Music Memes – Kaleidoscope Quartet - https://www.lukedanielsmusic.com/musicmeme
Led by Luke Daniels (UK, Accordion), with Rihab (Syria, Oud), Zi Lan (Liverpool, Chinese Harp), Abel Selacoe (South Africa, Cello). New journeys with strong, rootsy collaborations.
Four sets of four concerts. Luke Daniels will play duet concerts with each collaborator and quartet concerts. (May-June)
Folk music from the British Isles, China, Syria and South Africa
The Venues – The Phil, The Atkinson, The Citadel, The Met in Bury
MusicMeme app – audiences sample the concerts and submit remixes that will then be performed at the final concerts at each venue.

Wed 1st May – Smithdown Road Festival – Over Four Weekends – Supporting Whitechapel Centre.
Craft Taproom – Handyman Brewery 3rd May – RONGORONGO, Double Echo, Lonesaw, Claire Welles
https://www.facebook.com/events/2349758355243921/
1st May – The Liquid Club #4: The Sound of Culture @ The Caledonia 6.30pm
Discussion event that focusses on the role that diaspora and technology have played in the development and consumption of music, drawing from Louis Onuorah Chude-Sokei's The Sound of Culture: Diaspora and Black Technopoetics (2016)
https://www.facebook.com/events/628496037623219/

Thurs 2nd May – Emotion Wave @ Constellations 8pm
Spirit Level/Professor Khaos/Mark Lawless/Ben Sleia
https://www.facebook.com/events/419430651956293/

Fri 3rd May – Manchester Collective: Goldberg Variations (BACH) IWF 8pm
90 minutes of variations from one aria, one of the most important examples of the form.
Rakhi Singh - violin
Ruth Gibson - viola
Bart LaFollette - cello
https://www.facebook.com/events/467714343722622/

Sun 5th May – Irvine Welsh DJs at The Merchant
https://www.facebook.com/events/293909097942904/
 
 7th May -Rakhi Singh and Vessel/Singh Quartet at RNCM 8pm
Performing contemporary collaborative work inspired by Janaceks’s string quartet Intimate Letters.
https://www.facebook.com/events/2209118396039464/

​Looking Ahead
24th May - Gaika @ Kitchen Street
Artist, Writer. Gothic danchall and industrial electronics/ghettofuturism
Wrote a piece for DAZED criticising the Met Police’s decision to crack down on Drill music in 2018
https://www.facebook.com/events/1014359375426117/
 

Monday 22nd
User Not Found – Leaf – 6pm
It’s the moment of your death. There’s a magic button. Do you delete your entire online legacy?
Or do you keep it – and leave the choice for someone else?
USER NOT FOUND is about our digital identities after we die. The show is performed in Leaf café: audience members receive a smartphone and a pair of headphones and are immersed in one man’s story as he’s faced with keeping or deleting his partner’s online existence. A story of contemporary grief unfolds through this intimate, funny performance that gently interrogates our need for connection.
https://www.unitytheatreliverpool.co.uk/whats-on/digital-legacy-19.html
 
Tuesday 23rd
Lowkey – 24 Kitchen Street – 7pm
As mentioned in previous gig guides, our pick here pits the back-from-hiatus Iraqi/British hiphop MC Lowkey (known for collaborations with socially conscious “black Shakespeare” Akala and fierce freestyles live on radio) against the opening backdrop of Farsi-speaking grime artist Tardast (of geographically disparate collective #Manteq). Lowkey returns to the live arena after time out to focus on studies and activism, while Tardast’s Persian-language flow over off-kilter experimental production provides a glimpse of what’s just around the corner in terms of contemporary world sonics of the rap genus. Also supporting will be London-based Eritrean rapper Awate, touring his own old skool hiphop flavoured and highly politicised recent record ‘Happiness’.
Skiddle.com/e/13459308
 
Furrow Collective – Philharmonic Music Room – 8pm
Again a highlight from earlier programmes, English/Scotch four-piece traditional music group Furrow Collective bring their interpretations of ancient songs from our island to a seated and attentive audience in this ideally intimate setting. As well as us being fans of the project here on the Popular Music Show, the Furrow Collective were awarded 'Best Group' at the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards 2017.
Liverpoolphil.com/current-events/
 
Wednesday 24th
Stock Footage, Vice Moth – Kazimier Stockroom – 7:30pm
A rare re-union as Joe McLaughlin (of Kling Klang, The International, Part Chimp and several others) makes the return trip back to Liverpool (from NYC) for a brief spell including this reformation gig. Stock Footage is headed up by Joe and can only be described as a Liverpool underground garage rock super-group. Other members come from brilliant Merseyside-made projects such as Chinsniffer; Horsebast*rd; Zombina & the Skeletones; and a.P.A.t.T.; and Stock Footage’s shows are always a fairly OTT semi-theatrical anti-spectacle of the kind you’d expect to be dreamt up on the way back from a pub. Expect a slice of current affairs to be cut through with biting wit (previous outings have had frontman Golden Tony put through a T-Pain style autotuner, and used phone interview recordings of Paul Gascoigne as the basis for an entire set’s worth of music). Taking time out from their other commitments – such as celebrating the release of Stealing Sheep album number three, and kindly working closely with the programme in and out of Germanager guise – is Emily Lansely and Alex Germains as Vice Moth, an electronic improvised duo. Ben Duvall of Ex-Easter Island Head provides between-act tunes. Part comedy, part drama, all worth checking out in this new Kaz setting.
 
Thursday 25th
Dig Vinyl 5th birthday: Yammerer, Samurai Kip, Good Problems – Kazimier Garden / Stockroom – 6pm
Bido Lito is helping out local record shop Dig Viny celebrate their five years in the city centre in the throwing of this big old knees up. Indoors are three popping local acts: grunge pop LIPA grads Good Problems, local indie press darlings Samurai Kip, and a turbo charged Can/LCD Soundsystem hybrid in the form of a wild-man-fronted Yammerer. Outside there’s DJ sets from Melodic Distraction, Beers for Queers’ Linster Sangster, Nightdubbing and of course the taste-makers and –breakers at Dig Vinyl themselves. A suitably eclectic social for the broad-shoulder’d music emporium.
https://www.ticketquarter.co.uk/bidolito/online/default.asp
 
Friday 26th
Ali Shaheed Muhammad & Adrian Younge presents the Midnight Hour – 24 Kitchen Street – 7pm
In another moment of sure-fire hiphop legend appearances in our town, the teams responsible for putting Liverpool on the map in terms of these kinds of bookings – BamBamBam, Madnice Marauders, and those at 24KS itself – this time welcome A Tribe Called Quest’s production mastermind Ali Shaheen Muhammad, and fellow next-generation studio wizz Adrian Younge down for a night of jazzy, R’n’B inflected golden-age rap reminiscence. They’re accompanied on this tour by a nine-piece brass and string band to breathe new life into the already invigorated work together, including their acclaimed score for streaming hit Luke Cage.
skiddle.com/e/13483005/
 
Malena Zavala - Sound Basement - 7:30pm
Argentinian artist and producer influenced by psychedelic guitar players.

Saturday 27th
Nkisi, Bryn – Best Before – 10pm
Wunderkind upstarts Athe (deity-figure-influenced DJs and extreme music fans Nina Franklin and Lea Ben Said) have booked Congolese/Belgian ‘hard music’ maker Nkisi to play an extended set of her own gabba and doomcore inspired dark electronic music. Opening up the night is the city’s very own ‘Heavy Metal DJ’ and industrial grime music regurgitator, Bryn.
residentadvisor.net/events/1227617
 
DJ Sprinkles – 24 Kitchen Street – 10pm
Yet another exciting bit of programming from the in-house Wonder Pot stable, DJ Sprinkles is the stage alias of utterly intriguing dance music activist, public speaker and producer Terre Thaemlitz, known for their outspoken politicisation of the dancefloor as a rightfully and inherently queer space. Should prove a fascinating night of mixology, too, with a live set from Meine Nacht’s head honcho Breakwave and Daniel Ruane, who both recently celebrated the launch of a record label with the release of the latter’s debut dubplate. Part of Rise Liverpool – a city-wide program celebrating extraordinary female artists, thinkers and leaders.
skiddle.com/e/13501545
 
The Specials – Olympia – 7pm
Touring new LP 'Encore', the 2-tone Ska greats head to the illustrious Kensington theatre with The Tuts in tow.

Looking ahead: Saturday 22nd and Sunday 23rd June
Africa Oye – Sefton Park – 12:30pm onwards until 9:30pm
Certifiable hero of Jamaican music and a timely, poignant choice as Oye’s Windrush Day pick, Horace Andy headlines the weekend celebration of Afro-Saxon lineage in Liverpool. Other highlighted selections would have to include Sofiane Saidi & Mazalda – who have worked with PMS favourite Arab-world electronica producer Ammar 808 – alongside hugely celebrated Belize big band Garifuna Collective.
africaoye.com/festival/line-up/

Wednesday 17th
Tirzah – 24 Kitchen Street – 7pm
Modern experimental soul singer Tirzah makes her city debut in the Baltic area, performing material from her highly acclaimed 2018 record ‘Devotion’, a stripped-back emotive slice of swung R’n’B produced by national treasure and contemporary Mica Levi. A surefire hit.
 
Schande, Careering, Good Grief, Mean Jean – Outpost – 7pm
Post-hardcore fix for the week provided by San Franciscan riff wraiths Schande and 3 more crews from UK.
 
Thursday 18th
The Good, The Bad, and The Queen – O2 Academy – 7:30pm
This slightly dumbfounding ‘alternative rock supergroup’ pegs Afrobeat Godfather Tony Allen (on drums) against Paul Simonon of the Clash, Damon Album of Blur, and the guitar/keyboardist from The Verve, Simon Tong. The result is a multi-meter exercise in groove and theatrical storytelling that sits more comfily alongside Gorillaz and Allen’s post-Fela Kuti work than any of the more conventional Britpop projects one might imagine this to drift towards. A pretty weird all-star show that caught attention last month at the 6 Music Festival – back for a second helping.
 
Girli, Ashnikko, The Difference, Charity Shop Pop – The Zanzibar Club – 7pm
Child of the PC Music ‘extreme pop’ moment, Girli has graduated from that school and is touring her bratty, brash, bubblegum punk LP ‘Odd One Out’.
 
Friday 19th
Hunjoo Jung, ISO, Jezebel, Nick Branton – Factory Kitchen – 8pm
Wunderkinds of the truly underground sounds for our city, Spine host regular noisy soirees in some of Liverpool’s cosiest environs (as frequently mentioned on the show for their post-industrial figurative torch-carrying tendencies and abilities). Headlining this iteration of their intense excursions is South Korean ‘digital noise’ artist Hunjoo Jung (now Germany-based). ISO combine found-sound with sound design. Jezebel sees the first solo outing of scene saxophonist, synth-player and screamer Jez test the crowd with sound art. And Nick Branton comes to show his free improv skills to the petite, attentitve audience. Support all these people as they’re cultivating the next gen of challenging, locally-sourced noise’n’music.
 
Sonic Yootha – 24 Kitchen Street – 9pm
The 39th edition of the ultimate club night for every body in Liverpool…
 
Idlewild – Grand Central Hall – 7pm
Good Friday greets the Scotch rockers, should you fancy your indie of yesteryear over this long weekend.
 
Saturday 20th
Constellations’ 5th Birthday – Constellations – 10am / all weekend
With just one year left at their current premises, the creative team behind the Baltic area’s greatest (outdoor) success story mark the occasion by taking over the turntables and getting all the friends they’ve made since inception to take turns doing the same. A come and go as you please, toast the team in their grand garden type of affair. Here’s to the next great thing for the grassroots art, culture and music scene that this lot turn their hands to.
 
Sink The Pink – Camp & Furnace – 9pm
London’s premier touring drag show and entertainment gesamtkunstwerkhouse finally makes a stop in our good city, and the town is ready for it. The theme is ‘When I Grow Up’ – so expect childhood fantasies writ large amongst a celebration of pop music across the ages, and an array of fabulous scene-stealing spectacles. This is the country’s best version of the all-singing, all-dancing drag party.
 
Antoine Boyer plays Django Reinhardt – Philharmonic Music Room – 8pm
Accompanied by a rhythm guitarist and upright bassist, this ought to be a real tour-de-gypsy jazz force for Antoine’s ninth tour in a row.
 
Music for the Jilted Generation (CALM fundraiser) – 24 Kitchen Street – 10pm
A celebration of the life and music of The Prodigy’s front-man Keith Flint, who sadly passed away last month.
 
Sunday 21st
Micachu, Coby Sey, Brother May – The White Hotel – 10pm
Mica Levi and friends present a new roving club concept, CURL. Hear the trio guide revellers into the early hours with a woozy take on bass culture.
 
Looking ahead: Tuesday 23rd April – Lowkey – 24 Kitchen Street – 7pm
British/Iraqi MC comes back from time away spent on activism and his studies to re-ignite his socially conscious hip-hop fire. Firebrand local support comes from Anfield-based Iranian Grime artist Tardast – well worth checking out.
 
+ Furrow Collective – Philharmonic Music Room – 8pm
Folk favourites of the show, expect good helpings of traditional songs from Scotland and England.
 
Friday 17th May – Light Night: Ritual – everywhere in Liverpool – from 5pm
Stand by for our commission working with local musicians to put unusual music in unusual places…
http://lightnightliverpool.co.uk/whats-on/music-for-shopping/