Lineup announced for Angel Field Festival

An exciting week-long festival of arts and culture is coming to The Capstone Theatre and Liverpool Hope University’s Creative Campus this March.

From 20th until 27th March, Angel Field Festival will showcase an enthralling and diverse programme of music, art, dance, film, workshops and discussion.

Kicking things off on Thursday 20th March will be the award-winning Dife Youth Ensemble, from Acadiana’s Best Dance Studio of 2024, FE Conservatory. This show will see Liverpool welcome the vibrant culture of Louisiana Creoles and experience a captivating performance showcasing the heart and soul of the state’s rich heritage, infusing the infectious rhythms of traditional Zydeco music with the expressive power of contemporary dance.

Snooker legend Steve Davis’ electronic band The Utopia Strong will take the Angel Field stage on Friday 21st March. Formed in Glastonbury in 2018, the group released their self-titled debut album in 2019 and their second, International Treasure, in 2022. As no less a sage than Andrew Weatherall proclaimed, The Utopia Strong are “gnostic sonics in a nutshell”.

The Saturday afternoon of the festival will see a performance from Liverpool stalwarts The Savoy Jazzmen.

The group first performed at the Mardi Gras Jazz Club Liverpool in May 1960 and regularly played in the Downbeat Jazz Club. A poster can be seen in the city’s World Museum advertising the group’s session in the club with the Swinging Blue Jeans, and they also played at the original Cavern; a brick in the wall opposite the new Cavern commemorates their sessions there.

That evening sees the focus then turn to classical music, with a stunning showcase from the Hope Metropolitan Orchestra and Choir. The concert will put the spotlight on Mozart’s great works from 1791, including his piano concerto in Bb, k.595, the operas The Magic Flute and La Clemenza di Tito, the Clarinet Concerto k.622, the string quintet in Eb k.614, the much-loved motet Ave Verum Corpus.

Sunday 23rd March will see a performance of Waterside in the Cornerstone Theatre – an emotional, thought-provoking and magical journey that unravels the culture of totemism, taboos, and plagues in the Niger Delta. The show is presented by Kininso Koncepts, a creative and cultural organisation that aims to “inspire greatness and make relevant statements through storytelling and deep-rooted research into African culture and tradition”.

Waterside will explore the significance of culture, family, memories, and dreams, delving into historical issues of oil exploitation and struggles of Nigerian youth.

Then on Sunday evening, music of a reflective nature will take over the Capstone Theatre. In A Landscape features works by the composers Erik Satie, John Cage and David Revill. French composer Satie was an early pioneer of musical modernism exerting a profound influence on 20th-century music, meanwhile American composer Cage was a legendary American composer and music theorist. British composer Revill, who passed away in 2024, is the author of The Roaring Silence, the authorised biography of Cage.

Young talent from Liverpool Hope University Drama Society and the Young Everyman Playhouse Programme will be celebrated on Monday 24th March in Stages of Youth. The show will feature a debut performance of the The Wee Wake, written, directed and produced by second year student Aoife Kane. Liverpool Hope Drama Society has developed its Stages of Youth performance employing a range of exciting devising techniques.

The visual art offering at this year’s festival sees (a contemporary) phantasmagoria’s successful run at Tension Fine Art in London built upon with the aptly named (a contemporary) phantasmagoria (2). This exhibition will extend its range and ambition for the prestigious Cornerstone Gallery at Liverpool Hope University’s renowned Creative Campus. A private view and talk will take place on 25th March with pre-booking essential.

East Meets West – A Musical Interpretation of Poem’s Savors is a programme that includes a piano recital alongside a lecture on the subject of contemporary piano works combining Eastern and Western cultural influences.

The show in the evening of the 25th March will feature Hua Lin, one of the most prominent contemporary Chinese composers, alongside Chinese pianist Lei Cai, Professor of Piano at Ouachita Baptist University, USA.

These two artists will perform pieces and introduce works to the audience through reading English translations of Chinese poems and through the showing of traditional Chinese paintings.

Wednesday 26th March will see a unique telling of one of the wildest Scandinavian fairytales, The Hairy Girl. Cirque do Soleil performer Kersti Ståbi remixes this old tale with the power of Japanese Taiko drumming, described as “music you can hear with your eyes” with its martial arts influences and dynamic use of the drummer’s body. The Hairy Girl thunders through the world on her goat, beats up troll hags, saves her sister from a grim destiny, and uses all her cunning to find a future for them both.

The festival will draw to a close with a performance of the sensational Moutya – A UNESCO-Inscribed Cultural Heritage of Seychelles. This soulful and evocative show is steeped in Seychelles’ history. More than a dance; Moutya is a profound expression of freedom, resilience, and unity.

Born out of the hardships endured by enslaved Africans, the art of Moutya became a means of secret communication and a form of resistance. Today, it is a proud symbol of Seychellois identity and Creole heritage.

Angel Field Festival is an exciting week-long festival of arts and culture at The Capstone Theatre and Liverpool Hope University’s Creative Campus from 20th until 27th March 2025. It will showcase an enthralling and diverse programme of music, art, dance, film, workshops and discussion.

For more information and tickets, visit the Angel Field Festival website here.

Find more events across Liverpool here.