Sound City returns as the home of new music discovery and the beating pulse of music fans’ favourite new artists across Liverpool City Centre kicking off with the Sound City+ Conference on Friday 2nd May 2025 before the multi-venue festival kicks off between May 3rd-4th 2025.
Reflecting the most exciting new artists that are destined to soundtrack the year ahead – Sound City sits as a temperature check on the bands and artists making their mark before anyone else, with next year’s return already shaping up to be an unforgettable weekend in Merseyside.
Announced today is the first full wave of names heading across Liverpool City Centre next May, joining previously announced headliners The Royston Club with an array of leading new favourites, beloved rising stars and names making their mark in the year ahead.
Selling out venues across Europe and emerging as a true breakout sensation, Nieve Ella brings her anthemic indie-rock to Sound City following a year that has seen her become one of the most talked about names in new music. Latest EP ‘Watch it Ache And Bleed’ cements why, and by the time Sound City rolls around it’s a surefire guarantee that Nieve Ella will be THE name on everyone’s lips.
Rianne Downey heads to Sound City 2025 after a spectacular few years which has transformed her into the beloved voice that spans generations. After being hand-picked by the iconic Paul Heaton to perform with him across his latest live show and album, fans will see just why Rianne sits a cut above the rest when she steps onto the Sound City stage as a special Afternoon Headliner. Blazing a trail for modern guitar music, overpass are sure to elicit unstoppable scenes at Sound City 2025 – with cuts like ‘Be Good T o Yourself’, ‘Of The Night’, ‘Beautiful’ and more showcasing why sell-out gigs an ever-building rise has followed.
The feel-good punk fizz of Panic Shack is destined to be an unmissable highlight from a band who take the live music experience and run with it for a Sound City moment that’s sure to see moshpits and singalong joy, whilst the all-encompassing hooks of Siobhan Winifred touch down and prove why an ever-growing world of fans are flocking to the front for a future indie-pop superstar that’s ready to seize 2025.
Homecomings and the best of local talent bursting from Liverpool can be found front and centre with The Cheap Thrills whose appearance is guaranteed to be a roadblock of epic proportions as they emerge as a bursting force in modern indie.
The hypnotising and magnetic darkness of TTSFU comes to Sound City after making waves across the UK as an essential new artist forging her own distinct path, whilst Maya Delilah touches down with her transformative heart-on-sleeve songwriting bound to leave Sound City in awe of an inspiring new voice making waves.
With Alex Spencer, The Clause, Delights, Cliffords, The Stingrays, Mandrake Handshake, Basht, The Heavy North, Better Joy, Mitch Saunders and more announced today, it sets Sound City apart as a festival that perfectly distills not only amazing new artists making their mark, but also as a reflection of a scene that music fans are creating for themselves. The beating pulse of breaking music, Sound City is about unearthing tomorrow’s chart-toppers and Glasto headliners during a venue-hopping weekend across one of the world’s defining music capitals.
Speaking about Sound City 2025 and the first wave of names announced today,
Managing Director Becky Ayres says:
“We’re delighted to reveal our first wave of names heading to Sound City in 2025, joining our first announced headliner in The Royston Club. Everything we are about at Sound City is on the here and now. The artists shaping the future. The industry’s next steps. The next generation and providing that platform and route for them to bring their vital insights into what comes next. We can see that across the names being announced today, with so much more to be unveiled in the coming weeks and months”.
It follows an incredible 2024 festival which saw the weekend hailed as one of Sound City’s best, with defining moments pointing to the bands and artists who went on to have huge years. Whether it was a showstopping headline turn from The Snuts, The K’s shutting down the official afterparty with a riotous tiny set which laid the marker for a breakthrough year for them, jaw-dropping performances from the likes of Corella, Antony Szmierek, Brooke Combe and more. Sound City’s fingerprints were laid firmly on 2024 to come, as a vital date in the diary for one of Europe’s leading new music festivals/conferences.
Also announced today are further details of the Sound City+ Conference which in 2025 will see the event team up with influential industry partners such as the BPI (the pioneering trade association of the British recorded music industry).
Spanning across Liverpool City Centre, Sound City is an inner-city music festival which revels in the thrill of new music and a weekend in one of the best cities on the planet. Whether it’s the incredible surroundings of The Dome @ Grand Central Hall or the historic steps of the Arts Club (Theatre + Loft), Liverpool is a city where history and atmosphere reigns supreme. Catching shows in legendary venues such as The Jacaranda, EBGBs, The Kazimier Stockroom or tucked into the Spanish Caravan for ridiculous moments – Sound City brings music fans together for a feel-good weekend firmly on the pulse of unmissable artists soundtracking the here and now. That’s not even to mention the famed Conference programming which brings together important voices from across the Music Industry to discuss, debate and push for change around the issues affecting the industry. A programme aimed at inspiring change but also inspiring artists + aspiring industry professionals on how to shapethe future – more information on the Conference is set to be announced in the coming months.
Welcoming artists from across the UK and beyond, Sound City has played a pivotal role in providing an early step for names that have gone on to become global superstars. Whether it’s The 1975, Charli XCX, Ed Sheeran, Stormzy, Florence & The Machine, Lizzo, Catfish & The Bottlemen, The xx, alt-J, The Wombats or Royal Blood amongst many others – Sound City has served as one of the first chances to catch the essential artists of tomorrow making their mark. Always looking to celebrate the vital fresh new artists paving their own destinies, Sound City is the spotlight that’s always shining on the sounds defining the year ahead. The UK’s longest consecutively-running showcase festival, Sound City’s reputation as the kickstart of the summer festival season ensures it’s a must for all music fans, offering a first look at your next favourite artist.
It follows an incredible 2024 festival which saw the weekend hailed as one of Sound City’s best, with defining moments pointing to the bands and artists who went on to have huge years. Whether it was a showstopping headline turn from The Snuts, The K’s shutting down the official afterparty with a riotous tiny set which laid the marker for a breakthrough year for them, jaw-dropping performances from the likes of Corella, Antony Szmierek, Brooke Combe and more. Sound City’s fingerprints were laid firmly on 2024 to come, as a vital date in the diary for one of Europe’s leading new music festivals/conferences.
Continuing their long-standing relationship, Sound City is once again the UK’s lead festival for Keychange, a global movement focused on the restructuring of the music industry to achieve gender equality. Leading a vast array of festivals and events across the UK and beyond, the focus remains on achieving a gender balance across all Sound City events and initiatives. An equal representation of women and diverse genders will play across the Sound City weekend with a range of initiatives, panels and more lined up in collaboration with Keychange over the coming months.
Sound City is proud to work with many leading and innovative partners, sponsors and funders. These include Arts Council England– supporting new artistic and industry talent and organisations from all corners of the sector, CAPLL; T alent Development Partner, SAE; a global higher education provider in creative media industries and Principal Creative Education Partner, PRS/PPL/PRSF, Amplead; the festival’s Apply T o Play Partner and Gigseekr– the official festival app and Official Discovery Partner. With other partners including Leeds Conservatoire, Musician’s Union and Liverpool Hope University– it ensures Sound City is a coming together of industry supporting the new.
With these names but a snapshot of a huge lineup heading across Liverpool City Centre this May, tickets for Sound City 2025 are on-sale now here.
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