So Long, Good Friday (Liverpool)- Festival Review

So Long, Good Friday
Baltic Triangle, Liverpool
3rd April 2026

Experts in chaos Fat Dog headline a blistering line-up of talented and trail-blazing artists in Liverpool’s Baltic Triangle for the first annual So Long, Good Friday festival. Kai Marshall and Elliot Davies take a look at what’s on offer.

The first annual So Long, Good Friday festival takes place on 3rd April with a packed line-up of largely, but not exclusively, alternative acts from the Northwest of England. Co-organiser Craig Mcveigh previously expressed the alternative festival-shaped hole in Liverpool’s music scene. If the purpose is to provide a much-needed platform for artists and venues as well as create long-lasting memories, then the festival over-delivers. 

For those who may never have been to the Baltic Triangle, paint a picture in your mind of a New York-based Scorsese movie where the dockyards are full of workers, trucks and warehouses. Those spaces may in the ’90s and 2000s have been turned into skate parks. Well, the Baltic Triangle is like that if you mix in a few more matcha lattes and IPAs. That is not to do the area a disservice; Liverpool has been crying out for more spaces that house live music outside of the city centre, limited in gig space as it is. So Long, Good Friday takes place across five venues all of which were well-suited to this kind of music: Camp, Furnace, District, Hangar 34 and Lost Art.  

The innovative use of warehouse and retail space is the perfect metaphor for the kinds of music we are treated to throughout the day. Three-piece At The Gallery kick off proceedings with a calm, synth-heavy, almost-ambient sound at District. Although soothing at first, the band wake the crowd up when the sound develops and the bass begins to walk. The spidery psych we begin with turns into a punchier sound. Electric drums, too, add a perhaps unexpected dance flavour to a few of the tracks. That contrast between calmness and power shows real range and sets the bar very high indeed for the remaining acts. 

It’s a big day for large bands/collectives as the trickle-down effect of London’s Windmill scene spreads across the country. Maximalist Manchester group Mleko cut the ribbon for the Furnace stage (with venue Camp and Furnace having been split into two large stages). Having caught a brief taste of their sound on social media, I’d wondered whether the algorithm had coughed them up for anybody else. Looking at the impressive audience turnout, I’d wager it had. Precedented such groups may be, but in talent Mleko are difficult to match at the moment.  

Opus Kink, another broad coalition of brilliant musicians, give them a run for their money though. The chaos merchants bring their variation on that Windmill theme following the release of their single Come Over, Do Me Wrong this past week. As the opening track of the set, it sets a characteristically and perfectly strange tone. Many at the festival tip them as the band not to miss. 

TTSSFU shine on the Camp stage off the back of a short UK tour, including a Radio 6 festival appearance with shoutouts from Steve Lamacq and Huw Stephens, and appearances at Texas’ SXSW. Tasmin and her band list off a short setlist including Upstairs and Call U Back. These tracks are some of the finest shoegaze and psyche you will hear at the moment; the band have more than earned the hype and the sky really is the limit. 

In order to take a well-deserved break from the music, Arts Bar provide a space for reflecting on the music and some refreshments. The broad spectrum of folks milling around from families enjoying a quick bite to groups of the coolest enjoying a drink and discussing how they’re going to catch this band when that band are on over there is a testament to the accessibility of the festival and the curation of the artists. 

Earlier on in the day, Little Grandad hit capacity at Lost Art- a converted skate shop. Another band with the Lamacq seal of approval, it is no wonder people are queuing to get in with many left disappointed. Their studio recordings bring to mind Car Seat Headrest due to the way songs are protracted without causing the listener to lose interest. The band are clever and fresh. Live, this translates well and I’d sprinkle in a Pavement comparison too. To complete the picture, the band look like they could be understudies for Geese. The band battle a chatty crowd but their talent is clear. I will be keeping my eyes peeled for more shows. 

Liverpool-based artists, who are never to let the Manchester groups shine unrivalled, bring some great sets of their own. East Exchange bring a significant crowd, many of whom areclad in band merch, with their classically grunge sound. Mickey Callisto, originally from the North East but reveals on-stage that he has lived in Liverpool for a long time, puts on a blinding one-man show. His voice and dancing will draw inevitable comparisons to Freddie Mercury, but when he sits behind his instrument and when I catch some of those dance moves, I can’t help but be reminded of the weird and wonderful Baxter Dury. What a lovechild that would be…

Criminally under-rated Honeyglaze bring their rhythmic post-punk to Hangar 34, another post-industrial warehouse venue. Their songs these days sound like more intricate jams than their previous teenage angsty shiny songs, which they seem to be moving away from. “Alcohol makes me feel sad/I want nothing to do with that” sings Anouska Sokolow on Pretty Girls. A sentiment expressed all over Liverpool, I’m sure, the Saturday morning after and across the Easter weekend. 

With new album Only You Left fresh off the press, The Orielles remind us of their ability to get a crowd to dance with their complex grooves. Moving in a completely new direction on the new LP, the new songs go down well with the disco dancers in the audience, who by this time have enjoyed several local refreshments. They’re a fitting finale for the Camp stage with their charming stage presence and impressive back catalogue. 

Fat Dog see us not so gently in to that goodnight as festival headliners. If the audience are worn out after the end of the day, they have certainly found a second wind by the time frontman Joe Love begins to dive into the crowd to stir up a euphoric sort of trouble. Fat Dog, whose hipster trailer trash persona is the artistic inheritor to the Viagra Boys throne of delinquency (not, of course, that VB are going anywhere anytime soon), are the perfect choice to push onlookers one step beyond with their brand of punk/dance energy. Woofs ring around the Furnace venue in moments of rare silence; the band have conditioned us to find silences uncomfortable- what’s coming next? King Of The Slugs has the room pushing and shoving from the front to the back. Closer Running squeezes everyone’s last drop of energy, people running on fumes beg for more.  

With that, this spectacular day of boundary-pushing music comes to a crashing end. Some stay for the DJ sets and late SILVERWINGKILLER set, their second of the day, over in District where the day began. I think Craig is right: Liverpool needs this festival for the city, the bands and the fans. Musicians and organisers alike can feel triumphant in their achievement of a diverse, forward-thinking and affordable alternative music festival. So long So Long, Good Friday- until next year.

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All words by Kai Marshall. Read more from Kai on his authors archive and find him on Instagram

All images by Elliot Davies