NEW EXHIBITION SHEDS LIGHT ON UNSUNG HEROES AND HEROINES OF METAL
Venue: Dark Earth Records, 16 Seaview Road, Wallasey, Merseyside, CH45 4LA.
@DarkEarthRecords (Insta/FB)
Dates: 12th July to 1st December 2024. Launch Event 6pm on Friday 12th July
The work that goes into making gigs happen is often hidden and taken-for-granted. Whether this is producing gig posters and flyers, working to help establish venues and clubs, liaising with artists, or dealing with (sometimes outlandish!) rider requests, the work of metal music promoters has been largely unheralded.
Metal on Merseyside is the first exhibition to shed light on the work of those who are frequently the lifeblood of metal music behind the scenes. Focusing on the work of promoters operating within Merseyside, UK, the exhibition showcases event production-related artefacts that span the early 1990s to now.
From the genre’s inception, live performance has been integral to heavy metal music. Concerts have been a crucial means of creating strong bonds between fans and artists. The exhibition captures broad historical shifts in how gig and club events are produced – from paper tickets (sometimes with rare artist signatures scrawled on them) and flyers, to stamps kits and digital flyers. The diverse range of ephemera on display chronicles promoters’ creativity and ingenuity, while illuminating the vast amount of gig venues that have come and gone within one of the world’s most fabled areas for popular music production.
Promoting Metal on Merseyside promises to be a fascinating journey into the world of concert promotion both past and present. Highlights include:
The opportunity to discover Liverpool’s long-lost venues and past gigs from grassroots artists to international artists like Pantera, Tool & R.A.T.M.
A chance to see artefacts that chronicle the rise of The Krazyhouse, one of the most important rock clubs in northern England for almost three decades.
Materials that illuminate the work that goes on behind the scenes to make rock and metal events happen – a combination of physical artefacts and filmed interviews will give guests an intimate account of the people at the heart of creating local scenes.
About the exhibition venue: Dark Earth Records celebrates Heavy Metal Culture. More than a purveyor of records, books and art, we are also a welcoming social/community space at the heart of Merseyside’s extreme music scene. We are a very rare beast – the only proper, specialist heavy metal record shop in the north of England. Moreover, we are unique in the UK with our art gallery and unrivalled vision to embrace all aspects of heavy metal in its rich diversity and aesthetics.
For more information please contact: Dr Nedim Hassan via Metal on Merseyside project website: https://www.metalonmerseyside.co.uk/
