This September, students from The City of Liverpool College will host the internationally renowned showcase performance event ‘The Revolution Will Be Live!’ in partnership with Gil Scott-Heron’s protégé Malik Al Nasir, frontman of Liverpool spoken word band Malik & The O.G’s, US producer Kim Jordan, Gil Scott-Heron’s Musical Director and Canadian singer songwriter Rita Carter.
The event, created by Yesternight Productions, was first held at LIMF 2015, where it featured as the opening event of the festival. Initially held at St George’s Hall, it saw artists such as Talib Kweli, The Christians, Aswad and Craig Charles joining Malik & The O.G’s in paying tribute to the frontman’s late mentor, the Godfather of Rap, Gil Scott-Heron.
As part of the collaboration, students across The City of Liverpool College studying a range of courses such as Music Technology, Popular Music, Journalism as well as Media and Television, will take part in a full day of workshops and seminars from industry experts, and will be challenged to produce a song in one day, which will be performed at The Revolution Will Be Live! event on 27th September.
Mike Moran, lecturer and event coordinator at The City of Liverpool College, said:
“This event is a fantastic opportunity for our students to have a unique experience, being challenged to create a song in one day, working with some of the music industry’s big names and gaining a huge amount of invaluable, real-world experience that they would otherwise not get the chance to.
“At The City of Liverpool College, our students are at the heart of everything we do and we strive to provide opportunities that inspire them to realise their full potential and performing with these world-renowned artists is testament to that.
“This collaboration demonstrates to our incredibly talented alumni, the potential progression that is possible for them to achieve if they put in the work. Having the challenge of performing their song live in front of their peers and the audience at the showcase performance, along with the other professional musicians, will be an incredible experience for the performers and audience alike.”
Malik Al Nasir, frontman of Malik & The O.G’s, said:
“By running this event, we’re trying to raise awareness of what Gil Scott-Heron stood for. Most people know Gil was a poet, musician and activist, but he had two novels in print before he made an album. He had a master’s degree in English and the reason I became literate was because of his guidance.
“There are a lot of disaffected youths in Liverpool who have ended up being outside of society and the kind of mentoring that Gil gave me is essential for them to have a chance of making a success of themselves. That is why we’re collaborating with The City of Liverpool College, to give students a chance to work with and learn from these inspirational and incredibly talented artists.
“Creating a song in one day is a huge challenge for even the most experienced professionals, so this is a fantastic opportunity for students at The City of Liverpool College to put the skills that they have gained during their courses to the test. Having all of these amazing, world-renowned musicians performing in the same place at the same time, makes this year’s event an unmissable one.”
Also performing at the event will be local grime artist and former student of The City of Liverpool College, C-Two (Connor Cuttress). An acoustic set from Canadian singer Rita Carter will follow, after which she will perform with Malik & The O.G’s. To end the show, Kim Jordan – former Musical Director of Gil Scott-Heron’s band ‘The Amnesia Express’ – will pay homage to the legacy of Gil Scott-Heron, featuring songs from Gil’s world-renowned repertoire, which has been covered by everyone from Kanye West to Rhihanna.
As part of The City of Liverpool College’s collaboration with Yesternight Productions, Rebbel Roots, a networking event for the music, fashion and spoken word industries, will be taking place in the same week on 25th September. Supported by Merseycare, the event will feature a fashion show created by students at The City of Liverpool College, as well as jam session (“Jam for James”) with a focus on the theme of youth mental health, ahead of World Mental Health Day on 10 October, and will feature guest musical performances from some of the industry’s rising talent. Music Technology students will also be working alongside event producer Malik Al Nasir and co-sponsor IE Production Services, to deliver music for live performances at the event.
The Revolution Will Be Live! takes place on Thursday 27th September from 7pm at The City of Liverpool College Arts Centre on Myrtle Street. To book tickets for the event, visit eventbrite.
These events are sponsored by Liverpool City Council and House Hotels Group