Museums to premiere exclusive performances from Liverpool music stars 

Museum Sessions returns, platforming local musicians as the city prepares to host Eurovision 2023.

National Museums Liverpool (NML) is platforming musicians from across the Liverpool City Region as Museum Sessions returns – the online series which offers exclusive online performances from the rising stars of the Liverpool music scene. 

The participating musicians for season two are Ni Maxine, Astles, Mickey Callisto, Niki Kand, Blue Saint and Martha Goddard. 

The captivating surroundings of National Museums Liverpool’s venues have been centre stage recently, with music videos by Brit Award nominated singer Tom Grennan and indie band The Lathums being filmed at the Museum of Liverpool and the Walker Art Gallery respectively. 

Now, with the eyes of the music world set on Liverpool as the city gears up to host Eurovision 2023, season two of Museum Sessions is platforming musicians from across the city region performing in some of NML’s most recognisable spaces – from the space and time gallery of World Museum to the captivating surroundings of the Lady Lever Art Gallery.  

This season launches with an atmospheric performance by Ni Maxine in the Victorian conservatory of Sudley House, available on YouTube from 1 March. A neo-jazz singer-songwriter, Ni Maxine’s music explores themes of identity, self-esteem and belonging. For Museum Sessions, she will treat viewers to a special performance of her song Strange Love which has been played across Jazz FM, BBC Radio 1 and 1Xtra.  

Ni Maxine said that taking part in Museum Sessions was a powerful act for her. She continues:

“It was an empowering experience for me as a Black woman to perform at Sudley House, which was built by a merchant with links to the transatlantic slave trade. My song is about my experience of love and relationships before reaching the point where I realised that I had to love and accept myself in order to experience freedom.” 

Upcoming performances come from artists representing a rich mix of talent from across the Liverpool City Region. Martha Goddard takes over from Ni Maxine on 15 March, with a set from the elegant surroundings of the Lady Lever Art Gallery. Astles and Niki Kand make Lady Lever Art Gallery and World Museum their stages on 29 March and 12 April respectively, with further performances from Sudley House and World Museum coming from Blue Saint and Mickey Callisto on 26 April and 10 May.  

Martha Goddard said:

“I loved having the opportunity to perform my art in a space that has such feeling – transforming the Lady Lever rotunda into a performance space and enjoying the natural reverb was slightly surreal, with my audience being a collection of gleaming statues and busts. I’m very excited to share the special version of my song Fighter that we filmed.” 

David Lally, Digital Content Lead at National Museums Liverpool, said:

“We’re so excited to have the opportunity to work with a range of local artists in the new season of Museum Sessions, at what is such an exciting moment in Liverpool’s musical story. There is no better time to highlight the incredible musicians who call the city home today as we prepare to welcome an international audience for Eurovision 2023. 

We’re pleased to be building on the success of season one of Museum Sessions, which represented the very best of contemporary music across the region and helped to shift the ways in which the public can interact with us, giving our audiences new perspective on what we do.” 

Tune in from 3pm on 1 February to enjoy Ni Maxine’s exclusive performance of her song Strange Love at Sudley House, premiering exclusively on the National Museums Liverpool YouTube channel.  

Find out more about Museum Sessions and rewatch season one at liverpoolmuseums.org.uk/museumsessions