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On The Waterfront line-ups and start times

Dan Wareing
BBC News, Liverpool
BBC/Michael Leckie A wide shot of Sting playing a bass guitar. He has short grey hair and is wearing a black jumper.BBC/Michael Leckie
Sting will perform at the festival on Sunday

On The Waterfront will bring a host of star performers to the banks of the Mersey in Liverpool in the coming days.

The four-day festival will be headlined by Sting, The Wombats, Kaleidoscope Orchestra and The Wolfe Tones, with tens of thousands of people expected to flock to the city's Pier Head for the shows.

The event will also see performances from Pale Waves and The Christians and a DJ set from Groove Armada.

The festival was founded in 2021 and drew more than 45,000 people to the event in 2024.

Where is it?

The festival takes place at Liverpool's Pier Head, under the gaze of the city's famous Three Graces - the Royal Liver Building, The Cunard Building and the Port of Liverpool Building.

The site is a short walk from Liverpool One Bus Station and Merseyrail's Liverpool Central, James Street and Moorfields stations are all nearby.

Who will be performing?

Pale Waves singer, wearing a short black skirt and a silver coat, stands at the front of the stage in front of a guitarist and drummer and a large sign reading Pale Waves at Glastonbury Festival
Pale Waves are part of the line-up on Thursday

Stage times for the four days are yet to be announced, but the line-ups for each day are as follows.

Thursday headliner: The Wombats

Support: Pale Waves, Corella, Overpass, Keyside

Friday headliner: The Wolfe Tones

Support: The Scratch, The Highstool Prophets, Shea Doolin

Saturday headliner: Kaleidoscope Orchestra and K-Klass's Cream Classical Ibiza

Support: Groove Armada, Todd Terry, Chicane, Danny Rampling, Seb Fontaine, Tall Paul, Sean Hughes, Rob Harnetty

Sunday headliner: Sting

Support: The Christians, Sophie Grey, Traits

What's the start and end times?

All four shows have slightly different start times, but all of them end at 23:00 BST. Last entry times for those attending also differ day-to-day, as follows:

  • Thursday - gates open at 17:00 and last entry is at 20:00
  • Friday - gates open at 16:00 and last entry is at 19:00
  • Saturday - gates open at 14:00 and last entry is at 17:00
  • Sunday - gates open at 17:00 and last entry is at 19:30

What to look out for

BBC / Sarah Jeynes / Jamie Simonds A wide shot of Matthew Murphy, the lead singer of The Wombats. He is wearing an orange shirt and singing into a microphone.BBC / Sarah Jeynes / Jamie Simonds
Liverpool indie rock band The Wombats are headlining the festival for the first time

The event's organisers said the festival would be "another series of stunning shows and live performances from various genres".

And while Sting's Sunday night closer and The Wolfe Tones' final UK show after six decades of gigs are sure to be highlights, it is The Wombats' huge homecoming that many in the city will be looking forward to.

When the show was announced back in November 2024, drummer Dan Haggis said it was going to be a "special night" full of new music from the band's upcoming album and "a load of old bangers".

"We're so excited to announce that we're playing a huge hometown show, back where it all began," he said.

"The Mersey and Liver Building will provide the backdrop, we'll provide the tunes."

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