Gigs will be hosted at several venues
A free music festival is returning to Liverpool this weekend. The Smithdown Weekender will showcase a wide range of emerging and established singer-songwriters, DJs and bands.
The festival started in 2015, the brain child of Andy Kelly and Kevin Mcarthur who wanted to showcase the various bars on the bustling Liverpool street. At the time Andy was running a bar called Evil Eye on Smithdown Road, while Kevin owned Kelly’s Dispensary.
Andy now owns Black Cat bar and bottleshop and Kevin runs the Handyman Bar and Brewery, and help to organise two Smithdown Weekenders every year. This year’s autumn instalment will run from Friday October 11 to Sunday October 14, described as a “free weekend of music across your favourite venues on the street”.
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As well as Black Cat and Handyman, The Beeswing and Franks will also be hosting live gigs. Acts include Liverpool musician and TikTok star Tom Rogan, singer-songwriter Daisy Gill and DJ Nathan Adekoya. There will also be a ‘Big Fat Hungover Quiz’, hosted by comedian Che Burnley.
Entry is free at all venues, however, donations will be taken for The Whitechapel Centre, one of Liverpool’s largest homelessness charities. Speaking about how the festival started, Andy previously told the ECHO: “The area was very segregated [in 2015], bars were all doing their own thing.
“There wasn’t much going on so I met up with Kevin and said ‘why don’t we do a festival to celebrate Smithdown Road? Let’s get artists and DJs and whatever it might be and have a kick arse weekend of live music. The weekend is always free.
“We didn’t know what to expect that first year. Everyone was really excited by it and thousands of people turned up on Smithdown Road that year. It was 2015 and we thought ‘there’s something in this – this is quite special.’
Kevin meanwhile believes smaller venues can offer a lot to up and coming musicians. He said: “They need somewhere to go and hone their skills. They tend to show respect back to you afterwards. It’s a great opportunity to play in front of 80 to 100 people. I think when people can see who runs the business, it helps. We’ve got nothing but positive vibes.”
