Liberation Live: The Initiative That’s Re-Building Student Community Through Live Music
- Rebecca Tregaskis
- 16 hours ago
- 7 min read
by Rebecca Tregaskis
‘Being political doesn’t just mean going to a protest it means engaging with your community.’ - Liberation Live
Last week I jumped onto a rush hour train from London to Brighton. Just outside the city, on the University of Sussex campus, Liberation Live was starting up for the night. Started by the student union as a way to engage students with music and politics, each event hosts an array of fresh musical talent to raise money for social justice causes.
Born out of desire to help the people in Palestine, Liberation Live’s first event was held in April 2025 - selling 250 tickets, raising £1450. Speaking to Sports, Societies and Event Officer Ella Goodchild, she described the purpose of Liberative Live ‘the project was about fostering a love of live music and raising money for causes and motivating students to get out of their room and off their phones into a space with other human beings.’
It’s become a huge success for the Union with £6000 raised over a span of ten gigs but Ella said the best thing she’s found is that ‘when you do the cheap tickets it means these amazing, underrated bands get an audience…one of the things I think we’ve achieved is bringing 100 students together every month to just dance. I see people dance here way more than I ever see people dance in town.’ In a time where community has become paywalled for many young people, these monthly events have offered a new alternative to the students of Sussex.
The events are also bringing back music to the University, which got lost some years ago. Jay Lynch, the co-creator of Liberation Live, commented ‘Sussex has a really long history of bringing bands to the campus. The Clash played here, Amy Winehouse, Pulp, Blur, Radiohead. It used to be a thing, the university circuit. Bands would go round and play gigs at uni’s. That died when the government started marketizing higher education.’ ‘It also died when companies like O2 Academy started dominating the market and obviously bands went for that instead. I think it crossed out low-income artists as well…I love live music and I don’t think someone’s financial background should determine if you get to be in a band or not’ Ella continued.
Attending the last event of the academic year, I got to see just how much Liberation Live has achieved since starting. A line-up of three local bands, a DJ set and tickets for only a fiver, the event seemed to be a call back in time, where music and community are accessible, affordable and exciting.
Tucked behind the university’s campus bar, Liberation Live brought back some of their most popular bands. The sold-out event drew in a buzzing crowd, already gathering around the stage when I arrived. The first act was Sena, an electronic duo who played back in October. The pair pulled in a dancing audience, turning a quiet bar into a lively show. Delivering a textured sonic set filled with layered synths and driving rhythms. Sena set the tone with their performance and built an early momentum for the rest of the night.
Next up was Offtask, who grabbed that electric atmosphere and amplified it. The four-piece alternative band played Liberation Live back in February. I managed to catch them before their set, asking them all about live music. ‘It’s nice bringing music back to student unions, it’s definitely what the world needs’ frontman Kian shared. ‘It’s a pretty storied venue - being part of that history is amazing’ Dan, the bassist, noted. Talking about how the impact Liberation Live has had on campus Drummer Luke noted ‘in our first year it was pretty quiet and Falmer Bar was especially and now they (Liberation Live) have brought life back into the Student Union.’
The band have played a lot of local venues as well as London, picking up an impressive catalogue of live performances. Discussing building up a live audience, Kian admitted ‘it’s tough.’ ‘It’s picked up more of a momentum now. Especially after our last liberation live gig we got a lot more people following us that none of us knew’ Luke appreciated. Talking about their favourite part of playing live Dan recalled a defining moment ‘I think my favourite moment is when we played Prince Albert last year which was our first sort of big gig and the moment where we played our released single live and the crowd sang it back to us. Nothing has ever hit like that moment in my entire life.’ Oscar continued with ‘we write these songs together. It has just been the four of us for so long in a small room rehearsal session…it’s an intimate process writing it and sending it out there feels good.’
Offtask also went on to talk about the political side of Liberation Live - ‘it still goes hand in hand’ Luke noted in reference to politics and music. ‘I think we need politics to bring that revival of grassroots music and Brighton’s really good for that because it hasn’t gone away here but I think it needs to come back to the rest of the UK’ Dan elaborated.
Having heard their two releases South and It Fades I was prepared for an impressive performance. Their sound filled the entire room, an infectious atmosphere that caught everyone’s attention. They each bounced off each other’s energy, their instruments and vocals blending seamlessly together without anything getting lost. It was one of those live performances where you have to turn to your friend and say ‘oh my god, this is amazing!’
In-between sets the audience spilled out in the smoking area, the space filled up with chatter, names swapped amongst strangers. Ella and Jay took over the microphone just before the headliner to talk about the year’s ending of Liberation Live. They each highlighted the team and the efforts from all that helped. Talking to a full room it’s clear that Liberation Live has created more than just a series of gigs, they’ve created a community. A place for students to come together, interact and have a shared experience.
After, it was time for the final band of the night. Laikk, who played their first ever gig at Liberation Live in November last year, are now back as a headliner. Since their first performance they’ve garnered over 10,000 monthly Spotify listeners and headlined Green Door Store, a popular grassroots music venue. Their set brought a heavier tone to the night, a moody aesthetic seeping through the crowd. They brought out new music, with Know Better being a personal highlight of mine. Throughout the set a slower dreamier climate was delved into, allowing a softer side to shine through. The band gave a fantastic end, a beating intensity to finish off the live performances.
Laikk seems to be an incredible example of what Liberation Live is about, with their first performance giving them an audience that they got to build on. Speaking to Laikk about this frontman Lewis explained ‘it’s a super full circle moment…when we first played here it put us on a level and we had some momentum coming off of that and now the momentum’s kept building. It’s just really great to be here higher up on the bill’. This full circle moment also gave the band a chance to see just how much they have progressed since their last Liberation Live performance. Lead guitarist Ryan commented ‘it's much less impressionist now and it's more expressive. We’re not just copying indie songs. We’re actually doing our own thing.’ ‘My favourite stuff isn’t stuff I’ve done on my own. It’s stuff we’ve written together because I just love what these guys do,’ Lewis adds.
The band also discussed the Brighton music scene as a whole. Drummer Albanerjee observed that ‘It's really welcoming when you're starting out as a new band. I think everyone is pretty accepting. All these festivals and homegrown grassroots music venues really put bands who haven’t had the opportunity to fall on this pedestal. It breaks that barrier.’ With Liberation Live emulating this they have captured the spirit of the city’s music scene.
Talking more in-depth about Liberation Live and what it means to play for various different causes Lewis shared ‘I feel like there’s so much shit in the world and it’s so fucking frustrating and you're in a position where you see it all online and you feel powerless. So the fact that in some small way we can play a show, something we love doing anyway, and people want to come and see it. It feels like you're doing something.’ Bassist Ben also shared another motivation for playing the event ‘when I was a bit younger, but like I was going to local gigs and that's what really inspired me to be in a band and to pursue music and it's been so enriching. So if we can play and someone be inspired, that's just that is entirely why we do it anyway.’
The night ended with a DJ set from Iflippingluvbrighton, a local collective that hosts gigs and DJ sets in every corner of Brighton city. It was an enjoyable finish, a feel-good stack of club classics to dance to with your friends. Lingering energy from the performances was still bustling about the place until the early hours of the morning.
Each performance brought something distinct to the stage, creating moments that will freeze in time for everyone there. I found the most standout part was the shared appreciation amongst all those involved. There is an outward respect between the Liberation Live team, the bands and the audience. More than just another university event, Liberation Live centres the community connection that young people are in need of. Continuing on to the next academic year Liberation Live will continue to build a space that provides hope, joy and connection.
Links to artist socials:
Sena - instagram
Iflippingluvbrighton - instagram
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