Rome 56 Bring Their New York Power Pop to the Cavern Club for International Pop Overthrow Liverpool
The New York power-pop outfit led by Arthur Lamonica of The Shirts play their first IPO Liverpool this week, with two sets at the Cavern Club.
From CBGB to the Cavern Club: that's a line you don't get to draw very often, but Rome 56 are about to do exactly that. The New York power-pop outfit led by Arthur Lamonica, formerly of new wave pioneers The Shirts, will play their first-ever International Pop Overthrow Liverpool this week, performing two sets at the world-famous Cavern Club on May 27 and 28.
No strangers to crossing the Atlantic (the band records regularly in Amsterdam and has played UK dates before), Rome 56 have been a fixture at IPO New York for several years. But the Liverpool edition is a different beast entirely: a full week of melody-obsessed pop and rock in the venue where it arguably all started. For a band whose DNA runs through CBGB-era new wave, Costello-sharp songwriting, and Knopfler-esque guitar craft, it's hard to imagine a more fitting stage.
The timing couldn't be better. Rome 56's latest album, Pony Tales, released last November on Think Like A Key Music, is their eighth full-length and arguably their sharpest, a twelve-song collection that swings from future-gazing anthems to sci-fi dreamscapes. The album followed hot on the heels of Paradise Is Free (2024) and the recent "Ladder of Love" video, which has been picking up attention across the UK press.
IPO Liverpool, now in its 22nd year, runs May 24 to 31 and features over 110 artists from around the world across a full week of shows at the Cavern Club and Cavern Pub. Rome 56 is Arthur Lamonica (vocals, guitar), Kathleen Lamonica (vocals, keys), and a rotating cast of collaborators who fill out the band's expansive, cinematic sound. If you're in Liverpool this week, catch them.
Pony Tales is available now on CD, vinyl, and digital via Think Like A Key Music.
