CRAFT beer, vinyl culture and live music collide this weekend at Birkenhead’s Future Yard as the venue hosts its third CRATE event.

The free market on Saturday, June 4 brings together the worlds of vinyl obsessives and craft beer aficionados for a daytime fair that pulls together some of the best local record labels, vendors, brewers, printmakers and DJs in the North West.

Various record stalls will feature a packed selection of new and used vinyl masterpieces alongside local brewers such as Top Rope, Twisted Wheel and First Chop who will be pitching up with stalls in the venue’s garden, selling a mix of draught and packaged goodness.

There will be DJs on throughout the day as the market spreads out into the Future Yard garden as well as the bar, side room and live room.

One additional attraction during the day comes in the presence of six-time world snooker champion Steve Davis who will be discussing his new book and famously eclectic musical tastes during an in conversation event at 2pm in the garden, followed by a DJ set.

Later that evening, Davis will be joined by bandmates Kavus Torabi and Mike York, as the trio take to the stage as psychedelic band, The Utopia Strong.

It was never any secret that Davis – even at the peak of his household name status in the 1980s – was as happy putting a needle on a vinyl record as anything else involving a cue. Renowned as an aficionado of soul, jazz-funk and progressive rock from the 1970s onwards, he famously once single-handedly promoted three nights at the Bloomsbury Theatre for French esoteric leviathans Magma, so frustrated was he by their absence from British shores.

The Utopia Strong formed in 2018 and released their debut album the following year following it up with new release International Treasure which comes out this month.

In addition, Davis and Torabi published a book earlier this year, Medical Grade Music, in which they outline their musical adventures.

The show also features a live performance from fearless Manchester-based noise collective Holy Scum.

For more information and tickets for the evening gig go to futureyard.org