Your Guide To What’s On In Liverpool In 2017
We’re well and truly into 2017, but don’t worry; there is so much to look forward to.
2017 is looking to be one of Liverpool’s biggest years yet! As well as recently being named the UK’s friendliest city, this year’s upcoming events display just why Liverpool is so full of warmth, culture and excitement.
MUSIC
Threshold Festival; Friday 31st March – Sunday 2nd April
The annual event takes over numerous events in the Baltic Triangle for a 7th Year in a row; neo-soul songwriter XamVolo heads the initial line-up alongside previously confirmed Hannah Peel. The festival’s line-up is bursting with emerging talent, which includes the likes of rock band Rongorongo, trio False Advertising and 90s band Disastronauts. This unique festival is in Liverpool Friday 31st March- Sunday 2nd April, and with tickets costing just £15, it’s not one to miss. More info & tickets available here.
Liverpool Disco Festival; Saturday 6th May
The Liverpool Disco Festival blessed the Baltic Triangle in October for its debut; and what a day it was! For those who missed it, do not miss out when it returns on Saturday 6th May, this new event is already taking Liverpool by storm! Spread out over various venues in the Baltic Triangle, the event boasts food vans, glitter AND a roller disco! The line-up includes D-Train, Ultra Nate and Tony Humphries, and tickets start at £25 for students but are selling, fast! Get yours here.
Can’t wait? They’re celebrating the release of their line-up with their warm-up party Flashback on 24th February at Constellations! Get tickets here.
Liverpool Sound City; Thursday 25th – Sunday 28th May
Liverpool’s favourite festival is turning 10! Having previously been named best metropolitan festival at the UK Festival Awards, Liverpool Sound City has a strong history in providing a platform for future stars, having previously showcased the likes of The XX, Ed Sheeran and Calvin Harris. In celebrating its 10 year anniversary, the festival has announced 4 days of festivities to mark the occasion, and will also be moving to the larger Clarence dock for 2017! The recently announced line-up is nothing short of impressive, and this year the festival will be led by The Human League, Metronomy and The Kooks. The weekend never disappoints, and tickets are proving popular, so grab one now, here, or regret it.
FESTIVALS
LEAP Dance Festival; Wednesday 1st – Sunday 12th March
Celebrating its 25th birthday, Leap Dance Festival returns to Liverpool this year with a special performance from COAL, marking the 30th anniversary of the Miner’s Strike. Between the 1st and 12th March 2017 LEAP Dance Festival will occupy MAKE Liverpool, in the North Docks, transforming the space in to a purpose built dedicated dance space, housing the entirety of the festival. The Dance festival will celebrate its Silver anniversary with a challenging programmed of dance, exploring the year’s main theme of camouflage.
Tickets for the festival are available via The Unity Theatre box office, and for more information about the festival please visit the official website here.
Smithdown Road Festival Saturday; 29th April – Monday 1st May
It doesn’t get more local than this – Smithdown Road Festival is back for another its 3rd year this May Day Bank Holiday Weekend. The free community art festival boasts an impressive variety of local acts, including touring bands, artists, theatre, dance, circus performance and comedians. The non-profit festival is a fantastic opportunity for adults and children to view local talent free of charge, and also for upcoming acts to showcase their capability to a diverse, and judgment-free, audience! This year is boasting to be bigger than ever, with 2 outside venues in the form of circus tops, 15 indoor venues and over 150 acts! Better yet, there will be a market element to the outdoor element, providing the opportunity for local businesses to sell food and crafts!
As the festival is non-profit and free entry, the organisation really appreciates any donation, no matter how small, to help make this possible; for more information, head to their website here.
Liverpool Food, Drink & Lifestyle Spring Festival; Saturday 15th – Sunday 16th April
Another event back for its third year is the sunnier sister of The Liverpool Food & Drink Festival, held on Easter Weekend in Sefton Park. Foodies will be impressed by the wide variety of sweet & sour stalls, displaying their best creations, whilst there will also be numerous opportunities to grab a drink, hopefully in the sunshine! Food stalls at the festival will include Neon Jamon, Mela Street Food and Little Furnace, as well as many more! Fancy something sweet? Head over to Treaty Pie, or Coco Baroque, all washed down by a beer filled with love from The Langwith Brewing Company, or award-winning gin from Elephant Gin. Naming everything will take all day, so it seems you’ll just have to come along…Grab tickets here.
British Style Collective; Clothes Show Live; Friday 7th – Sunday 9th July, ACC Liverpool
The Clothes Show is moving to Liverpool after 27 years in Birmingham. The new event is described as “The British Style Collective presented by The Clothes Show” and will see the city host dozens of catwalk shows. There will be over 250 brands to shop as well as some amazing nightlife events planned.
The festival will take place in various locations across the city centre including the Echo Arena, Liverpool Cathedral, St George’s Hall and Camp & Furnace in the Baltic triangle district. Get tickets here.
THEATRE
Funny Girl; Tuesday 7th– Saturday 11th March, Empire Theatre
Funny Girl brought global fame to Barbra Streisand 50 years ago and boasts some of the most iconic songs in film and theatre history. This March, the musical is set to come to the Empire Theatre in Liverpool, with Sheridan Smith starring as Fanny Brice. Tickets
War Horse; Wednesday 15th-Saturday 18th November, Empire Theatre
The award-winning stage adaptation of Michael Morpurgo’s iconic novel War Horse is heading to the Empire Theatre for the first time. The production is iconic for its ground-breaking puppetry work by South Africa’s Handspring Puppet Company, which brings breathing, galloping horses to life on stage. Tickets
MUSEUMS AND EXHIBITIONS
Tracy Emin and William Blake in focus; Friday 16th September 2016 – Sunday 3rd September 2017
Tate Liverpool’s latest exhibition, Tracey Emin and William Blake in Focus looks at the work of Tracey Emin (b. 1963) and William Blake (1757-1827) in a new and exciting way. The exhibition draws comparisons between themes explored by the two British artists, revealing unexpected links and highlighting fascinations shared by the artists, including their concerns with spirituality, birth and death. At the centre of the exhibition is Emin’s ‘My Bed’ 1998, famous for displaying an alternative type of self-portrait, in which the artist’s personal belongings are included, but she herself is absent. This is a unique and thought provoking exhibition, drawing parallels between two British artists who may not have shared a lifetime, but shared interest in dark themes.
TATE Liverpool, free entry
NORTH: Identity, Photography, Fashion; Friday 6th January – Sunday 19th March
This unique exhibition explores the way The North is depicted and viewed through the form of photographs, artworks and fashion collections. It is aimed to collectively group together representations of northern identities, and unpick them in order to look beneath the clichés. The exhibition is about the style and heritage of the North; it is about the evolution of tradition and character, as much as it is about artistic representations including fashion and photography. On display are fascinating interviews by international designers, who described the input their Northern upbringing had on their creative output. This exhibition is one of a kind and a fantastic celebration of both the emotional and physical influence the North has on art.
Open Eye Gallery, free entry
Keep an eye out on Liverpool Noise for more events announced over the coming months!
Fran Collis
