Festivals 2021 Heading to Liverpool Sound City? Here are the artists you won’t want to miss

There’s something satisfying about listening to a band noticeably find their sound, and you get the sense that’s what happened with the release of English Teacher’s May breakout track ‘R&B’. Having drip-fed a few early singles throughout the past year, the track found the Leeds band harnessing some new stores of anger and channelling them into a rattling post-punk storm of frustrated lyrics and rumbling bass. Since then, they’ve been on a roll, with vocalist Lily Fontaine a magnetic front person par excellence.

By now you’ll already be more than aware of Bella Latham’s knack for self-deprecating one liners shrouded in shimmering pop earworms, but due to the you-know-what, Baby Queen is still relatively new to the touring circuit. Take this chance to join the Baby Kingdom early then, because come 2022 you’ll likely be pushing past a lot more people to get a spot down front.

London’s NiNE8 Collective are spitting out future superstars on a near-weekly basis right now; Biig Piig and Lava La Rue both count among their number, and Nayana Iz is surely set to follow them into the limelight before too long. She’s already scored a banger with the undulating rap of last year’s ‘TNT’, whilst spring single ‘Breaking Point’ found the 20-year-old mixing soulful jazz pianos with an enviable lyrical flow.

Wolf Alice have always felt like the anomaly on uber label Dirty Hit, but New York’s Pretty Sick could prove to be both label mates and kindred spirits. Helmed by vocalist Sabrina Fuentes, their blend of fuzzy, caustic grunge and deceptive moments of shoegaze-y sweetness has the potential to be a truly cathartic, heavy-hitting highlight of the festival. Catch them on UK shores while you can.

Tags: Baby Queen, English Teacher, Nayana IZ, Pretty Sick, Liverpool Sound City, Festivals, Features