Smithdown Weekender returns for two days of live music

Smithdown Weekender is back this October, bringing two days of free live music to Liverpool in aid of The Whitechapel Centre.

Taking place on Friday 10 and Saturday 11 October, with a closing party at Handyman Bar on the Sunday, the festival will once again showcase some of the best up-and-coming and established acts from across the city.

Across the weekend, 21 different performers will take to the stage, giving local talent a chance to play to packed crowds while raising money for an important cause.

The Handyman Bar and Brewery will be the main stage for bands, kicking off on the Saturday with Sound Together Choir before Psycho Comedy make their long-awaited return to close the evening.

Edgar Jones will keep the party going with a DJ set. Friday night will see festival favourites Silent-K alongside Boom Boom Womb! and Silvermoon, setting the tone for a weekend of live music.

The closing party promises plenty of energy with The Jesse Janes and Splintered Ukes bringing blues, country and ukulele fun to round off the celebrations.

Black Cat will once again deliver two packed days of indie, jazz and rock’n’roll, with Manchester’s Ask My Bull and Sticky Lips returning after crowd-pleasing performances earlier this year.

Newcomers Llama Llama are set to turn heads with their psychedelic dance punk, while PasleighB, known as the Chippy Queen for her live streams from Mei Sum, will perform with her full band in front of a hometown crowd.

Elsewhere, venues including The Beeswing, Luminous and Penny Lane Wine Bar will host DJs and acoustic sets, while Big Lola’s and All Day Poke will be serving up special menus across the weekend.

More acts are still to be announced in the run-up to the festival.

Although entry to all venues is free, donations will be collected throughout the weekend in support of The Whitechapel Centre, the Liverpool charity working to end homelessness, which has been at the heart of the festival since day one.