Liverpool Music Month to take place in May

A celebration of Liverpool’s influence on the sound of modern music, Liverpool Music Month is set to launch in May as part of Liverpool Summer of Music 2026.

Delivered by Culture Liverpool and Sound City, events for Liverpool Summer of Music include Foo Fighters and My Chemical Romance's Anfield Stadium shows, Lewis Capaldi at Sefton Park, and Nile Rodgers & Chic performing outdoors at Lock and Quay in Bootle.

Events for Liverpool Music Month include Sound City festival - a weekend celebrating emerging musicians over the weekend of Sat 2 – Sun 3 May 2026, the Dark Reign Metal Fest at Birkenhead’s Future Yard on Sat 2 May 2026 and Baltic Weekender, spanning Sat 30 – Sun 31 May 2026, taking over multiple venues including Camp and Furnace and Brick Street with a line-up of house music, disco, techno, bass, grime sets.

Other performances included in the first month of the Summer of Music include Emmy Lou Harris, The Longest Johns, Kingfishr, Biird, Sunny Afternoon, James Morrison and Scott Bradlee's Postmodern Jukebox. At the Liverpool Philharmonic, there are to be gigs across all genres on most days, including the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra's Celebration of the Beach Boys, Roland Gift Presents Fine Young Cannibals, Max Cooper, and US acts Hannah Wicklund and Ondara.

“As a city, we are incredibly proud of our famous musical heritage, as well as our new generations of emerging talent who continue to put us on the map,” said Harry Doyle, Liverpool city council’s cabinet member for health, wellbeing and culture. “From major concerts, events, and festivals featuring global artists, to the small independent venues, pubs, and bars brimming with local musicians, Liverpool really does have music running through its veins.

“Our city is alive with music on any given day of the week, but this summer promises to be an even bigger showcase of everything that makes Liverpool one of the greatest music cities in the world. We can’t wait to bring artists, venues, communities, and visitors together - in May and beyond - to celebrate our incredible music scene in true Liverpool style.”

Liverpool Music Month is twinned with New York Music month - a fixture in New York City’s cultural calendar since 2017. Creating a transatlantic partnership, Liverpool Music Month celebrates both cities’ standing as historic centres of trade, their musical legacies and the new generations of artists shaping their futures.

“Twinning with New York Music Month, another globally recognised music city, is notable, not only for deepening Liverpool and the UK’s links to progressive, arts-focused cities around the world, but also reinforcing the city’s international outlook,” said Becky Ayres, Sound City’s managing director. “As a world capital and UNESCO City Of Music, the world continues to look to us to protect our musical heritage as well as promote new talent. From the first rock and roll vinyl record arriving at the docks in the 1950’s to the huge shows performed here by artists such as Foo Fighters, the shared love of music extends across the Atlantic as effortlessly as it has always done.”

Liverpool Music Month and Liverpool Summer of Music build on the momentum created when the city hosted the Eurovision Song Contest in 2023, an event watched by 162 million people worldwide and generated more than £54 million for the local economy. Demonstrating the city’s musical significance, analysis by the BPI shows that, outside London, Liverpool produces more chart-topping albums than any other UK city.

In the coming weeks, Liverpool Music Month will also launch an open commissioning fund inviting venues, promoters, artists and music organisations to apply for support to deliver their own events, performances, training opportunities and creative activations as part of the programme. The fund will help ensure that Liverpool Music Month reflects the creativity and diversity of the city region’s music scene, supporting grassroots activity and enabling new ideas and collaborations to take place across the region.

Liverpool Summer of Music has already been backed by one of the region’s most prominent stars: “Every year I'm usually performing at festivals around this time, but this year I'll be staying in Liverpool and enjoying what our music city has to offer,” said singer-songwriter Jamie Webster. “Is there a better city than this place? Nothing better than when the sun is out by the Mersey, and there's music on the Pier Head, or having a scran on Bold Street before a gig at The Jac or catching a random acoustic set on the street. I know where I'd rather be: in my Liverpool home.”

Further details around Liverpool Music Month and Liverpool Summer of Music will be announced in the coming months.