SOUND CITY 2025 | WHY LIVERPOOL WILL ALWAYS BE ‘MUSIC CITY’

FESTIVAL REVIEW | SOUND CITY | LIVERPOOL 3/4th May 2025 by Rachel Puk

Sound City 2025 was one of those weekends where I remembered exactly why I moved to Liverpool. May bank holiday weekend spent in the sunshine watching bands you love, with the other bands you love in the crowd with you. It’s the perfect city for these kind of festivals, each venue is minutes from each other, and you won’t find more music lovers around than you will here in Merseyside.

On the Saturday I headed straight into The Shipping Forecast, a fun tunnel-ish venue, to catch Dylan Robert’s set after giving his brand new single ‘Stuck in the Mud’ top marks. In no time the intimate venue reached full capacity, and the room was flooded with the bands distinct melodies and warm lyrics being sung along to.

The Jacaranda was flooding with people and their pints under their always-sunny tables, and I inevitably bumped into some gigging friends – we then made our way down the road to EBGBs to catch the up-and-coming Girl Group. Again, a packed out venue, as were most the sets I went to over the two days. A more experimental band on the majority indie line-up which was a nice way to switch up the day.

I headed straight to Grand Central to catch Corella after hearing good things in a beer garden – and they were very, very good. They completely packed out the room with a bouncing energy that brought so much excitement to the rest of the day. My first real boogie of the day, the pints were flowing and energy was all round high. Corella had no hesitation in owning that stage.

I ended up staying at Grand Central for the rest of the night, and next on was Overpass. I first saw the Brummie band open for The Wombats back in 2022, a young band working out their sound. Three years later they showed off their undeniable chemistry as musicians, and have totally honed their sound to have no problem conducting the room. Their track ‘3AM’ with addictive riffs and a catchy chorus had the centre of the crowd jumping under the dome.

I was really keen to see Nieve Ella for the first time, and I was right to be. This was the busiest I’d seen the venue so far, and she jumped right on stage, opening with my favourite track of her’s ‘Anything’. Nieve Ella and her talented band are undeniably cool, their demeanour was effortless and satisfying to watch as they rocked their instruments. It was satisfying to have a confident and talented woman high up on the bill, and wrapping her crowd around her finger.

Saturday’s headliner The Royston Club stormed on stage with their 2024 single ‘The Patch Where Nothing Grows’ and everyone had their pints up in the air. It had been a long day with venue hopping from midday, and I felt myself crashing under the hot and sweaty venue, but the crowd was rowdy and kept me bouncing until the end. The band have a knack for sounding identical to their tracks, and it was satisfying to finally hear some of their tunes after having them on the odd playlist the last few months.

That post-gig fresh air hitting outside was satisfying, but I was raring to go again on the Sunday.

Sunday afternoon came around and the sun was still very much shining. I headed back down to The Spanish Caravan on Slater Street to see who I could find playing. The crowd was spilling out of the intimate venue for a band called Room Two, and although I was unable to see the band at all from the back of the crowd, they sounded really good. A trumpet alongside the alternating vocalists made for a fun and unexpected sound, the crowd made up of all ages swished along with their glasses of sangria.

Back to Grand Central I headed to catch Liverpool’s favourite STONE, who I couldn’t believe I hadn’t seen already after being in Liverpool for 2 years. I was expecting the crowd to be slightly bigger, but the end of their set was pretty packed and bouncing, most likely due to the stage splits. Frontman Fin Power proved to us that this wasn’t his first rodeo, and absolutely stormed the stage. He remained cool and carefree among an excited crowd, dancing away as the rest of his band egged him on. The crowd of old and young opened up and Power jumped right in, dancing, flipping away. He has an ideal showmanship, entering everyone who had eyes on him. Die hard fans were cracking up, singing away with Power right beside them in his own crowd.

I dragged everyone I could down to Brògeal. They’ve been infiltrating my playlists the last few months, and I knew they would be incredible live – they really were. They have an insane talent to mix folk and trad style music with a punk style twang. They have no urge to sound like anyone else – which is why they stand out so much on this lineup, and I will definitely remember their set for a very long time. The band have no hesitation in effortlessly tearing up an accordion, mandolin, and banjo on stage, and making it utterly cool. I was excited to hear their newest single live – ‘Friday On My Mind’ – it was effortlessly played, and more of the crowd joined us in dancing by the end of the set. They cracked me up – “Surprise, I brought my whistle”, band member Aidan Callaghan announced, and the band finished up their set with their rendition of ‘Lonesome Boatman’. Everyone needs to see Brògeal this year.

I was all danced out, and not sure how anyone could top the artistry I had just enjoyed, but I got chatting to a band member of The Lags, who had played earlier in the day, saying I must go and see The Cheap Thrills. Again, the band had no issue filling out the venue with lots of rowdy and high energy indie-fans. I stayed for a few songs, then needed a change of pace.

I walked back through town and found myself in the Arts Club Theatre to give Maya Delilah a listen. Her set captivated her intimate crowd and everyone was entranced by her peaceful guitar and melodic voice. Her calm and collected performance was a breather whilst some of the crowd watched from the steps and quietly chattered from the bar. Calm before the storm again.

Back to Grand Central I went for The Clause. The Brummie band kept spirits high and roving with their powerful and self-assured set. Ending on their hit ‘In My Element’, the entire crowd was bouncing – the perfect note to end on before our headliner. Dylan John Thomas aced his set and ended the weekend perfectly. Opening with ‘Jenna’, it seemed absolutely everyone was singing along and bopping to that funky riff. I noticed both young and old in the crowd with grins on their faces – each song appealed to the masses. I’m looking forward to seeing what’s next from Mr DJT, I’ve had him on repeat since.

I can hand on heart say that Sound City 2025 was one of the best weekends I’ve had in my time in Liverpool. Having so many grassroots venues pumping out talent all weekend long is truly special. This weekend was an example of how integral music is to our Liverpool community. The planning and coordination was unmatched. I can definitely say I’ll be back next year, and I’d urge every music lover in the North-West to round up their friends and do the same.

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