6th November 2023
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On the 3rd of April, a very exciting one day event will be taking over the Baltic Triangle. So Long, Good Friday is set to be a highlight of the Liverpool music calendar. I’ve chatted to Craig, one of the event’s co-organisers, to find out more. Craig and the team have kindly offered us a discount on tickets which you can grab here using the code SOLONG20
https://www.seetickets.com/event/so-long-good-friday/baltic-triangle/3570230
So Long, Good Friday is a multi-venue event. We’re calling it an all-dayer, but it’s basically a festival. The reason that we’re doing it is because we thought that Liverpool needed another event with an alternative line-up, and we wanted to bring in some of the best regional artists from the North-West- sort of Liverpool and Manchester. We also wanted to bring in something more affordable considering all the events that are going on in the North-West at the moment. Me (The Good Times) and Tom (HSP PRSNTS), we work together. We’re two separate promoters but we’ve worked together on this because we felt the city needed something like it. It’s been crying out for it for a couple of years.
Basically, it was just between me and Tom going back and forth for a while. We started maybe a year ago just chatting ideas through. We picked what we felt was the right area in Liverpool, and then one of the main points was ‘how do we put something together where it is affordable’. The focus was how can we make the ticket as cheap as possible for fans to come and see some new music.
We chatted through the idea. Tom wanted to do it on Good Friday so that’s where the name ‘So Long, Good Friday’ came from. We felt like it was a good time of year, that area of the Baltic Triangle is a great little area. Loads of venues, everything’s walkable.
When we started discussing bands and line-up we thought ‘alternative’. Me and Tom are very much in that world anyway, so we came together and thought these kind of acts, this is the budget, and this is the ticket price. We want to keep to that and not get carried away with anything in the first year. Just make the best line-up with the cheapest tickets.
We’re going to be in Camp and Furnace, both rooms (about 1,000 capacity each), District which is a brilliant venue. That venue has been on the music scene since we all began. It’s been in different buildings, it used to be called ‘The Flying Pickett’ but District is probably one of the best venues on the festival I would say. The people who own that have been involved in Liverpool Music forever so its great to give back to them.
Hanger 34 is on there, the production is amazing in there. 24 Kitchen Street as well. Another great venue nestled in the Baltic. We potentially might add other venues as we’re going, but that’s probably for another day. What we’re doing at the moment is focusing on what we have. We’re still booking now, so if we find we’ve got more acts we might end up at other venues but that could be for another year as well.
I mean Fat Dog are amazing. I don’t know if you’ve ever seen them live, but they’re absolutely incredible. But, to talk about some of the smaller stuff because it’s not just about the bigger names, JJ Bull. I mean if there’s anyone to look out for I’d say its him just because it’s a bit of fun and I think that’s what’s sometimes missing off a festival. He basically makes songs about football players or situations, but he sometimes makes them up on a stream and it’s just a bit of chaos and a bit of fun which I think festivals are needing a few more things like that. So I’d say check him out, because he’s obviously a comedian and a musician, and he’s absolutely brilliant at both and I don’t think that many bring those two together and make it work. So he’s great.
Monks are a local band from Liverpool who are absolutely brilliant. Radio 6 are picking them up at the moment, so you know they’re doing well. They’ve got a brilliant sound. Micky Castello. I’m just reeling all the bands off here. But me and Tom took a long time curating these acts, picking them and not just throwing every band on. Dave Lofts from Ireland. Absolutely amazing musician. It’s really hard for me to pick as all of the acts are incredible.
We wanted to pull a group of bands together that actually made sense, and made you think ‘do you know what, I’d part with my money for that’. Because I get to see a few bands that I actually really like and some lower down bands who you might not know yet, might not be big enough to headline Liverpool by themselves yet but you might walk in on them and think ‘wow, that’s the next big thing’. We wanted the audience to trust us that we can deliver some good acts and not just have anything random on.
Yes. Not just our event, we’re not trying to blow smoke up us or anything but I think these type of events are important culturally. Because we could tell when we were reaching out to the managers, the agents, the bookers. They were saying to us that Liverpool’s needed something like this for a while, and I think that’s why acts were so excited to play as well. I think it’s something that has been missing in the Liverpool music calendar. There’s a lot going on in Liverpool already. There’s loads of great dance events, indie events, little festivals. I don’t think there’s a lot speaking to that alternative scene that we’re trying to speak to. And we’re not trying to pigeon-hole ourselves into one thing, but I think these events are important because you get to see the next thing that you think could be huge. And, not to be cringy, but having those moments together with friends, or strangers, or family. You remember those things forever, don’t you? So I think it’s great to have these events where you can discover your next favourite act and have a different offering.
Come down to the event. We’re pretty active on social media. We’re always sharing what the acts are doing on there. Quite a lot of the acts are being added to radio playlists and stuff like that, so we’re really active on the social media to share the acts and what they’re doing. If you don’t know them already, we’re trying to give you as much content as we can before it. We’re letting you know who they are, where to find them.
With So Long, Good Friday, we’re just trying to build a bit of a community moving forward that everyone feels comfortable in. We’re going to deliver you some great bands and hopefully have a great experience. So to answer your question shortly, just get down and get involved in the event. Bring your friends and have a good time.
Don’t forget to grab your tickets with code SOLONG20 from the link below:
https://www.seetickets.com/event/so-long-good-friday/baltic-triangle/3570230
You can follow the event on instagram @solonggoodfriday
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