The start of festival season is once again heralded in by Threshold at the Baltic triangle in Liverpool. A much more fruitful Friday line up this year as opposed to last years reduced selection and back on track to provide, what is always, an entertaining weekend full of established talent and up and coming artists.
At Brick street we come across, silent cities. A sombre solo artist with tracks both dark and brooding. Definitely not to everyone taste and a little heavy for the first act on our meanderings.
In District an altogether different vibe was present. The soul rays are 8 piece funk and soul band from Liverpool that emanate passion and fun. With 2 singers, 3 horns and a 3 piece rhythm section they blew the Threshold crowd away. A rousing set that had the crowd dancing, singing and hollering throughout. With tunes like “Lover like me” and their new single “Lioness” they manage to fuse multiple sounds, including rap and RnB, into a melting pot and produce what has to be one of the highlights of Threshold festival and its only 9.30pm!
Kingfast at 92 degrees coffee brings a welcome chill to proceedings. The Jamaican born artist brings his Afro-Caribbean and pop musical thrills once again to Threshold. A confident and creative set draws a great crowd and he is definitely someone to watch out for in the coming months. A solo artist that creates all the sound and music himself he commands the stage and the audience and even his cover of “Careless whisper” brings a soulful and beautiful rendition to an old classic.
The new venue at the festival this year is Best before. A great space with winding, dark corridors to get to the performance stage. It is here that we witness the end of The Frixion’s set. An electro-pop duo made up of Genre Serene on vocals and Lloyd Price on keyboards, the latter dressed in some long gown almost akin to a wizard conjuring spells from behind his keys. A distinct sound that leaves the audience a little baffled at times with their lyrical combination of spiritual wisdom and modern technology.
Back in District the festival organisers have decided to have a compere for the evening’s proceedings. Taylor Trash is, by her own words, the only southern Belle-end hostess. Looking like cupid stunt but with far less comedic appeal, she introduces each band and even manages to get some limelight of her own. I’m not entirely sure, and I don’t think she was, if this works well in the space but there’s nothing wrong with attempting it. Threshold is, after all, a festival that likes to experiment with conceived ideas.
Jollyboat, on the other hand, has plenty of comedic talent. Their first time with an hour long set at Threshold was pure entertainment. Formed in 2010, the band has amassed a great following both on social media and amongst audience goers. With a pirate medley to start the set they soon had the crowd laughing and singing along and with lots of audience participation especially during their original “Park Life pub quiz”. Ending the set, with what can only be described as the most complicated lyrical arrangement consisting of things that people are addicted to, is a sight to behold but one that is achieved with masterful grace and precision. A set complete with digs at Christianity and humorous love songs, this act should become a staple reoccurrence every year at Threshold.
Finally, over in Brick street, the Mono Lps entertain the crowd with their juicy guitar riffs mixed with sweeping strings and an energy that can bring even the undead back to life. Ste Reid on vocals is every bit the front man and accompanied by Vicky Mutch on cello and Chris Barlow on bass they are always a welcome group at Threshold although I feel District would have been more of a compatible venue for the band they manage to steal the show at Brick Street. Playing familiar faves like “Emilia” and “Giving it up” the audience were truly embracing the set. Their new single “Hell, save my soul” was also featured and seemed to go down well.
A brilliant ending, for us, to 2019’s Threshold festival. A festival that each year, manages to surprise and entertain in equal measures. Liverpool would be a sadder place without it so long may it continue and grow each year and we are very much looking forward to next year already.