Upcoming North East festivals and all-dayers
We’re well into festival season now, but more are being announced all the time and it can be...
Indie icons The Wombats make their return to the North East with Times Square show
By Jenny Dean Indie icons The Wombats are making their return to the North East with their biggest...
ALBUM REVIEW: Daniel Maple – Little Me
By Milly Nicholson There’s something beautifully nostalgic at the heart of Little Me, the latest release from Daniel...
LIVE REVIEW: MCN Live at Independent
By Scott Hays Images by Christine Audsley As the grand finale of Sunderland’s Year of Music collides with...
EP REVIEW: Polyvinyl – Where This Ends
By Scott Hays Newcastle’s premier art-rock shape-shifters, Polyvinyl, have never been a band to do things by halves....
SINGLE REVIEW: House Proud – Again
By Scott Hays Sunderland’s finest post-punk outfit, HouseProud, have returned with their latest single – Again. Delivering a...
LIVE REVIEW: Huge Weekend – Saturday
By Scott Hays Opening the night were Shipyard Rejects, a band whose moniker belies the absolute precision of...
LIVE REVIEW: Callum O’Neil at The Ship Isis
By Scott Hays Images by Lucy Shields Inside the packed Vaux Room at The Ship Isis, the atmosphere...
ALBUM REVIEW: Onlooker – Cleveland
By Scott Hays Hailing from the industrial heart of Middlesbrough, Onlooker has spent the last decade perfecting a...
EP REVIEW: Vampire Valentine – Pale Dawn
By Alex Richings Vampire Valentine return again from beyond the grave with their follow up to Dry Remains and second release of...
Gan On x The Bunker feature: The Fry Ups interview
By Jenny Dean We caught up with The Fry Ups to chat about what they’ve been up to...
SINGLE REVIEW: The Last Time – Getting Older
By Ebony Jade Sunderland pop band The Last Time are back at it with their newest single, Getting...
GIG REVIEW: Callum O’Neil at The Ship Isis 27/3/26
By Scott Hays Inside the packed Vaux Room at The Ship Isis, the atmosphere on Friday night felt...
LIVE REVIEW: The Cribs @ Boiler Shop – 18/3/26
Words and images by Kieran Whitfield The Cribs truly sold a vibe at The Boiler Shop on March...
SINGLE REVIEW: Alex James – Figure It Out Now
By Scott Hays North East England’s Alex James returns with Figure It Out Now, the second single from...
SINGLE REVIEW: Swindled – Endless Depression and Sexual Fantasies
By Chris Thompson Swindled make a strong start to 2026 and embark upon their ‘Sexual Fantasies’ era with...
BBC Radio 1 Big Weekend full line-up revealed
By Jenny Dean Ever since BBC Radio 1 announced back in November that they were bringing their three-day...
Swindled to play BBC Big Weekend in Sunderland
By Jenny Dean Cover image by: Adam Kennedy Article images by: Kieran Whitfield Sunderland-based art-pop band Swindled have...
SINGLE REVIEW: Nadine Hurley – Dreamer
By Scott Hays If the digital hardcore movement of the late 1990s was a Molotov cocktail thrown at...
ALBUM REVIEW: Ava & The Fates – Steve
By Milly Nicholson There’s something immediately disarming about the debut album from Ava and the Fates, opening with...
LIVE REVIEW: Misting, House Proud, spacecadetbloom – 20/2/26
By Scott Hays The Ship Isis, a Grade II-listed Victorian gem on Silksworth Row, provided the perfect backdrop...
SINGLE REVIEW: Anna Karila – Sweet
By Ebony Jade At only 19 years old, Americana/folk singer-songwriter Anna Karila is releasing her debut single, ‘Sweet’. ...
SINGLE REVIEW: Jymmy Pynball & The Stuntmen – Motorbikes & Karate
By Milly Nicholson Motorbikes & Karate kicks off with fuzzy guitars, thumping drums and a proper cheeky bit...
SINGLE REVIEW & TOUR ANNOUNCEMENT: Abnorm – Rats
By Milly Nicholson Newcastle alt-rock trio Abnorm returns with Rats, a tightly wound blast that captures the band’s knack for blending raw...
IVW recap – Sunderland Soup Kitchen Charity gig
By Jenny Dean Images by Kieran Whitfield Featured image: Black Rain Local music fans from Sunderland and beyond...
SINGLE REVIEW: Georgia Ruyi – Held by Strings
By Jenny Dean Houghton-based musician Georgia Ruyi has come onto the scene with a release that tells us...
SINGLE REVIEW: Noah ajc – Medicine
By Jenny Dean Noah ajc is back again, and this time it’s personal. His highly anticipated single Medicine...
Onlooker, Claudia, Pigs x7: Georgian Theatre – 31/1/26
By Scott Hays There is a specific kind of magic that happens in the Georgian Theatre when the...
LIVE REVIEW: NECC Showcase – The Ship Isis
By Scott Hays The NECC showcase at Ship Isis offered a stark study in contrasts: one band at...
SINGLE REVIEW: Aimee Curtis – Glasshouse
By Ebony Jade 16-year-old Aimee Curtis from the band The Last Time is entering the solo scene with...
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