FESTIVAL REVIEW: Liverpool Sound City 2025

Liverpool's annual showcase of new music took over the city centre once again this May, with a line up that featured a mix of local talent, the most exciting emerging acts from further afield and plenty of huge Indie names including The Royston Club, Dylan John Thomas and Nieve Ella. Our team headed down to soak up the sonics on a sunny Bank Holiday weekend....

SATURDAY

Saturday at Sound City brought Liverpool to life as a series of talented artists took to stages across the city. A day of glorious sunshine, buzzing crowds and a pint in hand, Saturday’s line-up was a tough one to beat. With The Spanish Caravan acting as the festival’s hub, it wasn’t hard to spot a few familiar faces milling about, bringing together the music community one day at a time.

Up-and-coming bands were scattered across Liverpool’s infamous music venues throughout the afternoon, including White Flowers taking over The Jacaranda and Better Joy just next door in The Shipping Forecast. The festival’s use of some of the city’s most iconic music venues allowed these spaces to be truly celebrated by everyone attending Sound City, with singing and applause heard from every street.

Celebrating emerging artists, Liverpool’s own Keyside took to the Arts Club Loft. Playing a short but sweet set, the band started with a firm favourite, ‘Nikita’. Once the crowd got moving, Keyside performed ‘Michael (What’s Your Call?)’ from their latest EP released earlier this year. Showcasing frontman Dan Parker’s socially conscious lyrics, supported by the rest of Keyside’s exceptional talent, the band certainly made their mark on Liverpool’s Indie scene.

Taking over The Dome in Grand Central Hall was Saturday afternoon’s headliner, Corella. The Manchester-based Indie Rock band set their expectations of the crowd from the start, getting them jumping about, singing along and hooked on Corella’s upbeat tunes. ‘Lady Messiah’ saw frontman Joel Smith split the crowd in two and lead a sing-along before jumping into the mosh pit for ‘Barcelona Girl’, a summer anthem for everyone’s playlists. 

Finishing off the day’s celebrations were The Royston Club, headlining Sound City in The Dome. With the crowd buzzing in anticipation, the band took to the stage, kicking off their set with ‘The Patch Where Nothing Grows’, bringing an electrifying performance to Grand Central Hall. Integrating a mix of fan favourites and unreleased tracks, The Royston Club worked hard to win over the crowd, and they did just that with their soaring anthems and off-the-charts energy. ‘Shallow Tragedy’, ‘Mrs Narcissistic’ and ‘I’m A Liar’ brought a sensational sound to Liverpool and confirmed The Royston Club as a leading act in the UK’s Indie music scene. The band’s talent and chemistry had the crowd singing and dancing along to every track, making Saturday night one to remember.

2025 brought a show-stopping lineup to Liverpool, recognising and celebrating talent from all over the UK. With such a diverse range of incredibly skilled artists, this year proved more than ever that Liverpool Sound City just gets better and better.

SUNDAY

The return of Sound City means more than just sampling some of the North West’s stellar musical offerings; it’s a day spent darting between pubs and clubs, nursing a warm pint in a plastic cup, and bumping into band members in every corner of the city. They don’t award Liverpool the “city of music” title in vain either. With gig posters adorning each venue like wallpaper, it was almost impossible to escape the irrevocable buzz brought along by gig-goers still reeling with excitement and sore heads from yesterday’s headliners.

Miles Temp took to the stage in the mysterious darkness of The Shipping Forecast to kick off the Sunday afternoon sessions. As an enamoured crowd descended the winding stairs, his tender vocals captured the hearts of listeners with fan-favourites ‘Polaroid Picture’ and ‘Before You’. The singer-songwriter offered a gentle injection of romanticised melancholy, commanding the room with effortless highs and lows, before leading into a flawless cover of an unexpected Billie Eilish track. Miles Temp has certainly cemented his name in the crooked stone floors of the Sound City venue; his delivery of soul-searching lyricism blended with cinematic lo-fi instrumentals left a mystical hue hanging in the air. 

The intersection between Seel and Slater Street was pulsing with energy ahead of Room Two’s set in Spanish Caravan. The North West noisemakers were oozing with charm as they slapped their one-of-a-kind plethora of soundwaves onto the walls of a packed-out pub.  Each guitar breakdown, trumpet solo, and vocal injection offered a refreshing fusion of Country and Indie Jazz like the crowd had never seen before.

Over at The Dome, things were starting to get rowdy. The scuzzy wash of sound belonging to STONE hit like a truck as frontman Fin Power strutted onto stage to bring a raucous energy to the age-old venue. They cut through the dust settled into the cracks of the floor with ‘Let’s Dance To The Real Thing’ and ‘Leave It Out’ after assuring the mosh-pitting fans a crowd surf was imminently in tow. If anyone knows how to put on a show, it’s these guys.

Fin Power launched himself into the pit to offer up his socially astute lyricism and sonic angst from the comfort of the crowd - shortly followed by him perfectly executing the worm, and starting a chant for his beloved grandmother up in the balcony. Expect the unexpected with STONE’s yearning for teenage nostalgia, and instrumental middle fingers to the verisimilitude of the modern age.

Folk-Punk outfit Brògeal were an apt follow-up to the musical tornado taking over The Dome in the late afternoon. The five-piece from Falkirk sparked a wave of traditional jigs, arms in the air, and plenty of smiles with their youthful, melting pot take on centuries-old local culture. Brògeal truly hit home with Sound City’s local scene as they united purists with novices in an ode to traditionality, propelled by the bouncing tones of a banjo and indomitable spirit channelled through the sounds of a tin whistle. 

The Cheap Thrills jumped onto the stage to ramp up the energy yet again. They poured their hearts out to a pulsating crowd who were enamoured by their distinctive spirit and local roots. The four-piece outfit commanded The Dome with a simple strike of the drums and pure, unfiltered energy; transforming the auditorium into a sanctuary for the people. A sense of magnetised pride unified the room for their set. Short but sweet, The Cheap Thrills answered every demand their fans asked of them in a showcase of musicianship and undying adoration for the city that shaped them.

A welcomed “bit of calm in between” came in the form of Maya Delilah over at Arts Club Theatre. The soon-to-be superstar from North London danced her fingers over the strings of her guitar as she showcased her vulnerable yet mature blend of soulful, atmospheric soundscapes, entirely solo on stage. Maya’s vocals were gently mellow, but equally as piercing, during her performance of ‘Actress’ - a sun-soaked track which echoed with musical inspirations from the likes of Tom Misch. Her ethereality captured the eyes of a calm crowd with such a breathtaking essence; each track became the window into the soul of a singer-songwriter who truly knows her way around a minimalistic masterpiece.

The sticky floors and sweaty crowds of The Dome definitely reeled fans back in as talks of the closing set began to rattle through the city. The Clause brought the energy for the penultimate set of the night, chucking out anthemic sing-along tracks left right and centre. Headliner Dylan John Thomas was then tasked with more than a final goodbye to this year’s festival; before him was a crowd beating with undeniable energy, like fireworks awaiting a musical spark to set them alight. The singer-songwriter took this mission in his stride as he exploded into action with ‘Jenna’ as an opener. With pints flying, pits opening, and the crisp strum of a guitar reverberating around the room, it’s safe to say Dylan John Thomas brought the farewell party to town.

The Scottish superstar certainly knew his way around a catchy chorus. He commanded The Dome like it was a working men’s club back in his roots of Glasgow; the showman flew through his classic tracks before rewarding fans with an ABBA cover that lit up the room from floor to balcony. Citizens of Sound City bid a heartfelt so-long to this year’s festival as Dylan John Thomas closed out the weekend with ‘Fever’. Its cult-classic status in the Indie Rock scene almost blew the roof into the River Mersey as the venue rocked with rhapsody.

The final hour of Sound City 2025 felt like a mere few minutes. Nothing could’ve put out the fire in the bellies of the most dedicated fans hopping between venues all weekend; the city was united in adoration for feeling the bass in your chest, lights on your face, and sweat on your back. For another two days in the musical calendar, this city champions the true essence of live music, and will hold it in its heart until this time next year.