Five acts to check at FestEVOL

Image: Vryll Society (Credit: Gaz Jones photography)

Liverpool's ever evolving music scene has a flurry of opportunities to celebrate itself across the year, what with the nationally lauded GIT award and two out and out festivals focused on independent music in Sound City and Threshold.

You can add FestEVOL to that list as well, the flagship event of legendary Revo and his Evol events company that has been the centre of all great and good in Liverpool for over a decade.

Natural Born Killer stars and reborn rock star Juliete Lewis headlines with her Licks alongside Steve Mason, with hot young things Blossoms and Hooton Tennis Club also in tow. We've took a look at the bulging FestEVOL line-up to bring you our five best picks for the action which takes place at Camp and Furnace on Sunday 1st May.

Steve Mason

It can be hard chiming for the attention when you're headlining alongside a movie icon, but to our ears Mason is the pick of the bunch. Latest long-player Meet the Humans has been on constant office rotation since its release earlier this year, and when we spoke with the former Beta Band frontman he enthused about the new-found mainstream appeal it's brought.

That's best exemplified by 'Alive', the ubiquitous thinking man's anthem of the summer with its hushed refrain of "Don't you wanna see me alive" all over 6Music and other stations. Expect a set peppered with more of his solo work alongside Beta Band classics.

The Vryll Society

Operating on the front-line of Liverpool's rock revolution, Deltasonic recruits The Vryll Society are pound for pound one of the most exciting acts emerging from the city. 

Nominated for the aforementioned GIT Award, the five-piece troop continue to conquer territories with a sound that loads anything from krautrock to psychedelia onto a mesmerising groove train.    

Baba Naga

Submerging your brain in a melting pot of mind-frazzling psychedelia is a trend travelling an upwards trajectory right now. Sheffield outfit Baba Naga are prime candidates for inducing your sonic trip at the festival, merging psychoactive outposts with tribal howls and captivating riffs, they forge an open path to a mind-altering exploration of sounds.   

Indigo Moon 

Ambient soundscapes and soulful vocals are the primary concoction for Liverpool psych-rock outfit Indigo Moon, albeit with a hell of a lot more bubbling under the surface.

Delve into the band's self-titled EP (listen above) and you'll find triggers of distortion, throttling chords and moments that recall the smokiness of an underground jazz club.  

TVAM

The older among you will remember TVAM as ITV's breakfast show from the eighties and nineties, but there's no connecting the mainstream day starter to the grungy intensity of the music on offer from this particular artist. It's instead the moniker for Wigan based one man band Joe Oxley, who performs his intense alt-rock alongside distorted VHS footage.

'Porsche Majeure' (above) reflects his softer side, sounding like the soundtrack to Ryan Gosling's dreamy Drive sliding into the despairs of an acid trip, but we implore you to check out a live show aplenty with almost barbaric riffs like the group Oxley is most influenced by, Suicide.

FestEvol takes place on Sunday 1st May at Camp and Furnace in Liverpool. Already heading down? Try FestEVOL announces stage splits and set times.

Tickets are no longer available for this event