Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating
The eternal triangle, a day of music wherever you looked, Skeleton Coast on the other side of the river, Love and Glory just a couple of miles up the road in Liverpool and making up this unusual feast of music mayhem and August summer vibes, in a part of Merseyside that often gets overlooked by Government and to the despair of its residents, the Party in the Park; Bootle’s mighty answer, its generous wave and beautiful setting appeal, of an afternoon of culture and holding a neighbour close, was kicked off in fine style by Sam Lyon.
It is possible to look back at the north end of Bootle as many things, a once dirt track road that started at the corner dubbed three banks, a farm house its only company; a thriving hub of employment as Johnson’s Cleaners built an empire that one day would fall, and for some now, one of the most under- valued by those who live in the house of clowns by the Thames; yet community comes together when it is given the opportunity and Bootle has more reason than many to celebrate it, a party in the park, Sam Lyon is your woman to make the day start beautifully.
Travelling all the way up from Cheshire to play for the residents, a late morning slot in which the sun surprisingly, and most welcomingly, took umbrage at the thought of any rain daring to show its face on such an important day and in which leant its shade for Sam Lyon to come out from.
Sam Lyon’s set may have been short, but in respect to anything else that was to happen on the old bowling-green site on the Linacre Road Hub property, it was arguably the most important moment. The honest pull of music in Liverpool is one in the last sixty years has seen the local residents and music lovers naturally gravitate towards venues in Mathew Street, Hotham Street, to Studio 2, The Philharmonic Hall, Eric’s, and now the Echo Arena, it has contributed to the drain on Bootle; yet without the input of Ms. Lyon, without her three songs sending a siren like call to the area, the day would not have been the same.
In the songs Window, the new single Constellations and Sonic Boom, Sam Lyon reprised the feeling of contentment felt when she performed on a blustery and rain driven day down on Paradise Street in Liverpool One; this was a call to the locals around the town that you can hear quality music, interesting lyrics and see a future in the area if people are given the chance.
A truly spirited and guitar pounding set, one in which the organisers of the Party in the Park made sure was always going to happen.
Ian D. Hall