New music initiative launched to help find Liverpool's future music stars

A new hub is set to drive discovery of the next music superstars in the city region that gave the world The Beatles.

Mayor Steve Rotheram last night opened a special launch of the Sound! Music Hub, which is on a mission to boost access to music education and encourage more Liverpool City Region children and young people into the music industry.

The event at Liverpool’s British Music Experience featured dozens of children including a large choir of primary school students and performances of original material created by secondary school pupils from across the city region.

The Sound! Music Hub is one of 43 in the UK providing music education and opportunities to children and young people, creating pathways into a music career.

Sound! serves Halton, Knowsley, Liverpool, Sefton, St Helens and Warrington, with Wirral supported by Cheshire and Wirral music hub – Love Music Trust, and brings together a variety of organisations ensuring everyone has the chance to be involved in music, from traditional lessons to DJing and digital music initiatives.

Mayor of the Liverpool City Region Steve Rotheram said:

“From the Beatles to the Real Thing and many more, music has always been part of the fabric of the Liverpool City Region—it’s woven into our identity.

“The Sound! Music Hub is about creating opportunities for every child and young person to discover their passion for music, whether that’s through performing, producing, or exploring new sounds.

“By opening the door to young talent, we’re not just nurturing the next generation of musical superstars; we’re investing in our region’s cultural legacy and its future on the world stage.

“We’re setting the standard for what a music city should be in the 21st century.”

Funded by the Department for Education (DfE) through Arts Council England, the Sound! Music Hub is led by the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority as the Hub Lead Organisation (HLO). It replaces previous music hubs across the city region after the DfE and Arts Council England reduced the number of HLOs from 118 to 43 last year.

Sound! works in partnership with a number of existing organisations delivering music services across the city region and will also collaborate on projects with other hubs such as Cheshire and Wirral.

The Hub also plans to broaden programmes to include aspects such as apprenticeships, career progression and work readiness along with improving young people’s access to music activities both in and out of school and, crucially boosting the connection between the two.

Councillor Mike Wharton, Deputy Mayor and Cabinet Member for Business, Investment and Trade said:

“It’s fantastic to see further opportunities for our young people to move forward and forge a career in the music industry – and there’s no better place for this to be happening than the Liverpool City Region with the pool of talent we have across our area.

“We are constantly at the forefront of development in the cultural and creative sectors, and the work of the Sound! Music Hub will nurture a love of music and its transformative power for our younger generations, opening doors for them in the future.”

The aims of the Sound! Music Hub are to:

Support schools and other education settings to deliver high quality music education
Support young people to develop their musical interests and talent further including into employment
Support all children and young people to engage with a range of musical opportunities in and out of school