LIMF is just days away with UB40 ft Ali Campbell and more taking to stages across Liverpool

There are just days to go before Liverpool International Music Festival (LIMF) returns with more than 100 artists playing at more than 15 venues across the city centre.

Taking place from Friday 29 to Sunday 31 July, this year’s festival is a mix of free events and ticketed gigs which will see household names such as UB40 feat. Ali Campbell, De La Soul, Heather Small and The Zutons perform.

In a change to previous years, the entire festival will take place in city centre venues in a bid to re-energise and support the city’s music sector which was severely impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic.

LIMF, which is expected to boost the local economy by nearly £500,000, keeps ticket prices low with star power high, to ensure great live music and experiences are as accessible as possible. Some tickets are still available, however The Zutons, Heather Small, Girls Don’t Sync, The Wombat… A Jazz Happening, Sisu & Keep it Cryptic and the walking tour Black Nights Trail have all sold out.

But you can still get tickets to see the international stars UB40 ft Ali Campbell, Aswad and De La Soul, as well as acclaimed newcomersKojey Radical, Children of Zeus, DJ Les Spaine’s tribute to legendary Liverpool nightclub The Timepiece, Africa Oyé’s Havana meets Kingston, We Are Scientists and Gaika.

This year’s theme is Power to the People, and in homage to that, a series of free, entertaining and educational talks will take place at Chapters of Us on Sunday 31 July. These will see prominent people from the local music sector talk about the importance of music and heritage, and the need for authentic representation in music. The conversations will start from 1pm and no pre-booking is needed.

Alongside this, the festival is offering a number of free events including Still Do The Right Thing at District which includes performances by Grammy-winning jazz duo Blue Lab Beats, and LIMF Academy presents at Kazimier Stockroom, which sees some of the city’s best unsigned music artists take to the stage.

Visit the LIMF website for the full three-day line-up and to buy tickets.

It’s a busy weekend for the city with two other major events taking place on Saturday 30 July – Pride in Liverpool at the Pier Head and retro music festival Let’s Rock takes over Wavertree Playing Fields in the south of the city. As the city is expected to be incredibly busy, visitors are advised to plan their journeys in advance.

Liverpool’s Cabinet Member for Culture and Visitor Economy, Councillor Harry Doyle, said:

“It’s been three years since the last LIMF took place in the city and it’s really exciting to have it back.

“Not having the event in Sefton Park is a big change for 2022, but we made the city centre move for all the right reasons – our music and leisure offer is massively important and we can support their post-pandemic growth by literally bringing LIMF to them.

“And it certainly feels like cultural events are back with a bang with two other major events, which include live music, happening at the same time – Liverpool is clearly the place to be that weekend!”

LIMF Curator, Yaw Owusu, said:

“I’ve been working on LIMF since the start of the year so it will be great to see all the plans come together over the three days.

“I’m massively proud of the line-up which is, as LIMF always aims to be, diverse musically as well as in terms of the music creators and performers, and focused not only showcasing established artists, bands and music genres but also shining a light on up-and-coming acts and sounds.

“The UK live music scene is still recovering post pandemic, and we know that all over the country ticket sales are not yet back to pre-2020 levels – so I’m really pleased that a number of our events have sold out and it’s testament to not only the calibre of the programme but the united working between the LIMF team, the venues and the artists – all aiming to create more musical memories in these important spaces.”