THIS month sees a new one-day music festival arrive on the shores of New Brighton with organisers hoping it could kick-start a wave of similar events in the region.

Micro Festevol, which takes place at the Hope Anti-Supermarket on Saturday, January 29, is the brainchild of promoter and New Brighton resident Steve ‘Revo’ Miller.

“We wanted to contribute to what’s been happening in New Brighton and follow on from the success of the Birkenhead and Liverpool FestEvol events last year,” said Revo, who runs promotions company Evol.

“I live in New Brighton and have been waiting for the opportunity to do something on my doorstep and when the Hope Anti-Supermarket came to life, it felt like a good fit and a cool, unusual space to do something with some of our favourite Merseyside artists.”

The event will feature sets from headliner Zuzu as well as bands The Dream Machine, Psycho Comedy and many others.

Revo said: “Hope Anti-Supermarket is a reclaimed former Co-op site that had been abandoned in the Victoria Quarter and Rock Point Leisure took over the lease and started doing events before Christmas. The venue is a work in progress but there have been gigs, comedy nights and Christmas markets for local makers so it’s multi-use but it’s a really good space for gigs.

"There's a band in New Brighton called Razzmatazz and they rehearse there most nights of the week and the lads have painted the venue and built the stage, they're very handy but it's kind of their place now."

Revo is particularly pleased to have homegrown talent like Zuzu headlining the event.

"Zuzu is very humble and works so hard and has a personal touch with her fans," he said. "Zuzu has self-released her debut album Queensway Tunnel on her own label a few months back and it's a great indie-pop record with great experiential songs that you can relate to with strong hooks and great production.

"Zuzu's been doing well on the live circuit and was a headliner for us at the Birkenhead Future Yard FestEvol last August - she's pretty inspirational and shows what you can do with self-belief, hard work and talent."

Lockdown and the pandemic have been particularly tough for music promoters and Revo is no different.

“It’s not been easy,” he said. “I remember we started to pull gigs about two weeks before the first lockdown so we were the first to close down and the last to come back. There’s been a lot of uncertainty about shows we had booked previously and when we could start to book new ones.

“I spent the last lockdown preparing for the restart only for things to be put back again and unfortunately gig venues have been demonised for transmission when they’re one of the safest places to be.

"It's been a tough time on the industry but you just have to try and work through it and make the best of things, the last 4 months have had 18 months worth of shows concertinaed so there's been a much heavier workload and getting people back in venues and over their mental barriers has been a challenge."

The chance to put something back into his hometown was not a chance Revo wanted to pass up.

"I've lived in New Brighton for 10 years now and moved over to the Wirral from Liverpool in the early eighties as a kid and grew up in Wallasey so I know the place well," he added. "I enjoy living here, there's a small community of artists and creatives building, a few promoters and a few bands are living here and the developments in New Brighton over the past few years have been very positive.

"It's fantastic being on the coast and having access to the space, great for cycling and walking the dog and the Wirral is a lovely, friendly place, I'm looking forward to the good weather returning in the summer and will hopefully do some more events here."

Doors: 5pm. Tickets £10 advance from seetickets.com/skiddle.com or £15 on the door.