Golden Touch festival returns to The Wedgewood Rooms with Zuzu, Bears in Trees, Arcade Hearts, Jerry Williams and more on the bill

Golden Touch Festival returns to take over The Wedgewood Rooms and The Edge of The Wedge with an inspired line-up of local and national up-and-coming acts.
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Among those on the bill for the one-day event are Bears in Trees, Airways, Second Thoughts, Arcade Hearts, Jerry Williams, The Rills and many more.Appearing second to last in The Wedge will be guitar-pop singer-songwriter Zuzu who has been making waves with a stream of well-received singles and last year’s debut album, Queensway Tunnel.

As is suggested by the name of the album (the tunnel runs under The Mersey), the Liverpool-based performer is firmly rooted in her locale – from the people to the landmarks. Is that important to her?

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‘Yeah, Liverpool is a huge part of my identity. When you're from Liverpool you can't really escape it. When you travel the world, people know you're Scouse as soon as you open your mouth!’ she laughs.

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‘I'm dead proud to be Scouse because I am. We're not perfect, it's not a utopia, but I'm dead proud to be Scouse and I've always clung on to my roots.’

She is also a firm believer of regional accents in music.

That's how I speak, so that's how I sing. When I first heard Arctic Monkeys, the first thing that struck me was Alex Turner's accent – he sang how he spoke and that rang so true to me.’

Zuzu is at Golden Touch Festival at The Wedgewood Rooms on June 11, 2022Zuzu is at Golden Touch Festival at The Wedgewood Rooms on June 11, 2022
Zuzu is at Golden Touch Festival at The Wedgewood Rooms on June 11, 2022

When it comes to music from Liverpool, there’s one band it’s impossible to escape from – but Zuzu is fine with that.

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‘Some people from Liverpool like The Beatles on a casual level, but I'm a fanatic. I've always loved them – my dad is a huge Beatles fan, so I've always known those records inside and out. They're a huge influence for me - but also The Las, The Coral, and there are so many cool bands around here at the moment.

‘There's a lot of people in my world influence me as well – Liverpool's got a real sense of creative spirit.’

I go to the Mersey a lot and – I know this sounds really emo, she laughs, ‘and think and read and watch it a bit. There's something transitory about it, and there's magic in The Mersey I think.’

‘My song writing's always based on where I am and how I'm feeling at the time, especially doing Queensway Tunnel, a lot of those songs mention Liverpool.

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‘I was home in the pandemic, and I was at The Mersey every day, having mental breakdowns. That was just my experience at that point.’

The video for her single Lie to Myself was even shot in Queensway Tunnel – with the tunnel looking eerily deserted.

‘We did it at night. My friend works for Mersey Travel, so I emailed him, do you know anyone who works at the Queensway Tunnel that I can message about getting permission to shoot a video in there?

‘He got this email for me, and I emailed this woman Yvonne and waxed lyrical about how much it would mean to me and how I'm naming my album after it. She put me in touch with the tunnel's manager and he was like: “Go on then...”

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‘They let me shoot it in there one night when they were shut for maintenance. They started on one end and we started on the other, and they were so nice. My whole life felt like it was pinned on that, I'd invested so much in it!’

Another of the singles lifted from the album is The Van is Evil is about an issue which looms larger in our lives every day – trying to be environmentally friendly while still trying to make a living.

‘I am talking about the hypocrisy of existing a a human. I am very conscious of this – all my generation are – no one wants to be driving up and down the country in a van, but I don't really have a choice if I want to sell my records.

‘My dad drives to work every day in a van too, and all of the food we eat every day gets driven across the country. It just sucks - The Van is Evil is about the pain of being a hypocrite on this planet, and the frustration of it all.

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‘I borrow my dad's van to tour – it's cheaper and easier for me to get about - I've used that since day one. It's almost impossible for an artist at my level to not tour because we need the money.’

While Zuzu likes to keep things grounded in her home turf and real-world problems, some of her other references are rather more other-worldly – there are sci-fi references dotted throughout her songs.

‘I'm a big sci-fi fan, I love all that, but I'm also a comic fan and cartoon fan and I put it all in the same bracket. I'm just an old-school nerd!’

Golden Touch Festival is at The Wedgewood Rooms on Saturday, June 11 from midday. Go to wedgewood-rooms.co.uk.

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