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Liverpool’s Ni Maxine Launches ‘The Common Room’, a New Community Listening Experience at The Black-E

Rach Hankin10/06/2026

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Liverpool-based neo-jazz artist and curator Ni Maxine is inviting audiences to slow down, switch off and connect through a new community-focused listening event – The Common Room – taking place at The Black-E this June.

The Common Room, which arrives at The Gallery at The Black-E on Tuesday 30 June, offers an alternative to traditional nightlife, bringing together music, conversation and community in a relaxed, sober-friendly environment centred on deep listening and shared experience.

Running from 6:30pm to 10:30pm, the event combines a hi-fi listening session with a shared meal and mocktails, encouraging guests to engage with a carefully curated selection of records exploring Black stories, culture and lived experience.

Described by Maxine as a “soft sound sanctuary”, The Common Room has been designed as an intentionally Black female-led, queer-friendly and intergenerational space where people can rest, reflect and connect without the pressure often associated with nightlife and drinking culture.

The event builds on the themes explored in Mother’s Arms, Maxine’s acclaimed debut EP released via Ripe Records. Blending neo-jazz, soul and deeply personal storytelling, the project explores identity, generational trauma and belonging, themes that continue to shape her work as both an artist and community organiser.

A key inspiration behind The Common Room comes from a pair of vintage Tannoy studio monitors passed down to Maxine by her mother.

Reflecting on the project’s origins, she said:

“Growing up, music was always playing in the house. After nearly 10 years of being unusable, we are restoring the speakers and building a community listening experience around them. When they’re ready, I will listen to my debut EP Mother’s Arms on vinyl for the first time in the way it was always meant to be heard: communally, intentionally and through sound systems with history and character.”

Alongside her work as a musician, Maxine has developed a reputation for creating thoughtful community-centred cultural experiences, including previous programming work at Granby Winter Garden. The Common Room continues that commitment to creating spaces where people feel welcomed, valued and connected.

Speaking about the need for events like this, Maxine said:

“It can be a real challenge to find gathering places in the city centre that centre music and our capacity to connect with ourselves and like-minded people without the pressure to drink. As a sober and (likely) neurodivergent Black woman, I wanted to create an accessible communal third space where people can leave feeling rested, nourished and connected.”

With community ticket options available to help remove barriers to access, The Common Room offers a different vision of what nightlife can be: one rooted in care, culture and collective wellbeing.