Sunday at Liverpool Sound City 2026 felt like the moment everything clicked.
No more easing in, no half-committed wandering. By the final day, the city centre had turned into a full-blown music maze, with crowds moving with purpose between venues, chasing the sets that mattered.
Intimate starts, imperfect reality
Early on, it was all about closeness, but not everything ran smooth.
Ben Ellis opened at the Arts Club with a set that never really got the run-up it needed. Technical issues kept creeping in, breaking momentum just as things started to build. Stop-start, slightly frustrating, and you could feel the room willing it to click.
But even through that, the quality was obvious. The songwriting is genuinely strong, the kind that cuts through even when everything else isn’t quite landing. There’s a clear lane there, and it’s hard not to draw comparisons to Sam Fender in terms of tone and storytelling.
On a clean run, this is a very different conversation. As it stands, it felt like a glimpse of something bigger still loading. One to watch, properly.
Over at Spanish Caravan, The Ripples flipped that completely.
The space itself is more open than most Sound City rooms, but it didn’t matter. It was rammed. Properly packed out, with the crowd pressing in from all sides.
The Ripples, repping Mallorca, brought a set that thrived in that pressure. Tight, energetic, and just loose enough to feel unpredictable. The kind of performance that spreads through a room fast, pulling more people in as it builds.
A shift in gear
As the day picked up, things started to level out.
Brooke Combe brought a more controlled energy, but even that came with a moment of festival reality. Mid-set, she joked about being told she had an hour, only to find out it was actually 30 minutes.
It got a reaction, but it also explained the pace. There was no room to drift. Everything felt tightened, purposeful, straight to the point.
Even with that, she carved out something different. Soulful, steady, and confident enough to hold a room without needing to force it.
Then came Jalen Ngonda, and Sunday found its centre of gravity.
Packed out from wall to wall, no space left to move, just bodies locked in. And from the moment he started, it was clear why.
Flawless vocals. No strain, no slip-ups, just smooth, controlled delivery that cut straight through the room. Every note felt deliberate.
What really set it apart was the flow. Effortless transitions from guitar to keyboard, switching roles without breaking the mood. Multi-talented, fully in control, and never once letting the energy dip.
It didn’t feel like a small venue performance. It felt like someone already outgrowing this stage in real time.
Final word
Sunday wasn’t flawless, and it didn’t pretend to be.
Ben Ellis battling through issues but showing serious songwriting potential. The Ripples turning an open space into something intense and packed. Brooke Combe adapting on the fly and still landing it. Jalen Ngonda delivering a set that felt bigger than the room itself.
Messy, unpredictable, but when it hit, it hit properly.
That’s the beauty and the uniqueness of Sound City.