have been described as playing ‘an infectiously catchy blend of twisted blues, jangly psychedelia and sea shanty-recalling storytelling’.
Sunstack Jones arrive at Storyhouse having recently supported Tim Burgess on tour. The band have been given airtime by Mark Radcliffe and Steve Lamacq, while their latest album Golden Repair – released on the Mai 68 label and featuring their trademark sun-drenched folk sound – won four stars from Mojo.
