Smithdown Weekender is happening next Bank Holiday weekend - here's everything you need to know

Smithdown Weekender is happening next Bank Holiday weekend with a four-day line-up of live music at venues on Smithdown Road.

With the outdoor family-friendly Smithdown Festival planned for September, this one is all about the bands and the music.

After changes over the past two years due to Covid, the Weekender is back in its usual May Day weekend slot.

Kev McGrath from the Handyman Pub, who’s one of the organisers, says it’s become a regular date for bands as well as giving a big boost to the area.

“People always message me throughout the year looking forward to this weekend so we’ve got a great line-up this year with about 70 different bands playing.”

If you fancy going along to Smithdown Weekender, here’s everything you need to know …

When is it on?

It’ll be across four days, from Friday April 29 to Monday May 2.

Where can you see bands?

This year’s Weekender is at six different venues – the Handyman and Black Cat on Smithdown will have the main stages, Frank’s and The Beeswing will have smaller stages and Defend Vinyl will be doing an in-store acoustic session on the Saturday from 2pm.

Smithdown Weekender

What about the sixth?

The sixth isn’t actually a venue, it’s the Mystery Garden. On Saturday and Sunday, between around midday and 7pm, there’ll be a Weekender pop-up beer garden in the garden area at the Smithdown entrance to the Mystery with a BBQ and DJs playing laidback summer tunes.

How about timings?

All the venues have got different start and finish times, but the live music will kick off around teatime, so 5pm/6pm, and go through until about 11pm. DJs will take over til 2am at Handyman on Friday and Saturday, and Black Cat will have the New Orleans Brass afterparty on Saturday night.

Is there anything other than live music?

There absolutely is – on the Monday, as well as bands at all four, there’ll be quizzes going on at Black Cat and Handyman. At Black Cat, you can shake off your hangover with questions from 3-5pm, then try to hammer it again by winning a £40 bar tab. Sticking with the theme, Handyman’s has got its I Love Music Quiz from 7pm.

Is there an admission charge?

No, it’s free to go and watch because the venues share the costs of paying the bands, although as in previous years Smithdown Weekender is working with the Whitechapel Centre to raise money to support their homeless services in Liverpool. There’ll be donation buckets around the bars for people enjoying the music to throw some money in, and donations can also be made online via the website.

Mamadou and the lekette

Other than raising money for the Whitechapel, what’s the reason for the Weekender?

Kev explains: “We did the first one in 2016 with four venues, basically to try and attract interest in the area because Smithdown was still pretty run-down at that point. That was really busy, the next year we had a bigger stage and extra venues and by 2019 I think we had 14 different venues involved because so many places which previously had shutters down had opened up as bars and restaurants.

“We wanted people who might not normally come to the area to see Smithdown as somewhere that was a destination, where they knew they could have a whole night out without going into town – get food, see live music, and do a bit of a pub crawl because there are lots of good places now. I think it’s got a completely different feel to it than even just a few years ago.”

Matt McManamon

Give us a few highlights to look out for?

Defend Vinyl – Tepid Days at 3pm on Saturday

The Beeswing – Ben Burke on Friday, time TBC

Frank’s – Tonal Select at 9pm on Sunday

Black Cat – Pete Bentham (11.10pm Sunday), DSM IV (11.10pm Saturday), Mickey Callisto (9.40pm Friday), Ooarya (8.40pm Saturday), New Orleans Brass Afterparty on Saturday

Handyman – Deja Vega (10.30pm Friday), Silent-K (8pm Friday), Katie Mac (5.50pm Sunday), Mamadou and the Lekette (9.20pm Sunday), Ali Horn (6.50pm Saturday), Matt McManamon (7.40pm Saturday), Hushtones (8.40pm Saturday), Mexican Dogs (9.30pm Saturday), Yammerer (10.20pm Saturday), Candy Opera (5.15pm Monday).