Calvin Harris To Headline Liverpool SoundCity

• 22nd Apr 2009

Atop of the singles chart with the infectious I’m Not Alone, Calvin Harris will be everywhere this summer, but not before he’s played SoundCity.
Another band giving fans a sneaky peak are local lads The Rascals who are putting the festival down as the first date in their diary. Fresh from the acclaim received for last year’s moonlighting with Arctic Monkey Alex Turner on The Last Shadow Puppets side project, Miles Kane returns to the day job for a gig at the Stanley Theatre on Wednesday 20th May.

They will join an explosion of talent and hot tips including the already announced chart-topping White Lies, pop starlet and tabloid favourite Little Boots, Mongrel, Cage The Elephant, White Denim, Juliette Lewis, Black Lips, Metronomy, You Me At Six and Dan Black. The Zutons will perform a homecoming gig at the spectacular St. Georges Hall.

Just as distinctly Liverpudlian, Clinic will play an eerily special gig on the same night at the Leggate Autopsy Theatre in the Liverpool University Victoria Museum. A hint of what is to come in the shape of a follow-up to 2008’s Do It! is to be expected, and the experimentalists will be followed on Thursday 21st May by Robin Guthrie – best known as one half of the Cocteau Twins.

Always ahead of the game, the showcase music festival will present four days of the finest in up-and-coming talent. One man fitting the bill is East London grime star Tinchy Stryder who will support Calvin Harris at the O2 Academy on Thursday 21st May. Very much part of a female troupe that includes fellow SoundCity performer Little Boots taking over in 2009 is Karima Francis – equipped with a stunning voice, the Blackpool singer-songwriter’s gig at Parr Street’s Studio 2 on Thursday 21st May will be one not to miss.

Standing toe-to-toe with the bright young things will be a few special members of rock seniority as The Damned headline a night at Stanley Theatre on Saturday 23rd May. Supported by The Alarm and Henry Cluney – formerly of Stiff Little Fingers , they will be warmed-up by unsigned punk outfit Jimmy and the Destroyers.

Having spent the last three decades uniquely combining folk, punk and politics, Billy Bragg will also be appearing at SoundCity. He will play an acoustic set in the grand setting of St. Georges Hall – Liverpool’s Victorian Crown Court.

Liverpool SoundCity’s Added Extras

Taking place on Friday 22nd and Saturday 23rd May 2009 from 10am to 4pm daily, in the first event of its kind, The Trial will be conducted by a Judge with a full legal team and a live audience. The Trial will be unusual and immersive, an experience that engages with the key issues of modern music. It will welcome music makers, industry experts, radical voices and those with vested interests to collectively explore the world of commercial music.

This year SoundCity will also host over 60 acts from overseas including artists from Australia, Brazil, Canada, The Caribbean, Catalonia, Finland, France, Denmark, Ireland, Italy, Japan, New Zealand, Norway, South Korea, Switzerland, and the USA.

Highlights include the 100% Genki showcase hosted by Smash/ Fujirock and Strummerville, The Canadian Music Week Showcase, Brazilian duo Canja Rave and South Korea's Guongmyoung's debut UK shows.

Moshi Moshi's Casio Kids will play at The Magnet, while fellow Australians I Heart Hiroshima and hotly tipped The Veils from New Zealand will also be heading to Merseyside for SoundCity.

Having helped break the likes of Santogold, Ladyhawke, The Wombats and Glasvegas in 2008, SoundCity returns in 2009 with a wide programme of events.

The John Peel World Cup is a soccer six-a-side that will celebrate the great man himself, as well as his passion for football, music and Liverpool. Taking place at Liverpool FC’s Youth Academy at 12pm on Friday 22nd May, the charity competition will pit bands including The Zutons and The Farm against each other with funds raised going to the British Heart Foundation.

In addition to taking home the coveted prize; winners will be presented with their medals on the Friday night at a ceremony at Monochrome where they will also be able to get their Teenage Kicks by playing two of John Peel’s favourite tracks on stage. Tickets to the party will cost £5 and festival wristband holders will be able to get in for free.

Continuing the football theme, SoundCity will also be hosting the Liverpool premiere of the highly anticipated Awaydays – the film from the acclaimed novel by Kevin Sampson. The premiere will be followed by an afterparty where the legendary Eric's Club will be recreated for one night only and play host to some very special guests from the past and present.

The festival will also unveil a specially commissioned exhibition of the work of seminal photographer Kevin Cummins entitled The Crucial 3-0. This will include iconic images of artists such as Echo and the Bunnymen, The Teardrop Explodes, The La's and many more.

Liverpool SoundCity Festival Director Dave Pichilingi said: “We have now got an absolutely fantastic multi-art form programme in place for this year’s SoundCity.

“Having given ourselves a hard act to follow with the top acts that we had last year, we’ve managed to put together another stellar line-up, I’m sure that once more the bands and artists will be the talk of tomorrow. What’s more, this year we’ve also got a whole range of added extras to enjoy.”