FUTURE NOW ’24: VENUES

Future Now 2024 is all set break out of Future Yard’s four walls and take over multiple venues across Birkenhead on August Bank Holiday. Here’s all the stages you can catch some sweet, sweet music during this year’s festival…

BIRKENHEAD TOWN HALL

Acting as Future Now’s main-stage, the 700 capacity room will see both of the festival headliners, Everything Everything (Saturday) and Nadine Shah (Sunday), grace the stage inside the Grade 2 listed building’s Grand Civic Hall. Hamish Hawk, Jane Weaver, Blue Dolphin Wranglers and Blue Jean all also perform on the Saturday, plus bdrmm, Melin Melyn, trout and Bored at My Grandma’s House on Sunday.

Birkenhead Town Hall is situated directly next to Hamilton Square, a 2 minute-walk from Hamilton Square Station (the first stop from Liverpool on Merseyrail) and a 6-minute walk from Future Yard and wristband pick-up on Argyle Street. The stage is accessed via Mortimer Street at the riverside of the building (rather than the main entrance directly on Hamilton Square). Performances begin at 5pm each day.

THE PLACE WHERE IT ALL BEGAN. We return to Birkenhead Town Hall this summer for the first time in 5 years, as the room was also the main stage for Future Yard’s 2019 Festival – our very first cross-Birkenhead August Bank Holiday festival, and the festival that became the catalyst for the venue you know and love today.

Anna Calvi and the Wirral’s-own Bill Ryder Jones headlined those heady pre-pandemic days, with the likes of Pixx, Charles Watson, Willie J Healy and Bejia Flo also performing on the main stage providing perhaps the most music in one weekend the Town Hall has seen during its 130+ years of existence.

Until this year that is.

THE LIVE ROOM

Our 280 capacity venue live room is headlined by Chalk on Saturday and Girl Ray on Sunday, with a whole host of international, national and Merseyside-based artists taking the stage throughout the weekend.

Accessed via the main Future Yard entrance on Argyle Street and through the main bar area, the live room lies minutes walk from Hamilton Square, Birkenhead Central and Conway Park Stations and directly next to the wrist-band pick up point (also on Argyle Street). Performances begin at 1pm each day.

THE BEATING HEART OF FUTURE NOW. All of those who have been to Future Yard before will likely be all too familiar with our live room, the former nightclub dancefloor first opening its doors (and then immediately closing them again) mid-pandemic in Sep 2020, before realising some kind of normality when opening fully in summer 2021. Since then 60,000+ of you have been through its doors for 450+ live events; and we reckon Future Now 2024 might just be its best ever.

THE GARDEN

Birkenhead’s best beer garden transforms into Future Now’s 700 capacity outdoor stage. Already familiar to the indoor Future Yard stage, Nubiyan Twist and She Drew The Gun make their way outside at FY for the very first time, with Nubiyan Twist headlining The Garden on Saturday and Birkenhead’s-own She Drew The Gun headlining on Sunday.

Although attached to the Future Yard venue + live room, The Garden will be accessed via Henry/Alma Street at the back of the venue, and direct access between the FY Live Room stage and the outdoor Garden stage is not permitted. Performances begin at 1pm each day.

A PLACE IN THE SUN. Playing an integral part in previous Future Now Festival, as well as all-dayers headlined by the likes of The Lottery Winners, The Royston Club and (soon-to-be) Bill Ryder Jones, The Garden has seen its fair share of boss music over the years, yet it’s not your typical live arena. Our patented black and pink bleachers take up a portion of the courtyard, there to offer you some much needed respite under (hopefully) the blazing Birko sun as the music washes over you.

JOY

Joy is the new base for Open Door Charity, based in the old Treasury Annexe building on Cleveland Street. ODC is an award-winning mental health support charity working closely with young people and adults on improving their wellbeing.

Joy will host to a stage at Future Now that features a clutch of Merseyside’s best new talent, making it the place to be to find your next favourite artist. The stage will run from 1pm to 7pm on both days – and you can chill in the covered garden area while you take a breather between sets.

Joy lies on the corner of Cleveland Street and Argyle Street, a 5 minute walk from Hamilton Square station and Future Yard.

MAKE HAMILTON

Make CIC has announced the launch of Make Hamilton 2.0, transforming the former Riverside Housing HQ into a 15,000 sq ft creative hub on Argyle Street, Birkenhead. This new site will provide a permanent home for Make CIC’s creative and digital community, including creative workspaces and studios, workshops and a café, as part of the new ‘Argyle Street Creative Hub’.

Make Hamilton will be the festival Box Office and front desk, featuring wristband exchange, a merch centre and a small café. There will be DJs performing in the space throughout, and the venue will host the Onomatoposter gig poster screenprint exhibition, hosted by Toucan Tango.

Make is also located on Argyle Street, two doors down from Future Yard itself, meaning it is minutes walk away from Hamilton Square, Birkenhead Central and Conway Park train stations, as well as Birkenhead Bus Station, so it’s easily accessed as your first stop for Future Now.