Sound City is making its hugely anticipated return to the city’s centre, right here in the Baltic Triangle!
The festival is now in its 11th year and 2018 promises to be another vibrant celebration of music and arts from around the world – as well as an array of from the city itself. This year, Sound City will embrace the spirit of the underground and seek out the next generation of emerging talent whilst showcasing some of the very best bands and performers of their era, set across the many intimate venues and electric spaces of the Baltic Triangle.
Over 250 of the most hotly-tipped new bands and headliners will perform to thrilling effect, taking in thrilling live shows, raucous label parties and special global guests on the festival’s international stages. For the first time, Sound City will introduce the new wave of grime and urban stars too, mixing it up in an eclectic range of sounds and styles which includes electronica, indie, psych, rock, pop and much more.
Sound City has now revealed the headline day splits and 100 of the artists joining them this spring. Saturday’s headliners include an abundance of talent, capturing some of the very best music around. With the spirit of Oasis running through their bones, the DMA’s have reinvented Britpop uniquely filtered through their Aussie origins, whilst guitar-electro poppers Slow Readers Club segue from their insanely catchy upbeat indie to angry, introspective downbeat ballads.
Childhood friends Picture This are regularly compared to Kodaline, The Coronas and Ed Sheeran, whilst arch social commentators Idles chronicle the decline of austerity Britain and skewer mainstream pop culture. Baltimore duo Wye Oak bring their distinctive brand of indie rock to the festival, and Black Honey offer their distinctive psych-rock.
Over to the Sunday, and Sound City provides more scintillating talent to savour. Alt-psych rockers Peace have been compared to The Maccabees and Vampire Weekend, whilst surf-loving Sunset Sons channel the pop-Americana of Tom Petty, the rock heft of Kings of Leon and dreamy beach alt-rock. Yellow Days’ inspired chronicling of youth and lust has garnered them great acclaim, whilst Baxter Dury weaves sparse but eclectically funny and touching lyrics through his music – his recent Prince of Tears album garnered glowing reviews. There’s energetic indie pop from Jaws, and Dermot Kennedy captures the tender streaks of love and heartbreak, bliss and sorrow and life and death in his esteemed music.
Further brilliant artists across the weekend include Jade Bird, The Blinders, Gaffa Tape Sandy, Sorry, Sam Fender, Billie Marten, Matt Maltese, Saint Phnx and Stereohoney. On the brand new urban and grime side of Sound City, the celebrated rapper and Manga author Shaodow was both the Hardest Working Artist Award Winner in the AIM Independent Music Awards 2017 and Music Artist Of The Year Award Winner in the AME Awards 2017. There’s also essential grime artist Vital touching down, and Liverpool’s Lab TV present local rap duo Beyond Average and Juke, with more to be revealed soon.
Returning to its original ethos offers a wealth of shows spread across the three corners of the renascent, Baltic Triangle – providing a warren of intimate venues, bars and clubs which has evolved into one of the UK’s go-to cultural destinations. During Sound City, events will be hosted in Great Baltic Warehouse, Constellations, Camp and Furnace, Baltic Market, Hangar 34, District, Unit 51, Baltic Social, Red Door Vintage, The Tank Room, 24 Kitchen Street, Northern Lights, Hinterland, Craft Minded, Black Lodge Brewery and Tap And Still. Becky Ayres, Sound City’s COO, explains:
“This is a huge moment for us as we not only reveal our headline day splits but also the venues will be hosting our festival across in May. We really feel the spirit of discovery and exploration returning for our 11th year, with a huge range of artists performing in some brilliant locations. We want to capture the magic of the UK’s thriving scene as well as what is happening around the world, and feel this range of 100 artists will really entertain, inspire and thrill everyone in May.”
Sound City is on the weekend of Saturday 5thand Sunday 6th May. Further information can be found at Sound City’s website and keep an eye out here for further news and interviews with some of the headline acts.
