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Africa Oyé announces first acts for 2026 festival
Africa Oyé has revealed its first two big name acts for this year’s music weekend in Sefton Park. Multi-award-winning Nigerian singer-songwriter Patoranking and Congolese collective Fulu Miziki will both appear at the Oyé in June. Patoranking, who is making his Africa Oyé debut, is described as a ‘visionary’ of the African music scene and cultural ambassador for Afrobeats, blending the genre with reggae and dancehall to create a unique sound. He is an MTV Africa Music Awards
Liverpool International Jazz Festival 2026 line-up
Liverpool International Jazz Festival returns next month with a line-up of music talent from the UK, Europe and the US. The annual festival, which began in 2013, will be staged at Liverpool Hope University’s Capstone Theatre between February 26 and March 1. Stellar jazz musicians and singers set to take part in the 2026 festival include Tim Garland and Geoffrey Keezer, David Helbock and Julia Hofer, Zoe Rahman and Arun Ghosh, Robert Mitchell's Little Black Book, Martin Taylor
Arts projects share £30,000 Liverpool BID funding
Lantern window installations, Chinese New Year projections and a series of live radio broadcasts will be staged in Liverpool with the help of £30,000 of special arts funding. Five projects have been chosen by Liverpool BID (Business Improvement District) in the latest round of grants from its Arts & Culture Fund. The fund aims to support smaller arts projects that will help drive footfall, activity and animation within the city centre. The latest recipients are the city’s Lan
Liverpool exhibition of William Ellis jazz greats this spring
Captivating images of leading jazz artists taken by an acclaimed Liverpool music photographer are set to go on show in the city next month. William Ellis’ work will be displayed at the Capstone Building on Liverpool Hope University’s Creative Campus at Everton to coincide with the 2026 Liverpool International Jazz Festival. Songs For my Father: The Jazz Photography of William Ellis runs from February 3 to April 15, with the jazz festival itself taking place from February 26 t
Cracking comedy to catch in Liverpool in 2026
Is everyone in Liverpool a comedian? If not, the UK’s unofficial ‘capital of comedy’ certainly punches way above its weight when it comes to knowing how to enjoy a good laugh. So it’s perhaps no surprise funny men and women from across the country – and beyond – are always keen to bring their live shows to the city. Along with bespoke comedy clubs and regular comedy nights, star names and rising talent also perform at mainstream venues like the M&S Bank Arena, Liverpool Playh
Michael D Xavier on Poppins to Pie Jesu ahead of Liverpool Empire debut
He’s been in some of the biggest shows on both sides of the Atlantic – but for Michael D Xavier, his latest role takes him right back to the earliest years of his stellar stage career. In 2003, while he was playing the lovelorn young Freddy Eynsford-Hill in My Fair Lady at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane, he spotted a poster inviting people to take part in a reading for a new musical. “It’s more than 20 years ago now, so my memory is a bit vague, but I don’t believe they told us
About
Catherine jones
Arts City Liverpool
I'm a lover of Liverpool and its cornucopia of cultural events and adventures. A journalist with 25 years' experience, including nearly a decade as Echo arts editor.
Now a freelance arts writer, theatre addict, music lover and champion of the city I'm proud to call home.
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