As Liverpool Sound City returned to its much loved multi-venue, city centre format, we joined the fun to hop skip and jump from venue to venue, sampling some of the most exciting new music from Merseyside and beyond. The festival, combined with ComicCon and the May bank holiday madness, brought a visceral vibrancy to the city which was instantly exciting, not to mention the array of live acts on offer. Sound City 2024 was a triumphant showcase of a new music from the UK and internationally that shone a light on Liverpool's music heritage while welcoming diverse talent from all corners of the world. Here were are top 5 festival highlights from this year.
Photo Credit: Dylan Cox / @dylancoxmedia
Alex Spencer
Marked as one of our ‘Ones To Watch’ in our Sound City preview, we couldn’t wait to see what the 17 year old Indie songwriter had in store and we were not disappointed! Performing with a charm and swagger beyond his years, his set was filled with undeniably catchy chorus’s and slick, street-wise lyricism that demonstrates an inherit songwriting ability that is beyond impressive.
Photo Credit: @Johnsysshots
You could tell that the set meant a great deal to Alex. As a packed out Arts Club, full of existing fans, complete newcomers and industry tastemakers alike, chanted along to his songs, Alex’s humble appreciation of the moment was visible. There’s so many more big moments in store for him and we implore you to get out to see him quick so you can be part of the journey which inventively leads him on an upwards trajectory.
Red Rum Club
Of course, this list was always going to include these guys! Fresh off a headline show at Liverpool’s M&S Bank Arena, Merseyside’s cult heroes Red Rum Club arrived as an early Saturday sub-headliner and instantly turned the energy of the festival up a notch.
Photo Credit: Dylan Cox / @dylancoxmedia
The band’s trademark high-energy, catchy Desert Indie style and piercing trumpet lines brought the whole of the Grand Central Hall to its feet and got everyone dancing throughout the set. These guys just never disappoint and, as they spun through fan favourites and hits of their new album ‘Western Approaches’, they proved their place as one of the city’s most acclaimed acts.
Shefu
One of our favourite Merseyside newcomers Shefu had already teased some new tracks with their stripped back performance in Bundobust earlier in the day, yet their full band performance took things to a whole new level! Smutty Alt Rock anthems and poignant, Grunge Pop ballads radiated with equal levels of heartache, angst, arrogance and carefree playfullness. Musically gritty yet with a harmonic undertone that showcases the vocal and songwriting talents of their power-duo of Rose and Alice. This set has made us even more excited for them to headline our Issue 7 launch party at Future Yard on June 29th!! Get your tickets here.
Home Counties
With a combination of twisted synths, infectious Disco rhythms and an exciting Indie funk energy that had Kazimier Stockroom bubbling from wall to wall, Home Counties celebrated the release of their debut album in style. Having made the journey north from Bristol they completely packed out the venue and had people from the gardens outside poking their heads in constantly as everyone in the vicinity was instantly enthralled by the vibrant flavours radiating from the room. The shared vocals really stood out as three of them took turns leading the vocal charge that ranged from crisp Pop Melodies and brilliantly catchy hooks to sprawling spoken word lyricism. If you needed a mid afternoon set to get you completely buzzing for the festival day to come, this was the one!!
The Snuts
Sound City saved the best till last this year! Sunday headliners The Snuts had Grand Central Hall packed to the brim for an anthemic set to remember. Within seconds they had the room jumping as mosh pits opened up left right and centre and everyone on the balconies got to their feet to dance the night away. What was instantly obvious is how well their new album stands up. The huge, punchy indie sound of tracks like 'Novastar' & 'Yoyo' radiated with a youthful euphoria, fitting for a sunny Bank Holiday!
Their visual backdrop captured the nostalgic yet forward thinking aesthetic of their new album too with several retro TV screens fitted on stage and a combination of futuristic and vintage videos played behind them. The Snuts have truly become the next Indie giants and they were the perfect festival headliner to close another wonderful Sound City!
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