Liverpool culture

Music

Liverpool is alive with music – from the electrifying concerts at Liverpool Philharmonic Hall to the late night venues of the Ropewalks, the city rattles and hums with a rhythm all its own.

Every year, Sound City and Liverpool Music Week invite the world’s most exciting new artists to infuse the city’s after-dark spaces with an eclectic soundtrack of all that’s essential.

See the massive discounts on offer to attend Sound City.

Big names draw the crowds to the city’s Echo Arena at the waterfront. From Elbow to Example, the city always attracts the A listers. And, the city’s next generation superstars - from Evian Christ to Forest Swords, All We Are to Circa Waves – ignite the warehouses and cellar clubs that, fifty years ago, rang to the sound of the original Fab Four.

In short, on any given night, should the mood for dancing overtake you, Liverpool won’t let you down. Even if your moves might.

Art

Like the city it springs from, Liverpool’s art scene is vibrant, inspiring and democratic. Liverpool is the host city of the UK’s Biennial of Contemporary Art: a celebration of all that art can do to transform places, and people. Home to the National Collection of art in the north, Liverpool’s Walker Art Gallery contains one of Europe's finest collections of paintings, drawings, sculpture and decorative art, from Pre-Raphaelite beauties to David Hockney's shimmering sixties canvasses.

Elsewhere, the Tate’s northern base, at the Albert Dock, offers an always-vital assessment of contemporary art, FACT fuses digital tech with hands-on fun, and the Bluecoat mixes art and music and performance up to dizzying effect. But, often, it’s the city’s artist-led galleries – from Royal Standard’s dynamic new work to Arena Studio’s warren of industrious studios – where the real excitement awaits...

Performance Art

LJMU has close and cherished links with Liverpool’s leading cultural institutions. The ties between us and the city’s theatres, concert halls and arts organisations run deep, helping students and staff to engage with Liverpool's exciting cultural sector.

Liverpool’s resurgent Everyman (recently awarded the Stirling prize for architecture) is firing on all cylinders, with made-in-Liverpool and touring productions regularly scooping five star reviews from the national press. The inclusive and experimental productions at the Unity and the Playhouse theatres continues Liverpool’s tradition of making theatre fun and accessible to all.

It’s the Liverpool way: culture is King Lear, is Ken Dodd, and is everything in between. That’s why the city’s calendar of festivals is as life-affirming as it is genre-defying. From Homotopia’s freewheeling celebration of queer culture to DaDa Fest’s disability and deaf arts showcase, Liverpool knows how to put on a show.

And you’ve not really seen Liverpool until you’ve experienced a scouse farce at The Royal Court.

European Capital of Culture

In Liverpool, culture is our currency. Since our tenure as European Capital of Culture, the city’s year-round offer of blockbuster exhibitions, super-sized street theatre, and world-class music festivals has catapulted the city onto the world stage.

Recently voted the third best city in the world to visit (Rough Guides) and the most cultural city in the UK by travel industry bible Group Leisure, Liverpool is a great place to visit and an inspirational place to work and study.