Orla Foster picks out 11 unmissable gigs happening in and around Liverpool this month. The eclectic list includes rock, punk, alt-pop, jazz and more, so dive in.
The Hives (15 Aug)
The Jacaranda Club
Tickets
Don’t sleep on your chance to witness the Hives’ madcap energy in the flesh. Riding high off their recent European tour, the tuxedo-clad hellraisers will even be signing copies of their latest album The Death Of Randy Fitzsimmons after this intimate set at the Jacaranda.
Island of Love (21 Aug)
The Pilgrim
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Counterculture Records are hosting an absolute cracker at the Pilgrim to see off the summer in style. Island of Love headline, serving up their breakneck primal punk with a Thin Lizzy-flavour, to be perfectly complemented by sets from local favourites Puzzle and Pardon Us. Londoners Middleman add a shoegazey edge to the lineup.
Deerhoof (23 Aug)
Invisible Wind Factory
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Deerhoof’s latest release Miracle-Level is an album of many firsts – their first studio album, their first in Japanese – and in their own words, their “most sparse and vulnerable” recording yet. They’ll be back in their comfort zone at IWF, bringing their inimitable blend of magical realism, noise and dream-pop to the spontaneity of a live setting.
Etran de L’Aïr (23 Aug)
Future Yard
Tickets
Stop making excuses and get over the water for a night of desert blues in Birkenhead. Etran de L’Aïr started out twenty-five years ago sharpening their skills on the wedding circuits of Niger. Now their sound brings together different strains of jazz from across the continent, layering multiple intricate guitar solos over one another to create a beguiling and original sound.
Don Broco (24 Aug)
O2 Academy
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Festival season may be wrapping up, but for anyone still awaiting their rock fix, this might be the one. Expect hardbitten anthems from these Kerrang favourites, who grapple with the knottiest questions of existence over sweltering riffs.
Wallice (24 Aug)
Jimmy’s
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With a style partly indebted to being a jazz major, partly to blasting grunge records alone in her bedroom, alt-pop artist Wallice will be bringing the sunlight of Los Angeles to the basements of Liverpool this August. She’s already been turning heads on tour with The 1975 this spring, and cites Weezer as one of her biggest influences – which shows in her heart-under-the-microscope songwriting.
BlackFest Grand Launch (27 Aug)
Museum of Liverpool, Pier Head
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BlackFest is back for 2023! This opening party features performances from some of Liverpool’s freshest rap and spoken word acts, including KOJ, Tyrone Lewis and LeeTz. Alongside razor-sharp wordplay, stick around for interactive dance workshops and artisanal stalls along the waterfront.
PoiL Ueda (27 Aug)
Kazimier Stockroom
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A collaboration between Japanese musician Junko Ueda and French rock band PoiL, this genre-shattering supergroup is a suitably leftfield proposition for your Sunday evening. Prog meets traditional mediaeval instrumentation meets epic storytelling. Support comes via a.P.A.t.T. and Gas Kunst.
Willie J Healey (30 Aug)
Phase One
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Jacaranda Records have been programming some stellar stripped-back gigs of late, and this is no exception. Here’s your chance to get up close and personal with Bristol-based Willie J Healey, whose breezy Sunday morning jams find a sweet spot between 1970s soul and tongue-in-cheek indie lyricism. Alex Turner and Florence Welch are already fans.
Nina Nastasia (30 Aug)
Leaf
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After more than a decade out of the spotlight, 2023 is proving to be folk singer Nina Nastasia’s year, if a brutally bittersweet one. Her latest release Riderless Horse deals with themes of grief, trauma and guilt, all bound together with her peerless introspection and storytelling. Expect to leave with your heart in tatters.
Divide and Dissolve (31 Aug)
District
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A blistering live act by all accounts, this instrumental duo from Melbourne don’t need to fall back on lyrics to make their message felt. Placing their Cherokee and Māori heritage front and centre, their music is a bracing takedown of colonialism, laden with heavy riffs and the doomiest of soundscapes.
