Tue 25 Feb, 6-8pm
Against the backdrop of our archive display of music posters, Tomorrow’s Music Yesterday, this discussion looks at key performances and music programmes from across the decades to consider the role the Bluecoat has played in the city’s musical life and how this might inform future developments.
The Bluecoat’s Director of Cultural Legacies Bryan Biggs chairs a panel of people involved in the arts centre’s music activity, from the 1980s to the present. Roger Hill wrote the chapter ‘Bechsteins and Beyond: Music at the Bluecoat’ in the publication Bluecoat, Liverpool: the UK’s first arts centre (2020) and has been involved in the local music scene for many years as writer, starting with Merseysound fanzine (1979-82), and radio presenter, running BBC Radio Merseyside’s The Popular Music Show for four decades. Like Roger, Jayne Casey has been integral to the development of Liverpool’s musical and cultural life, playing a hugely important role as musician, catalyst and venue manager. In the late 1980s she was performance director at the Bluecoat, devising an eclectic programme that ranged from Sun Ra to the Cookie Crew. Benjamin D. Duvall’s connection to the Bluecoat is more recent, principally through the acclaimed experimental group, Ex-Easter Island Head, which he founded and is creative director of. Their most recent album, Norther, topped The Quietus’ 2024 Top 100 Albums of the Year.
Tue 25 Feb, 6-8pm
Free, booking required
