Festivals
Stay up to date with the best festivals in Liverpool, from music and arts to family-friendly food and drink events across the city.
-
Smithdown Road Festival Returns With Huge Student Party Event
The Smithdown Road Festival returns for a special student party on 24th September with a fantastic line-up of local talent. In the heart of student-land, Smithdown Road, the party starts early afternoon until the early hours of the morning with bands including Disastronauts, Elevant, Killaflaw, Voo, The Floormen and a certain one to watch – Lumen. The usual suspects are involved in hosting all the music; The Brookhouse, Kellys, Evil Eye, Franks, Naked Lunch, Fat…
-
Bill Ryder-Jones Announced As Patron of Liverpool Mental Health Festival 2016
Founder of The Coral will appear in Liverpool to announce the winner of ‘Mental Health And Me’ competition on World Mental Health Day, 10th Oct. The festival events will include a comedy night, an art exhibition in several venues across the city, a film night at FACT, training and creative workshops for all ages. Plus – don’t miss a full day celebration on Saturday, 8th October at Williamson Square. Festival Co-ordinator, Claire Stevens (Development Manager, Liverpool Mental Health…
-
5 Reasons Why You Shouldn’t Miss Creamfields 2016
This year’s Creamfield’s line up includes Chase & Status, Knife Party, Avicci, Jack U, Calvin Harris, Armin Van Buuren, Fat Boy Slim, Four Tet & Tiesto. As far as Merseyside festivals go, Creamfields is one of the most well established and renowned in the region. The line up for this year is crackling full of heavy hitters from the dance/electronic music scene, guaranteed to draw in the huge crowds. So here’s our top 5 reason’s…
-
Independent Liverpool Bring Oktoberfest To Liverpool’s Baltic Warehouse
Oktoberfest is coming to Liverpool 22nd, 23rd, 24th and 25th September, courtesy of Independent Liverpool. Bavaria meets Baltic Triangle in the Great Baltic Warehouse this September after the previous successes of Independent Liverpool’s Winter Wonderland and Summer Food & Drink Festivals. Local craft breweries and local food traders will gather amongst some more traditional German beers. Get your Lederhosen out and get ready for the steins and all German sausage you can handle. Tickets are on sale now here.
-
Rave Your Way Into The Day With ‘Morning Gloryville’ Early Morning Rave In Liverpool
Morning Gloryville Liverpool Episode 11 will take place at Liverpool Loves Festival on Saturday 6th August. Morning Gloryville are delighted to announce their next collaboration with good friends ‘Liverpool Loves’ to return to the iconic Pier Head for their next weekend rave date. They will be presenting special DJ guests Jed Clark and Les Calvert, Carry on Misbehavin’ at Garlands go back to back and Marc Jones, from Erics to Evol, plus Medication DJs and…
-
Liverpool Music Week 2016 Reveal First Round of Acts Including John Carpenter, Warpaint, Clean Cut Kid & More
Liverpool Music Week have announced the first round of acts for their 2016 line up set to take places across various venues in Liverpool from 26th October – 5th November 2016, including: John Carpenter, Warpaint, Cat’s Eyes, GoGo Penguin, Clean Cut Kid and She Drew The Gun. For its 12th edition, the festival will be based around the hub of the Arts Club venue in Liverpool City Centre, long a hub for music under various guises over the years, with a run of shows at the prestigious…
-
Africa Oyé 2016 Preview – Official Brochure Now Available
On 18th & 19th June Africa Oyé takes over Sefton Park once again, and organisers have now released the official brochure for this year’s event. With thousands of copies going out around Liverpool and as a supplement in The Big Issue, the annual brochure has all the information you need to make the most of the UK’s largest free celebration of African music and culture. You can download a PDF version of the brochure from…
-
Liverpool International Music Festival Announces Family & Food Programme For 2016
Liverpool International Music Festival (LIMF) today unveils its family activities and food programme for 2016. Sefton Park’s green spaces will be transformed into a mix of colourful, enticing and exciting spaces to explore and discover. Redefining the Family Zone, the popular beach area returns with several tonnes of sand shipped in to honour the occasion and transport little festival-goers into a seaside paradise. Arts workshops, beach huts and street theatre will be in abundance as…
-
Future|Journeys: Afrofuturism At WoWfest On 21st May
As part of this year’s WoWfest (Writing’s on the Wall Fest) comes Future|Journeys: Afrofuturism. Inspired by the work of Afrofuturist artists, writers and musicians like Octavia Butler, George Clinton and Janelle Monae, Future|Journeys looks at how we can find new ways to express the voices of the marginalised, exploring race, gender and alternative technologies for creating new ways of co-existing. Join us for a day of conversation, art and creativity, as we weave the stories of…
-
Dead Buttons Play Two of Liverpool’s Biggest Festivals This May
The hottest act to break the Korean Republic, Dead Buttons, are also set to win hearts and minds with an extensive live jaunt. They will be playing across the UK, Mainland Europe, America and Asia in 2016. Cult Liverpool imprint Baltic Records have taken on the duo’s first full length album ‘Some Kind of Youth’ – slated for release in early July to coincide with the band’s performances at FestEvol (1st May) and Liverpool Sound City (28th May). Dead…
-
Hope Fest; The Music Festival In Aid of The Homeless Is Back For 2016 Between 11 th – 13 th November Across The UK & Ireland
Hope Fest – the music festival in aid of the homeless – is back for 2016 (11 th -13th November) and this time it is bigger and better than ever! Now in it’s third year, the annual Hope Fest, which is usually held in Liverpool, has now expanded to cover the UK and Ireland. Taking over 40 music venues in Liverpool, Manchester, Brighton, Glasgow and Dublin aiming to raise lots of supplies of food, clothing and cash for the homeless.…
-
Smithdown Road Festival 2016; Band Set Times & Map
The Smithdown Road Festival returns for 2016 as a completely free weekend of music, art and food around some of South Liverpool’s finest bars and cafes, with a massive outdoor area and big top on Wavertree Playground. There will be stages at The Mystery, Kelly’s Winebar, Evil Eye Beer & Burrito Shack, Franks, Brookhouse, Fat Flamingo, Caffee Oro, Sefton Park Cricket Club and Gregson Institute. There will be performances from the likes of Colour, Xander…
-
Liverpool Calling Announce Full Line Up For July Festival
Liverpool Calling have announced the final wave of acts for this years festival on 9th July at Camp & Furnace. They have revealed that Yak & Findlay will be joining the main stage alongside headliners Coasts and Spector. Yak return to Liverpool after supporting The Last Shadow Puppets on their recent tour, with a scintillating live set they will be sure to draw in the crowds. No stranger to the Liverpool scene, Findlay has built…
-
Liverpool Craft Beer Expo 16-19th June 2016
The Liverpool Craft Beer Expo returns for it’s fourth year this June and is expected to bring craft beer enthusiasts together for a three day extravaganza. A modern craft beer festival, The Liverpool Craft Beer Expo will feature a new breed of ground-breaking and innovative breweries from the UK, Europe and beyond. With over 300 beers, on both keg and cask and spread across 10+ bars and 100+ beer taps. We will be inviting our…
-
Liverpool’s First Binary Festival Launches May 2016
Liverpool’s Binary Festival has announced the first keynote speakers and participants of this year’s inaugural festival; revealing an eclectic mix of pioneering virtual reality software, performances in live coding and poetry, and radical funding ideas. In May 2016, Liverpool’s first Binary Festival will take place. It’ll be a lively two-day festival that celebrates and connects communities of innovators, inventors, leaders, makers and creators of our future. The ambition is to attract new business, new ideas and new people to…
-
Smithdown Road Festival 2016
The Smithdown Road Festival returns for 2016 as a completely free weekend of music, art and food around some of South Liverpool’s finest bars and cafes, with a massive outdoor area and big top on Wavertree Playground. There will be stages at The Mystery, Kelly’s Winebar, Evil Eye Beer & Burrito Shack, Franks, Brookhouse, Fat Flamingo, Caffee Oro, Sefton Park Cricket Club and Gregson Institute. There will be performances from the likes of Natalie McCool,…
-
Liverpool Calling Announce First Wave of Acts For 2016 Festival
Liverpool Calling returns for its fourth consecutive year, this time at a temporary new home in the Camp and Furnace, and the Blade Factory on Saturday 9th July. This year they have announced two headliners for the one-day event, as Coasts and Spector top the bill. Bristol-based Coasts come to Liverpool for the first time since the release of their debut album. Spector are also set to make a triumphant return to the Liverpool scene,…
-
‘Laces Out!’ – Leading UK Trainer Festival Announces Special Screening of Adidas Film
Laces Out! will also be hosting an exclusive screening of the Adidas Originals X SPEZIAL Sole Searching in South America: Directors Cut! This screening will include never before seen footage from the legendary trip to Buenos Aires. Spaces for this screening will be very limited. Gary Aspen from Adidas says: “The two trips to Argentina were incredible and with their cult following have now become part of adidas’s mythology. It was great to be able to document the experience of finding a hoard of…
-
‘Laces Out!’ – The Ultimate Celebration of Sneaker Culture Returns To Liverpool
Laces Out! Festival invites sneaker heads across the country to congregate on March 5th in Liverpool’s famous Camp & Furnace to celebrate their shared love of the footwear and culture. The fourth edition sees the return of the renowned market place featuring thousands of vintage, rare, box fresh and deadstock trainers ready to be bought, swapped and admired. Brand new for Laces Out! SS16 is the Laces Out! Lab – a multi-faceted programme of curated sneaker culture and lifestyle…
-
Sound City Announces New Artist & Industry Focused Conference For 2016
World famous industry conference to become Sound City+ Following last month’s major line-up announcement including The Coral and Catfish and the Bottlemen as headliners and a major new partnership with electronic dance music promoters Freeze, multi-award winning Sound City has revealed a brand new format for its renowned music industry conference. Rebranded as Sound City+, the new-look conference will be purely artist and industry focused and take place on the day preceding the main festival…
Festivals are at the heart of Liverpool’s cultural identity, bringing people together to celebrate music, art, food, film, and community. The city has a long tradition of hosting vibrant festivals that reflect its creativity and diversity, offering something for everyone throughout the year. Whether you’re a music lover chasing the buzz of live performances, a family looking for fun days out, or a foodie ready to explore new flavours, Liverpool’s festival scene has it all.
Music festivals are among Liverpool’s biggest draws, showcasing everything from local grassroots talent to international superstars. Events like Sound City attract huge crowds with eclectic line-ups, while festivals such as Africa Oyé shine a spotlight on global sounds, reggae culture, and community spirit. For fans of electronic music, events like Creamfields (just outside the city) and independent club-led festivals deliver world-class DJ sets and unforgettable all-night parties.
The city also thrives with arts and culture festivals, celebrating creativity in all its forms. Liverpool Biennial, the UK’s largest festival of contemporary visual art, transforms the city every two years with thought-provoking exhibitions, installations, and performances. DaDaFest champions disabled and Deaf artists through powerful work that challenges perspectives, while Homotopia Festival celebrates LGBTQIA+ culture through theatre, cabaret, and visual arts.
For families and food lovers, food and drink festivals are a huge part of the Liverpool calendar. The likes of the Baltic Market’s street food events bring together the best of local restaurants, bars, breweries, and independent traders. Visitors can sample cuisines from around the world, enjoy cooking demonstrations, and discover hidden gems from Liverpool’s food scene. Seasonal favourites like Christmas markets and Easter festivals also provide plenty of fun for all ages, with live entertainment, craft stalls, and activities for kids.
Film fans and culture-seekers aren’t left out either. The city plays host to Liverpool Film Festival, and smaller community-led screenings that celebrate both local filmmakers and international cinema. These events provide the perfect opportunity to enjoy films in unique settings while supporting independent cinema.
No matter the season, Liverpool’s festivals bring a sense of excitement, colour, and togetherness to the city. They reflect the city’s heritage, creativity, and welcoming spirit, making them an essential part of life in Liverpool. Whether you’re planning your festival calendar for the year, discovering new music and art, or just looking for a fun weekend with friends, there’s always something happening to capture your imagination.
Our Festivals category keeps you up to date with the best events across the city region. From major annual highlights to smaller niche gatherings, we cover everything so you don’t miss a moment of Liverpool’s thriving festival scene.