Contemporary soul sensation, and former Liverpool resident, Jalen Ngonda has
been announced as the first headliner to play at Sound City 2026, returning to Merseyside to play the festival and the ornate Grand Central Hall next spring.
The UK’s pioneering multi-venue festival of new music discovery, having offered early-career showcases to the likes of The 1975, Charli XCX, Ed Sheeran, Stormzy and The xx over almost two decades, returns to the internationally-renowned music city over Sat 2 – Sun 3 May 2026.
With Early Bird Tickets now SOLD OUT, Weekend and Day Tickets for Sound City, which saw more than 150 artists take to the festival’s meticulously-curated stages at this year’s springtime weekend of emergent and newly established music talent, are on sale now via www.soundcity.uk.com.
A former student at the Paul McCartney-founded Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts, Ngonda’s rise from being a prodigious, Motown-obsessed teenager in Maryland to still-rising, award-winning figurehead of a classic soul revival passed through multiple Liverpool venues. Having spoken openly about how the city changed his life, performing at Sound City twice in 2017 and 2018 after booking a one-way ticket to England in 2014, Ngonda’s ‘homecoming’ will prove to be an unmissable, emotional and busy landmark show during another memorable weekend of live music.
Ngonda’s last live outing in Liverpool was in front of just 250 people at the now closed Jimmy’s Bar in 2023. Grand Central Hall’s stunning The Dome main hall stands ready to welcome 3,500 people for his overdue return next May.
Jalen Ngonda pre-empts his appearance by saying: “Coming back to Liverpool is long overdue and to return and play such a beautiful venue as Grand Central Hall for Sound City will be a true highlight of next year. I get to reconnect and pay tribute to the city and everyone I met there, all of whom are genuine music people. I found that out over my years living and studying there.
“So much has happened since the last time I played the festival in 2018, so I can’t wait to catch up and see how much we’ve grown since we were last together. It’ll be truly special.”
Sound City’s Managing Director, Becky Ayres, says: “Welcoming Jalen Ngonda back to Sound City as our 2026 headliner perfectly captures what our festival is all about discovering and championing new artists, and giving them the platform to go on to achieve No. 1 records, sell-out tours, and global acclaim.
“Jalen’s lush, soulful style first graced our stages back in 2017 and seeing him return as a true international success is a full-circle moment that embodies the Sound City spirit. We can’t wait to welcome him home to the centre of the music universe, Liverpool, in 2026. Sound City remains the UK’s definitive festival for new music discovery, where the next generation of stars take their first steps toward the world
stage.”