Organisers of Liverpool’s Threshold Festival have announced their 2020 dates, marking a decade of yearly events and their final outing. Taking place on April 3rd and 4th in venues across the Baltic Triangle district of the city, the swan song of Threshold will be a forward-thinking celebration that aims to leave an open-ended question and place the baton in the hands of the community it has served.
The festival launched in 2011 as a platform for grass-roots music and arts in the city, region and further afield, and has grown up with the emerging Baltic Triangle. In its 10-year history the festival has seen formative performances from Liverpool success stories such as Stealing Sheep, All We Are, Chelsea Grimes and Queen Zee.
In addition to being a musical platform the festival has championed visual and performance art as well as hosting annual panels and key note speakers. The ‘artist to industry’ focus of the event has led to the festival being hugely popular and a favourite with musicians, promoters, venues and audiences.
“When we first started there felt like a strong need for something of this kind. There was a buzz of creativity in the Baltic Triangle and the city as a whole, but we could see a barrier to many talented artists stepping over that all important threshold into the industry and being able to flourish creatively. Liverpool and the Baltic Triangle are teeming with these kinds of opportunities as we head into a new decade and we are honoured to have contributed to that climate. It’s time to look forwards.” – Kaya Herstad Carney, Threshold Festival
Moving on from the annual festival format, Threshold will remain an active force in the city as a resource for music and arts and a producer of special events locally and across the UK. As with previous years, the direction of Threshold’s future will be put to the community themselves with a day of panels and discussions.
In 2018, Threshold founders Chris and Kaya were cited by media channel The Guide as ‘faces that have shaped the Liverpool music scene‘ for their work on Threshold Festival and the event was nominated for several UK Festival Awards including the 2016 shortlist for the Grass Roots Music Award.
“We’ve always strived to make the best possible event, but admittedly it has been an uphill struggle at times. Funding cuts, lack of consistent support and an ever increasing Liverpool events programme have provided hurdles for us each year, but we were always willing to press on.
As our team of dedicated volunteers begin to spread their wings and focus on their careers and Kaya & I start to focus on personal creative projects, now feels like the right time to celebrate Threshold one more time. Looking back at ten years of successful events, often against the odds, makes us feel very proud.” – Chris Herstad Carney, Threshold Festival
Venues for the 2020 event are yet to be announced, however audiences and participants can expect a selection of the usual suspects who have hosted the festival over the years, plus some new stages in the still constantly evolving creative quarter of the Baltic.
The application window for Threshold 10 are now open and these will close for consideration on November 22nd at midnight. All applications will be considered carefully: thresholdfestival.co.uk/tandc
Early Bird tickets for the event can be purchased through Skiddle and are on sale now priced at just £12 (+BF) – skiddle.com/e/13672262