The Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts once again opens its hallowed doors for the two week musical extravaganza that is the 3rdUK. Degree Festival, now in its fifth consecutive year. With such musical diversity on offer, it’s hard to believe that full festival passes are only twelve pounds, making it just about the best value festival ticket in the land.
The 3rd Degree Festival has blossomed into a tour de force of emerging talent, featuring performances from over thirty LIPA bands. Each night follows a musical and visual theme taking you on a visceral journey through Indie, rock, jazz, nu-folk, soul and a whole lot more. The main hub of the festival is the 350 capacity proscenium-arched Paul McCartney Auditorium which will be transformed into various themed wonderlands over the duration of the festival. Acting as a springboard for bands to start their careers, previous success stories have included the likes of Sandi Thom, The Wombats and Eugene McGuiness, to name a few.
Taking place in the last two weeks of April, the 3rd Degree Festival acts as a fantastic precurser to Liverpool Sound City with booking agents, labels and managers from all over the UK being attracted to these two city events looking to source new talent. The next few years will see the event grow into a multi-venue boutique city festival undoubtably adding to Livepool’s reputation as one of the finest cultural destinations in Europe.
2010 is also set to be a huge year for the 3rd Degree brand as for the first time it will be taken out of LIPA on a two week national tour linking up with venues across the country to further enhance its status as an important stepping stone for showcasing the very best young talent to a wider audience . Innovation has always been one of the key ingredients to LIPA’s success and once again they are blazing a trail by giving students the opportunity to apply the skills that they have learnt from performance, event management and production to a real world commerical venture.
