There seriously is something special about the heart of Liverpool. Its dream brunch cafes in abundance; its splash-the-cash coolest slap-dash bars, and of course, the hidden gems of the Baltic Triangle. There is the Peaky fucking Blinders-themed pub for God’s sake, as well as Birdie’s Bar & BBQ and the crowning jewel, Baltic Market. The latter duo of the list opened the floodgates for new music lovers on May 5 & 6, welcoming in with open arms the return of Liverpool Sound City.
My second consecutive year at Sound City seen me taking my first tentative steps into Baltic Triangle. It was gorgeous! Seminal sunshine, flat-capped men in three-piece suits rumbling around (them pesky Peaky Blinders) a different band with a varying sound tumbling out of a variety of venues – Baltic Triangle was a bubbling hub of energy and I was in awe. I am already in the middle of planning my return, this time with my girl gang.
During the course of the festival, I managed to stumble across some beautiful bands and bask in the sunshine at Sound City. Sam Fender performing at On Air was all kinds of mesmerising (their interior was amazing also), cool cats Gaffa Tape Sandy in Constellations back room, Fuzzy Sun in the gardens (where they were selling some Insanely glorious food), Yungblud rocking around Camp & Furnace and how could I forget to mention my new favourites, RedFaces, taking over Hangar 34?
Unlike last year, when I had the chance to stay at the gorgeous ibis Styles Hotel on Dale Street (click here for that) I was relegated to getting ferried via train each afternoon and evening. Luckily, the Liverpool to Manchester train takes less than an hour, so there was no chance I was missing anybody on my list.
A spellbinding weekend of music. If you would like to read an in-depth music-based review of my time at Sound City click here.
Sound City 2018 was phenomenal. Not only has it opened my ears to some of my new ride-or-die artists, but has also introduced me to perhaps my favourite drinking spot in Liverpool. Girls, get your glad-rags on… We are going oot!
ELLA LOUISE SCOTT 