Apre, Asylums, Devon, Neon Waltz (and loads more!) all line up for the online Sucker Music Festival

Words: Linn Branson 

Oh, heavenly summer of lazy days of song-filled festivals and glorious nights of mosh-pit abandonment.... oh, what? Oh, yeah - just having a moment of imagination freestyling there. Of course, 2020 is set to go down as the dead year of live music, when events conspired to lock down all musical instruments, amps and paraphernalia.

But, the industry has started to bite back with a new phenomenon: the online gig. This has started to draw in the musically starved, by trying to recreate something of a venue atmosphere in their own front room. Well, at least there's no queue at the bar, or missing a song for a much-needed loo dash.

This has now expanded into next week the arrival of one of the UK's biggest live stream festivals to date. Kicking off on Monday July 6, the Sucker Music Week festival, hosted by music development company Sucker, will host live performances on its Facebook page (Monday to Sunday July 12) and interviews with top music industry guests on their Instagram page (Friday to Sunday).

It's got a cracking line-up too, from the likes of Apre, Asylums, Devon, Orchards, Girli, Kovic, Nadia Sheikh, The Novus, to Neon Waltz, Sunflower Thieves, Arxx, Shader, LONA, and over 70 other artists, all singing their hearts out between midday and late evening. The week will be brought to a close by Ivor Novello-nominated artist Just Jack, who will be performing an exclusive vinyl DJ set on Sunday at 9pm.

Hosted by Rebecca May, Lewis Budd and BBC Introducing presenter Tim Senna, the Instagram live industry interviews will hear from guests such as Marsicans manager Rob Eaglesham, Joe Davies from Academy Events, and more.

"As the live music industry is still up in the air as to when it can reopen, we're keen to keep giving fans a taste of what we're all looking forward to," states organiser Luke Joynes, director of Sucker.

"It's important for artists to remain active as much as possible during these difficult months, so we're hoping this is a good opportunity to keep people engaged and enjoying live music."

You can watch the live performances for Sucker Music Week on their Facebook page next week. Meanwhile, check out the full schedule of events here - and book your free ticket now!