Threshold Festival 2017 Sunday review

Image: Threshold Festival

For five successive years, Liverpool's music and art scenes have collided to provide punters with an exciting weekend consisting of the best debuting acts of both. This year's Threshold Festival was no exception, and over the course of three days brought the breakthroughs in local talent. As one of the most carefully curated grass root festivals, each act has been hand picked so gig-goers know what they watch has been chosen with passion. 

The soulful sounds of Mersey Wylie can be heard across the baltic quarter, as her voice carries over an impressive set up of funky brass, bass and guitar. The daughter of post-punk scouser Pete Wylie, it's evident that musical talent runs through the family. With upbeat melodies and dancable beats, her version of soul sounds with a modern day twist was the perfect introduction to a day of live upcoming talent. 

On a surprisingly sunny Sunday afternoon, Hardcore Hornography provided the perfect soundtrack for the premature summer feeling. The brass band occupied the Constellations venue and brought a horn-heavy party by performing covers of popular songs as they hadn't been heard before. Their extensive set list included Taylor Swift's 'Shake it Off' - complete with the bridge of a rap - as well as a tribute to Bowie which proved very popular, as their jazz-esque rendition of 'Let's Dance' actually managed to convince the previously stationary audience to move. 

Kicking off festivities in the 24 Kitchen Street venue is NESH. Runner's up in the Cavern Club's Battle of the Band competition, the melody driven rock consisted of guitar whines and riffs complimented with Anyone unsure of their original material was sold by the time the four-piece playfully covered Ricky Martin's 'Livin La Vida Loca' with their own rocky twist. 

With music and arts being the focus of the weekend's event, a showcase of the latter takes place in the quaint venue of Red Brick Vintage shop as the Secret Circus puts on hours of entertainment in the categories of comedy, poetry and even burlesque. Surrounded by antique pieces of furniture and knick knacks, a sizeable crowd gather to witness performances just as quirky as their setting. 

Pirate parody duo Jollyboat bounce onto the stage, demanding attention from the seated audience and branding a balloon sword. Their melodies of well-known pop songs with lyrics changed to suit their pirate theme had spectators laughing out loud. The quick wit of 'I kissed a gull and I liked it' and 'We Will Rob You' definitely warmed up the Secret Circus crowd, as the applause following their finale of a crude song about Disney princesses signalled. 

Finishing off the night with an almighty crash of cymbals and feedback of guitar is queer punks Queen Zee and the Sasstones. Having already gathered an impressive following with their reputation for chaos and raucous noise, the venue of 24 Kitchen Street was full before the band had even graced the stage, a glut of people wanting to see what the fuss about these headliners was about. 

Those expecting chaos and raucous noise wouldn't have been disappointed by this band's display of unapologetic punk. Effect drenched guitar meets heavy drums and the jumping and headbanging audience appreciated every note of screeching vocals. As lead singer Zee climbed over the barrier and joined in with the calamity, it was a certainty that the band finished the Sunday night on a high.