Music : Massive Attack, IDLES and Nile Rodgers announce 2024 Liverpool shows for Act 1.5 “climate action accelerator”

Massive Attack, IDLES and Nile Rodgers will play a series of gigs at Liverpool’s M&S Bank Arena in honour of the city being the world’s first ‘UN Accelerator City’ for climate change.

It comes on the heels of Massive Attack’s Act 1.5 show in Bristol last month which saw them joined by the likes of Killer Mike, Lankum, Sam Morton and the Wild Bunch’s DJ Milo. The all-day event aimed to re-envision how concerts could be staged sustainably, and was designed to be the lowest-carbon concert of its kind and scale ever put together.

Now, the band will host another string of gigs in Liverpool this November alongside IDLES and Rodgers. Speaking about the new shows, Massive Attack said: “Our recent Bristol show demonstrated beyond question that major live music events can be Paris 1.5 compatible, and that audiences will embrace change enthusiastically. The vast scope of work in Liverpool and UN recognition means we can now concentrate more dynamic pilots and experiments to rapidly phase out fossil fuels. This idea and this insistence are not going back in any box.

They also praised Coldplay for their efforts to decarbonise their shows and to “encourage other artists to do so freely,” concluding: “The talking stage is over, it’s time to act.”

Act 1.5 will arrive in Liverpool, where IDLES will play on November 28, Massive Attack on November 29, and Nile Rodgers closing out the lineup on November 30. If you live within the Liverpool City region, you can get your tickets here tomorrow (September 25). General tickets will go on sale on Friday (September 27) at 12pm BST, with offers on public transport from outside the region avaiilable via ticketing agents. You can get those tickets here.

Nile Rodgers has also said of the upcoming gig: “Some of the greatest CHIC shows have taken place in Liverpool so I’m thrilled that we are bringing our funk back to the city. We love the people and it’s always a night to remember. However, the circumstances this time are special, as we’re joining forces with our friends in Massive Attack to launch Liverpool’s UN climate action programme across music and film.

“Our We Are Family Foundation community of global youth changemakers have been sounding the alarm and working in the climate change space for years, as have Massive Attack, and now it’s time for all of the music and film communities to get onboard,” the statement continued. “Yes, we’re going to have a party at Liverpool Arena, but we’re also going to act!”

NME went to the recent groundbreaking all-day event, where we gave our thoughts on whether the band pulled it off: “There is some truth in the idea that an iconic, veteran campaigning act like Massive Attack can make things (like bonus trains!) happen that other events might not so easily be able to pull off. And it’s true that a switched-on Bristol audience, fresh from electing a Green MP (who is also on-site and speaking on a panel), are likely to be receptive to a concept like this.

“But there have to be some first-movers who push the boundaries and bring everyone else along with them. Massive Attack and their event partners are the first ones to bring all of the pieces of the low-carbon puzzle together. This is what the live music of the future will need to look like everywhere in the end.”

Massive Attack are also due to play a series of US shows in October this year – their first US gigs in five years. Get tickets here and see dates below:

Massive Attack 2024 North American tour dates are: 

OCTOBER: 
17 – Atlanta, GA, Coca-Cola Roxy Theatre
22 – Washington, DC, The Anthem 
23 – Boston, MA, Roadrunner
24 – Queens, NY,  Forest Hills Stadium