Liverpool International Festival of Psychedelia 26th & 27th September; Preview
Set in the vibrant and creative Baltic Triangle, Liverpool International Festival of Psychedelia (or Liverpool Psych Fest for short) is only two-years young but already looking like one hell of an event. On the 26th & 27th of September, Camp and Furnace and Blade Factory will be awash with all things psychedelic; bands, films and visuals will engulf the former 18th century storage warehouse and almost definitely our minds. This year they play host to some of the best bands I’ve heard in a while and some newbie’s to look out for.
Swedish experimental band Goat are the most talked about and hyped-up booking of the festival. Their debut album World Music has been hailed as the best album of 2012 and their live shows have only made their name more infamous; performing in tribal inspired gear and masks. I’ve no doubt Camp and Furnace will be packed out for these.
LA four-piece Allah-Las bring their light summery riffs to Liverpool ahead of the release of their second LP Worship The Sun, out this September. Although they are less psychedelic and experimental as other bands listed, their touch-of-the-60s sound earns them a place at this young but already immensely popular festival.
Another big name also playing this year is Suuns from Montreal. I remember being a bright-eyed 17-year-old who’s ears were solely tuned to Arctic Monkeys and other not-so-challenging indie music thinking Suuns debut Zeroes QC was too ‘heavy’, how wrong I was. With the release of their 3rd album, Images Du Futur in 2013 I’m couldn’t be happier at the prospect of seeing them in September.
Onto smaller but no lesser, you can count Strange Collective’s past gigs on one hand but they are gaining considerable momentum on the Liverpool music scene with experience in former bands under their belts. In a recent article, Bido Lito dubbed them the best live band in Liverpool so I guess you’d be a fool to miss the opportunity.
Acts such as Les Big Byrd, Klaus Johann Grobe and possibly my new favourite all-girl band September Girls also play psych fest this year among many many more. But don’t take my word for it, us lucky little things have had a playlist compiled on Spotify (listen here) of all the artists for our listening pleasure and possibly to avoid dodgy YouTube videos.
Weekend tickets are £50 and can be bought on liverpoolpsychfest.com or at 3B Records on Stanley street. See you down there!
Ella Roose
