Beyond the Beatles: A Musical Guide to Liverpool
The city is so much more than the Fab Four.
Once, a couple of years ago now, I was sitting in the back of a beaten-up cab in Morelia, Mexico, far from the tourist path, chatting away to the driver. When he found out where I was from, he rooted through his music collection and slotted in a new cassette. “Listen, listen!” he instructed as the first bars of “Hey Jude” begin to make their way through the car’s ancient sound system. “Do you know it?"
I was obviously familiar with the song; being from Liverpool, it sometimes feels like the Fab Four soundtracks my life. Every time I mention my hometown, there’s an enthusiastic reaction, whether it’s playing a tape of the Beatles’ greatest hits, entering into a lengthy discussion of their most underrated songs, or wanting to know if I’ve met Paul McCartney (I have not.) The fifth largest city in the UK undoubtedly punches above its weight in the cultural imagination.
Liverpool’s population exploded in the 19th century when its port drew in migrants and workers from around the world. The city's shameful role in the slave trade also shaped its eventual musical output. In the 1960s, the Merseybeat movement, named for the river Mersey, on which the city sits, started blending British music with the cross-Atlantic sounds of rock ‘n’ roll, skiffle, and R&B. The most famous band to come out of that movement was, of course, The Beatles, whose music and vast global popularity helped shape the very idea of pop culture. More than 60 years since their formation, ongoing Beatlemania brings in an estimated $100 million annually to the city they called home.
UNESCO designated Liverpool a City of Music in 2015, labeling it a “haven for music” both in terms of music history and the contemporary scene. And now, on any day of the week, tourists pour into iconic spots like the Cavern Club, Strawberries Fields, and Penny Lane, as well as the childhood homes of Paul McCartney and John Lennon looking for a sense of the city’s musical history. But that focus on the past—and the fact that Liverpool is basically synonymous with the biggest band in history—can make it tough for an up-and-coming band from there to make its mark.
“The Beatles are the point of the arrow,” says Francis Doran of Red Rum Club, a genre-defying sextet hailing from the city. “And the Liverpool association often travels ahead of us.” I caught him on the phone a few weeks back, in-between panels for Liverpool Sound City, an annual festival celebrating UK’s best new and emerging music talent. He told me that whether he’s rocking up in Manchester or across the pond in Massachusetts, audiences have a pre-conceived notion of Liverpool in their minds.
He builds on that legacy but also adds elements of funk, disco, and more western sounds to his music (plus a lone trumpet, for good measure.) The distinctive result has come to be known as “mariachi Merseybeat,” and has built a following in its own right. Red Rum Club already has five US tours under its belt since just 2022—its own, modest version of a British Invasion.
In fact, it’s this continual revival and innovation within the Liverpool scene that keeps people coming back. After Merseybeat in the 1960s came waves of rock, punk, and post-punk with bands like Echo and the Bunnymen. Then indie rock took over in the 2000s with bands like The Zutons and The Wombats. “We’ve got a really rich musical history, but there’s always something new and exciting coming through,” says Kevin McManus, the head of UNESCO City of Music program for the city—a fancy title meaning he’s part of the arts wing of the local government. These days, he’s got his eye on Scouse rap, a burgeoning scene that’s native to Liverpool. In particular, he recommends KOJ, who melds old-school hip-hop with grime, which is the most influential genre to have come out of London in decades.
Take a seat almost anywhere in Liverpool, and there’s a strong likelihood that you’ll soon find yourself in a conversation with a stranger. There's an almost equally strong chance that they’ll be telling you about their music project within 10 minutes. Last year, I dipped into a pub for what I expected to be a quiet pint with my book. The night quickly transformed into a lengthy discussion with soulful, psychedelia-infused indie artist Brad Stank about his upcoming trip to play SXSW, which I’d been to a year earlier, when Red Rum Club and Strawberry Guy had both represented the city.
Exchanging notes on where the hotspots for such musical encounters are, we agreed that a good place to start is The Caledonia, a pub renowned for its live music and selection of local craft beers. The music varies wildly, from Brazilian Forró to Cajun and Irish folk, but a good time is virtually guaranteed. For a taste of something different, Stank suggested The Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, which opened in 1840 is just around the corner, is the UK’s oldest ongoing professional symphony orchestra.
“Liverpool is a very special place,” Ni Maxine, a jazz singer based in the city, told me recently when I asked about her view of the local music culture. “It’s been the catalyst for so many cultures meeting and melting to create a love for music that transcends borders.” That’s something I know to be true. My own grandparents met during a steel pan show at The Jacaranda, underscoring the city’s connection to the Caribbean and the way in which music is intertwined into the city's history and personal histories. The Jac, to use the term affectionately given by locals, is the perfect example of how the past has given way to the present in Liverpool. The venue first threw open its doors in 1958, and the Beatles played their first ever gig there soon after. In the decades since, it’s been a waypoint for emerging talent who cut their teeth on its basement stage.
But new musical hotspots keep emerging, too.
For instance, until the 2010s, the Baltic Triangle was a district of largely unused warehouses. Now it’s easy to spend an afternoon in the beer garden of local brewery Black Lodge before heading to 24 Kitchen Street. That venue’s reputation is such that it can always be relied on for a good night out, whether its hosting visiting artists from across the globe or showcasing local electronic culture. The epicenter of the late-night scene now, though, is the North Docks, with the Invisible Wind Factory, Meraki, and Quarry all based here. In the last year alone, this area of town has hosted West African kora players, queer cabarets, experimental jazz shows, and raves featuring live musicians.
And so, back in Mexico in 2022, when I was jumping out of the cab and waving the driver off to the tune of “All You Need is Love,” I couldn’t help but wonder if the next time we met there’d be a new sound synonymous with the city. As Doran of Red Rum Club had put it to me: “If the Beatles are the way that people get into the city, great! But it doesn’t take long to see beyond that, too.”