A classic case of American hard work and can-do attitude paired with British coolness and artistic sense – this is how we would be willing to describe musician, teacher and promoter Zak Langford-Do. We sat down with Zak to discuss his San Francisco beginnings, moving to the UK and to his largest project yet – Noisy Weekender festival. Happening on the bank holiday weekend, 23-25th of May in Liverpool, the 3 day festival will bring nearly 40 new and emerging acts, among them our beloved Luton based trio, JW Paris. If you do not know where to go to celebrate the long weekend – we have you covered. Stage times, schedules and the most useful links, Indieterria has it all!
You are a musician, composer, multi-instrumentalist, music teacher and promoter. We wrote about the bands you have played in before but never had a chance to speak directly to you. Please introduce yourself to readers of Indieterria.
Zak: Hey, I’m Zak Langford-Do. I am the co-owner and promoter at Noisy Neighbours. I also play bass in The Graft, play guitar, piano and sing secondary vocals in Majenta Bleu and I session play regularly around Liverpool, Manchester and London. I’m a teacher too, I tutor at the award winning Maunders School of Popular Music, Aintree Initiatives for Performing Arts and privately.
You were born and raised in California. Tell us how the San Francisco music scene shaped you as an artist? What bands inspired you to pick up the guitar? Are you planning to come back home in the future?
Zak: When I started playing in bands, everybody I knew was better than me. Naturally, when you play with those in leagues above you, it inspires you to want to practice like crazy. I wanted to improve and learn from them. I was very fortunate to be around and jam with ridiculously good musicians in San Francisco growing up.
Well, it’s funny you should ask, because, ironically, a lot of the bands that inspired me are British. The Clash, The Beatles, David Bowie, Black Sabbath and Led Zeppelin were probably my biggest idols growing up. My biggest San Francisco idols were Dead Kennedys and Carlos Santana. I got to support Jello Biafra when I was 14! To be honest though, I’ve always looked up more to my peers I’ve played in bands with and local groups than to popular artists. I would catch them live and learn from whoever I could at the time.
And, again, it’s funny you mention California! I actually just visited Los Angeles and San Francisco last month. SF holds a massive place in my heart and I carry the spirit of the city with me everywhere I go. It was great to meet new people, but also catch up and even jam with long time friends and connections. Right now things are popping off here in Britain, but never say never to moving back home!
Currently you reside with your family in the UK. Be honest – how does a Californian like yourself find living in the North of England? Are there any similarities between San Francisco and Manchester/Liverpool?
Zak: I love living here in Liverpool! I love the energy, spontaneity, how chatty people are and how creative plus ambitious loads of musicians, artists are when it comes to their artistic vision. It’s a really inspiring place to experience music. I never really felt like I left San Francisco behind living in Liverpool. Both cities have a lot of similarities: people have similar temperaments, are cut from the same cloth and the community aspect is comparable in general. My brother Kai lives with me, but the rest of my immediate family is located down South (in the UK). I’ve got extended family across the world from San Francisco to England and even as far as Australia!
Let’s talk about your newest project – a band called The Graft. You have joined them last year as a bassist and you are sharing the stage with Jamie Higgs (vocals, guitar), Eddie Ponting (lead guitar) and Jack Hannon (drums). You recently played Sound City Festival to a packed club and, according to the band’s social media, they have some pretty ambitious plans. How did you become involved with them and where can we see The Graft live?
Zak: Essentially, about a year ago now, I was roped into it by the other half of Noisy Neighbours, Liam Gerrard, who manages the band (laughing). He was putting together a group back when Jamie Higgs was a solo artist looking to get a backing band. I got asked to record some demos and to play his first headline show. I specifically remember their first impression of me: I was napping most of the studio session and then waking up in the last hour and just knocking out all 8 tunes in a couple takes like bowling pins! Ever since, we’ve grown close as friends and bandmates.
This year, we’ve officially rebranded as The Graft. Over time, we felt that together we were more of a collective rather than just a pack of individual musicians. We are picking up our tour again this July. You can head to our socials for all the dates, but I’m most excited for our hometown headline show at the Kazimier Stockroom on the 25th of July. The gig is now half way sold out! I’ve always loved playing to the energy of the crowd at our shows. Also, look out for our next single called “Little” coming out soon.
You are a part of Noisy Neighbours – a collective of local promoters in Liverpool, who are behind the Noisy Weekender music festival happening on the 23- 25th May. Please tell us about other people involved in the creation of this event.
Zak: Noisy Weekender is run by pretty much just Liam Gerrard and myself. We’ve done all the programming, booked all the acts and scheduled the entire event. We have worked closely with ARC:HIVE in Liverpool, the venue where the Noisy Weekender is taking place.
One of the festival’s unusual bookings are The Silverados – a trio of mod rockers from Los Angeles, making their debut in the UK. Was it hard to convince such a fast rising band to come to Liverpool? They play a mammoth tour of 17 dates in the UK including Isle of Wight Festival!
Zak: Honestly, it’s mind blowing to have a band from my home state! It’s definitely a proud moment for me personally to share a part of my homeland with Liverpool on such an occasion. We were actually really fortunate to meet and interview The Silverados in LA. I found it quite fascinating how many British bands they are into as a whole. They definitely have an aura about them and the ones I’m most eager to catch live
With almost 40 artists being part of the bill, it’s hard to choose all the good concerts. Our pick is surely JW Paris whom we absolutely adore. What are your suggestions?
Zak: That’s almost impossible to answer! Every act on Noisy Weekender has got something really unique, interesting and exciting about them. Sky Valley Mistress are fucking cool, we had them earlier this year for their album launch tour. Outstanding two piece that’s proper Rock ‘N Roll with massive vocals, pounding drums and big guitar riffs. And they drive around in a freaking Hurst!
Tilly Louise is awesome, her songs are so catchy. Liam and I keep singing them all the time in the middle of our phone calls. Lily Almond I think is one to watch. Her voice is unbelievable and her songwriting is mesmerising. I’ve heard so many stories from my friends in London about how batshit crazy Sweet Unrest are live, that’s someone I can’t wait to see and hopefully mosh to! Fingers crossed!
Maybe I’m a bit biased here since Liam manages them and I’ve become good friends with the band, but I think Skäl has something really special. In my opinion, they are probably the best band in recent memory to come out of the Northwest. All their songs are so different from one another. The instrumentation, craftsmanship, lyrics and melody in combination is really impressive. They are unbelievable live and their energy is so infectious.
I really loved interviewing the guys from Montello and can’t wait to see them live. The Cases, The Slates, Deja Vega, Stanleys and The Balla are probably the biggest names on the bill. The Balla are easily the most hyped Scouse band in town. Out of the big names, I think Deja Vega I’m looking forward to the most, I’m a huge sucker for Psych Rock! I’m sure if you asked Liam, he would probably pick an entirely different list to me. Honestly, it’s really hard to choose, because all the acts are so different from one another. Everyone on the bill is fucking awesome and worthy of your time and attention.
Noisy Weekender is taking part at Arc:Hive, a grass roots music venue owned and operated by working musicians. It does seem like a bit of a statement. Choosing this place was not at random, wasn’t it?
Zak: Definitely, it’s not random. We have a great working relationship with the venue. A majority of the shows we put on are hosted at ARC:HIVE. Even though the venue only opened in October 2025, I already have some amazing moments and memories linked to this place, both hosting events and performing. The building itself has a lot of character as well. There’s something really special about the community that’s been building in ARC:HIVE in the last few months. We are fortunate the staff are very supportive of our endeavours. It’s really exciting to be hosting the event in such a class venue!
This is the first edition of the festival, but surely you will be back next year. Can we ask for more female artists in the next editions? There are many super talented female singers in Liverpool and Manchester. We can provide a list!
Zak: We have quite a few women on the lineup, actually. Sky Valley Mistress, Lily Almond, Eighty Eight Miles, Rivia, Tilly Louise, XL Poncho, JW Paris to name just a few acts with female members. As someone who is partially Asian and also the first in my family to become a professional musician, I recognise there are plenty of barriers to becoming a musician, especially if you’re a woman.
The number one reason for me when it comes to booking is to have acts with original music that is engaging, and the band/artist has to have an interesting story to tell. Our main goal was to book the best lineup that the Noisy Weekender could possibly get while also having variety genre wise. We dreamed as big as we could do when it came to curating and we tried to bring the best new bands to Liverpool that are on offer at the moment. I think we managed to get a great balance of contrasting musical styles for varying demographics. We feel audience members can walk away from Noisy Weekender finding their new favourite bands or artists.
Last questions at Indieterria are always a bit of fun. Imagine that at the last minute a rock legend such as Iggy Pop calls and wants to play a secret set at Noisy Weekender. The only requirement is that you keep him under a false name. What moniker are you choosing for the rock god?
Zak: Willy Wonka!! You know what, maybe a wild Iggy Pop will appear. You’ll just have to wait and see!
Zak Langford Do on social media:
https://www.facebook.com/zakkld
https://www.instagram.com/zak.ld/
Noisy Neighbour online:
https://www.facebook.com/noisyneighbourpromotions
https://x.com/NoisyPromotions
https://www.tiktok.com/@noisyneighbourpromotions
https://linktr.ee/noisyneighbourpromotions
Rita and Malcia Dabrowicz
Indieterria 