Liverpool International Music Festival announces first events for 2015
A rare UK appearance from hip-hop legend Yasiin Bey, aka Mos Def, and free outdoor shows from Echo and the Bunnymen and Basement Jaxx lead the line-up for this year’s Liverpool International Music Festival.
Bey will appear as part of The Revolution Will Be Live: A Tribute to Gil Scott Heron, one of the Festival’s special commissions for 2015. Bey is on the bill alongside Heron's protégé Malik & the O.G's, his son Rumal Rackley, UK reggae luminaries Aswad, and Nelson Mandela’s grandson Ndaba.
Elsewhere in the commissions programme, the Liverpool, Next Stop New York! event will run across the weekend, with Les Spaine and Greg Wilson to be joined by an as-yet-unannounced headliner, while the Global Roots International Mixtape will see DJs from around the world combine to create one continuous live mix.
Basement Jaxx headline the first of the Summer Jam series of free gigs in Sefton Park on Sat 29 Aug, while Ian McCulloch and co bring the festival to a close on Mon 31 Aug, co-headlining with UK soul star Laura Mvula.
Liverpool International Music Festival 2015 takes place at venues across the city on 27-31 August.