Tickle the Ivories
The Liverpool ONE Piano Festival
5 July – 8 September 2013
There’ll be music on the streets this summer when Liverpool ONE transforms into a live music venue and six pianos take centre stage for the world’s only official piano busking festival.
Organised in partnership with Open Culture, Tickle the Ivories will return for a third year from 5 July to 8 September, 2013. The ten-week piano festival is open to everyone from professional to amateur players who are all invited to book free timeslots to perform on and around the pianos.
Last year’s Tickle the Ivories was a huge success with over 1000 musicians taking part and almost 4000 hours of performance. From jazz to blues, classical to experimental there was a huge array of performers including solo classical pianists, 70-strong choirs, break dancing groups, school orchestras, and improvised comedy and theatre groups.
Who can book a timeslot?
You can be a professional or amateur musician or band, a talented community group, school choir or charity with a keen ear for a tune or a fledgling act looking for a spot of street stardom. A wide range of performance styles are welcome from classical to contemporary, folk to funk or jazz to jitterbug! Or you could perform music theatre, and dance with the piano as accompaniment, anything an audience will enjoy.
Take Part
Free Play Fun sessions
Tickle the Ivories will also be open for free play sessions each day, where the pianos are not booked and any member of public is free to play any tune they know. Check the website for the times of these slots, or check at the Liverpool ONE Information Centre each day. These sessions are also licenced for busking.
Great news! I am so glad that Liverpool One have not been put off by the way some idiots treated their pianos last year. I trust that the lids will have more security so they will be harder to mess with, This who fectial brings so much happiness to the streets of Liverpool, for everyone. This in so many ways is so much better than some Huge Event costing millions which onmly lasts for a couple of days. And then what is available for the next cruise liner? Precious little.
Wonderful!!!!! I’m so glad that this is returning. I’m looking forward to playing again.
(During Moderation of my comment, may I try to deal with the dreadful spelling mistakes I have now noticed! “This who fectial brings so much happiness” should have read “This whole festival brings,,,,” Sorry!
This festival was such a pleasure to be a part of last year. I am 100% signing up again. x
Brilliant! Just what I was hoping for. Thank you, Charlotte, Christina and the rest of the team, for making this wonderful festival return to the streets of Liverpool in 2012. I loved performing last year, and can’t wait to Tickle The Ivories again! I wonder what weird and wonderful characters my playing will attract this year…
Didn’t manage to get on last time round, and missed the ones they had in London town (I live in exile..) so can’t wait to find one this year and plinky plonky out some rousers! I’ll be up for Matthew Street so….Hey Jude anyone?
To a reflective practioner who’s from Merseyside & which music is a catharsis, playing in the heart of Liverpool is like reciprocal whale song between the heart of a mother to her unborn child.
Kevin Foott, MusiKa! Really looking forward to taking part in this and bringing some show tunes to the streets,
The Liverpool Piano Festival is superb. Thanks to all participants and especially to the organisers. Inspired!