Liverpool culture

Music

Liverpool is alive with music – from the electrifying concerts at the Liverpool Philharmonic Hall to the vibrant outdoor festivals down at our Pier Head, the city rattles and hums with a rhythm all its own.

Every year, Sound City and the Baltic Weekender invite the world’s most exciting new artists to infuse the city’s after-dark spaces with an eclectic soundtrack of all that’s essential.

Big names draw the crowds to the city’s M&S Bank Arena at the waterfront. From Stormzy to Elton John, the city always attracts the A listers. And, the city’s next generation superstars - from Camel Phat to Jamie Webster, The Wombats to Circa Waves – ignite the warehouses and cellar clubs that, fifty years ago, rang to the sound of the original Fab Four.

In short, on any given night, should the mood for dancing overtake you, Liverpool won’t let you down. Even if your moves might.

Art

Like the city it springs from, Liverpool’s art scene is vibrant, inspiring and democratic. Liverpool is the host city of the UK’s Biennial of Contemporary Art: a celebration of all that art can do to transform places, and people. Liverpool’s Walker Art Gallery contains one of Europe's finest collections of paintings, drawings, sculptures and decorative art, from Pre-Raphaelite beauties to David Hockney's shimmering sixties canvasses.

Elsewhere, the Tate’s northern base, on our waterfront, offers an always-vital assessment of contemporary art, FACT fuses digital tech with hands-on fun, and the Bluecoat mixes art and music and performance up to dizzying effect. But, often, it’s the city’s artist-led galleries – from residencies in the Baltic to Liverpool ONE opening up empty offices on Church Street to provide more studio space for independent artists.

Performance Art

LJMU has close and cherished links with Liverpool’s leading cultural institutions. The ties between us and the city’s theatres, concert halls and arts organisations run deep, helping students and staff to engage with Liverpool's exciting cultural sector.

Liverpool’s resurgent Everyman is firing on all cylinders, with made-in-Liverpool and touring productions regularly scooping five star reviews from the national press. The inclusive and experimental productions at the Unity and the Playhouse theatres continues Liverpool’s tradition of making theatre fun and accessible to all.

It’s the Liverpool way: culture is King Lear, is Ken Dodd, and is everything in between. That’s why the city’s calendar of festivals is as life-affirming as it is genre-defying. From Homotopia’s freewheeling celebration of queer culture to DaDa Fest’s disability and deaf arts showcase, Liverpool knows how to put on a show.