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OUR PICK OF SOME OF THE BEST EVENTS TAKING PLACE ACROSS THE REGION THIS WEEK…
Image: Spell Songs by Elly Lucas
Every week we pull together some of the best events taking place across the region, from music and theatre, to comedy, art and film. Read more on these, and other events, in the latest issue of NARC. magazine in print and online.
MUSIC
The Mekons have been battering at the gates of Capital for nearly fifty years, from scratchy punk origins to country punk innovation, through a dozen labels and twice as many albums, now scattered across the globe but reuniting every few years to fire another broadside at the forces of evil.
There aren’t many relatively obscure bands to be so hugely adored by the faithful, and to be hugely lauded by both writers from Lester Bangs to Greil Marcus to Jonathan Franzen, and fellow musicians like Craig Finn and – especially – Will Oldham, who even formed a tribute act called Chivalrous Amoekons. Bangs even described them as“the most revolutionary group in the history of rock ‘n’ roll”, and he OD-ed before they’d even made their best records. Joe Angio’s 2015 documentary Revenge Of The Mekons is a heartwarming, life-affirming must-watch, the band dealing with cancelled gigs and low sales with bonhomie, wry wit and a pint. The last couple of months have seen a brilliant new album, Revenge, on another new label, Fire Records, and now our dynamic octet are taking to the road again for a lengthy tour of Europe and the US, including eight UK dates. They fetch up at Newcastle’s Cluny on Monday 12th May and it’s bound to be a rousing affair, because it always is.
Monday 12th May @ The Cluny, Newcastle
Image: Mekons by Gabi Rojas
MUSIC
Adolescence being the often painful chrysalis that it is, how reassuring it is that Jeffery Lewis seems able to distil such complex and overwhelming feelings into such simple and sweet songs. Like many that arose with the popularity of outsider music in the 90s, Lewis has an earnestness and sincerity to his songwriting that feels universally comforting. Not only this, but coming off the back of several sold out shows, it’s clear Jeffery Lewis is still a mainstay of the anti-folk, slacker rock scene. Perhaps a somewhat redundant title considering Lewis has been consistently performing and releasing music under various guises for over 25 years.
His newest album, Even More Freewheelin’, while more cleaned up than his early work, still has that rough and tumble charm that has become so synonymous with his sound.Now that Lewis has a full band behind him, his songs will really get a chance to spread their wings and fly, adding some extra colour and dynamics to his otherwise very intimate and stripped back sound. Join Jeffery Lewis and the Voltage at Gosforth Civic Theatre on Monday 12th May for a performance set to be nothing short of electric (sorry, couldn’t help myself).
Monday 12th May @ Gosforth Civic Centre
COMEDY
John-Luke Roberts is one of those wonderfully sacred, rare instances of a comedian lauded by his peers but often overlooked by the general masses. He was named as one of the top 50 funniest comedians of the 21st Century by the Guardian in 2023, formally trained as a clown under Philippe Gaulier and has collaborated with a plethora of acts including Bill Oddie, Tom Allen, Paul Fieg, Mark Watson and Josie Long. The Newcastle-based comic has lived a thousand lives during his career, and his absurdist style has raised eyebrows throughout. With 10 solo shows across 15 years, John-Luke has been fine-tuning his bizarre and word conscious brand of humour and it is masterful to see a wizard at work.
This being said, his 2020 show It Is Better failed to draw any major audiences, and although you could blame an international pandemic for this, the comic is bringing the piece back to the stage at The Stand in Newcastle on Monday 12thMay. If that wasn’t enough, he is also providing a compilation of routines from across his nine previous shows, making sure that a decade’s worth of nonsense is cascading down throughout the evening.For anyone with a penchant for alternative comedy, this is the holy grail. Expect Vic & Bob antics coupled with Simon Munnery’s bizarre ramblings and Zaltzman’s world play – but all delivered in the colourful and dangerous packaging that is unmistakably John-Luke Roberts.
Monday 12th May @ The Stand, Newcastle
MUSIC
I remember seeing Pup in Newcastle in 2019. What I remember vividly was the energy from opening to close; Stefan Babcock, the band’s frontman, spent the entire concert lunging at the audience, violently close to chucking himself into the crowd. Sprinting from east to west across the stage, he whipped the intimate crowd into a frenzy within moments. The Canadian punk outfit is nostalgic in a way that very few performers are. They hail back to the cheeky glory days of pop punk, but with a genuine familiarity with all the building blocks that came before. The brazen sparkle in the band’s eyes as they rush through one of their more tongue-in-cheek numbers can be replaced instantly by an audacious swagger and malice as they nosedive into some of the most anarchic choruses you’ve heard bellowed at you.For a fresh example of this, look no further than their latest single, Get Dumber, with formative punk trailblazer Jeff Rosenstock. Uniting forces, the track is one of the most all-guns-blazing performances you’ll hear this year and immediately cements both acts as the punk tour de forces that they are. Performing at Newcastle University’s Student Union on Monday 12th May, fresh off a tour supporting Jimmy Eat World and SUM 41, Pup will prove why they’re a raw live experience that needs to be heard to be believed.
Monday 12th May @ Newcastle Students Union
STAGE
This May running from Wednesday 14th -Saturday 24th May, East Durham becomes the epicentre of a powerful theatrical collision between local grit and global ambition. Mother Courage and Her Children, Bertolt Brecht’s blistering anti-war classic, lands at Horden Methodist Church in a bold new adaptation by Billy Elliot’s Lee Hall -performed by Ensemble ‘84, a new County Durham company born from a 24-week training programme for local residents.
Directed by Mark Dornford-May and featuring South Africa’s acclaimed Isango Ensemble, this production bridges continents and working-class histories, transforming Brecht’s 1939 epic into a contemporary meditation on resilience, survival, and sacrifice. Led by Isango’s Paulina Malefane in the title role, the cast draws strength from both the mining heritage of the North East and the legacy of South African resistance, creating a show that pulses with political urgency and raw emotional power.
This is a rare chance to witness a world class international collaboration rooted firmly in County Durham soil. It is theatre that holds a mirror up to conflict and asks what we are willing to trade for survival -and who gets left behind.
For anyone who believes the stage still has the power to provoke, transform, and connect, Mother Courage is an unmissable experience -a timeless must watch performance that is bound to stay with you.
Wednesday 14th May @ Horden Methodist Church
Image: Mother Courage & Her Children
MUSIC
Things Done Changed is Jerron Paxton’s latest project -and lick by lick within it, Paxton draws you into his world, and it is utterly infectious. As the grooves from his acoustic guitar paint a vivid painting of a world almost a century ago, it is hard not to imagine his ear pressed to an old radio, raising himself on the sounds of Robert Johnson and Blind Lemon Jefferson.
Blues is pure: it is a lifestyle and it is born deep inside you. It sweats out of each and every song on Paxton’s album, which is evidently one of the most passion filled projects of the year. Things Done Changes is a tender and honest homage, performed by the brightest light of the genre -chock-full of character, warmth and a wave of charisma that washes over you with every song and every note that Paxton performs.
Returning to Newcastle’s Cluny 2 on Wednesday 14th May, this is a night showcasing one of the greats, offering you the chance to witness immeasurable talent and unfathomable prowess over a genre that has long been pushed out. The phenomenal mastery of the strings, the earnest storytelling and the personality are all evident of a seminal talent.
Wednesday 14th May @ The Cluny, Newcastle
Image: Jerron Paxton
MUSIC
Lethargy isn’t usually a characteristic widely celebrated, yet Edinburgh has produced a musical ensemble that seem to be quite happy touting their penchant for sleepiness. Day Sleeper have, in the mere two years of being a band, managed to somehow distil the feeling of grogginess one gets from sunlight streaming through the window after failing to be roused from a multitude of alarms. Think slow-moving soundscapes, light synth-driven electronica, and subdued vocals dripping in gloom. This House Won’t Fold is only their second EP (not counting the companion to their debut EP Everything There Is, Everything Else). Yet still, it shows a marked evolution of their sound while still maintaining its sonic bleary-eyedness. They’re journeying southward for a string of shows this spring, including a stop at North Shields’ The Engine Room on Wednesday 14th May, supported by hometown (and Sam Fender) favourites Hector Gannet. The folkish bunch, headed by modern maestro Aaron Duff, have been going from strength to strength since their inception in 2017, and this support slot with fellow up-and-comers Day Sleeper is but another string to their ever-increasing bow. The whole evening promises to be a must-see (and a must-hear) for anyone interested in skilled lyricism and moody tunes.
Wednesday 14th May @ The Engine Room, North Shields
Image: Day Sleeper
MUSIC
This special night of exceptional music sees all proceeds going to essential funding for the Amos Trust Emergency Appeal for Gaza and the West Bank. Featuring folk exotica bandits Bubamara, travel-inspired singer-songwriter Chris Milner – Journeyman and special guests performing Middle Eastern-inspired jams, uniting folks and coming together through music.
Thursday 15th May @ Forum Music Centre, Darlington
STAGE
Talking About The Fire is a new production taking place at Stockton’s ARC on Thursday 15th-Friday 16th May tackling an important but strangely absent topic of conversation. Created by Irish theatre director Claire O’Reilly alongside seven-time Fringe First winner Chris Thorpe, Talking About The Fire invites audiences to engage in a direct conversation about the state of nuclear threat in the world today and how we can work together to regain agency on the urgent issue of nuclear proliferation.
It is both a show and a conversation – drawing on several years research with senior arms-control advisors, UN diplomats and activists working to develop the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW), as well as officials representing nuclear weapons states – the production looks at where we are, where we live, and why it is key that we keep talking about this urgent subject.Thorpe’s ability to hold an audience has been highly applauded by critics, and this show has been received as remarkably important, in both the message of the piece and the warm, personable performance by Thorpe, which keeps audiences engaged and actively participating in the discussion.
Thursday 15th and Friday 16th May @ ARC Stockton
ART
Lovers of abstract paintings and collage will adore Jonny Bainbridge and Eric Mansfield’s upcoming collection of new works, As Above, So Below. Life Cycles is Brainbridge’s exploration of thoughts and the zooming in and out of life through dazzling shapes and colours, whilst Mansfield’s Ghosts interrogates ghostly people, memories and trauma.
Thursday 15th May @ The Bottleworks, Newcastle
Image: As Above, So Below
MUSIC
Sunderland’s favourite haunted pub is back again with yet another stellar event, and this time the haunting in question will come from Time Is Out Of Joint, an immersive musical experience taking place on Friday 16th May. Produced by the ever-intriguing North East musician and composer John O’Hare – with live music from his project a.b.a.d.e. – the evening promises a deeply fascinating and thoughtfully crafted spectacle of audio-visual artwork.
The evening will explore a myriad of themes, perhaps most dominantly the concept of time, and the culture of Britain. O’Hare poses the wonderment of why human nature drives us to return to the past so often, even whilst dreaming of a new future. Expect the unexpected – a.b.a.d.e. is known for a real skill in startling listeners with unexpected noise and loop-based interpretations on folk tales, hauntology and everything in between.If you’re seeking something unique, you can trust that Time Is Out Of Joint will be unlike anything else happening in the region this month. One of the freshest new minds in music guarantees one of the freshest new ideas within the audiovisual space, and this is certainly not one to miss.
Friday 16th May @ The Ship Isis, Sunderland
COMEDY
What do you get when you combine side-splitting comedy with real, gritty topics in an interactive cabaret extravaganza? You get Big Strong Man: an impossibly hilarious exploration of Northern culture and masculinity delivered via an endless list of mediums. Expect storytelling, song and dance, lip syncs, parodies, improv, karaoke, charity shop suits and… a bear? Believe it or not, that’s the condensed list.
Big Strong Man follows four men (whether they are big and strong is for you to decide at the end) who embark on the rather difficult task of rebuilding Northern masculinity in one evening. With each big decision they make on the matter, something happens… will it be a song, a parody, a story? You’ll have to embark on the mission with them to find out – and fordoing so, you’ll receive the great honour of deciding which of the funny foursome will take home the title of Big Strong Man and save the North. Very big stuff.
As for where to catch the biggest, strongest, most unique night of comedy you may ever see,Big Strong Man heads to The Hullabaloo (inside Darlington’s iconic Hippodrome venue) on Friday 16th May. Kick off the weekend in style, I dare you.
Friday 16th May @ Hullabaloo, Darlington
Image: Big Strong Man
ART
Jim Moir may have built a career by bringing us some of the best laughs of our lives (via his alter ego, Vic Reeves), but now he is allowing his inner artist to flourish by pouring his beautiful talents into visual arts and paintings on birdlife and his own zany creations. Jim’s brand new collection Knot Twister Prologue spreads its wings at The Biscuit Factory on Friday 16th May.
Character is at the forefront across all of Jim’s work. It’s vivid, bold, fun, expressive and so undeniably his. Blending tender watercolours with striking oil paintings, Jim’s iconic style explores his love for finding beauty in wildlife, combined with his own bizarre, caricature-esque pop culture mash-ups which carefully utilise his joyous eye for silliness and surrealism in life, and capture his endearing and unique personality in every brush stroke. It’s a joy to see this relationship flourish with our region, and to see his wonderful flair for cheekiness that is bursting with colour. I am especially looking forward to seeing some of Jim’s takes of local scenes in the region, which I can only imagine will be a delight – certainly a must-see in person.
Friday 16th May @ Biscuit Factory, Newcastle
Image: Jim Moir by Sean Elliott
EVENTS
Tyneside Vegan & Music Festival
For lovers of tasty vegan food, exciting stalls and beautiful live music, Northumbria University’s Domain venue is the place for you on Saturday 17th May. Alongside an incredible live music stage co-headlined by singer-songwriters, animal rights activists and vegan festival regulars Barbara Helen and Sweet Goose, there will be a whopping 45+ traders.
Saturday 17th May @ Domain, Northumbria University
MUSIC
The Slugs
It’s almost as if The Slugs don’t want a fan base. The ramshackle aesthetic of the two-piece is as delightfully and painfully raw as you can get, with Liberty and Phoebe teasing their upcoming album launch party with a hand drawn poster, with names and dates etched onto the canvas.
The sound on the album isn’t a far cry from what their unprocessed style would have you believe; it is fantastic. With simple instrumentals crunching along with dissonant vocals droning over the top, the tracks each feel completely devoid of production value and it’s utterly endearing.
First listen brings to mind artists such as The Shaggs, whose brash sound inspired the grunge movement, and although The Slugs feel more deliberately primitive than The Shaggs, their sound certainly still retains that utterly charming energy.With songs about dinner, shoes and even an unexpected ABBA cover, the album A Song For Every Feeling lives up to the title as the tracks feel as sprawling and spontaneous as the instrumentals that dance behind them.
The Slugs may not be for everyone, but I guarantee it will only take one listen to decide which side of the line you fall on, and I for one am utterly smitten by what they’re doing. Decide for yourself at The Lubber Fiend on Monday 19th May, and witness a rare opportunity to see something fresh birthed.
Saturday 17th May @ The Lubber Fiend, Newcastle
Image: The Slugs
MUSIC
Spell Songs is a folk ‘supergroup’: a musical evolution of both ‘The Lost Words’ & ‘The Lost Spells’ books by acclaimed author Robert Macfarlane, and award-winning illustrator Jackie Morris, to create an all-encompassing experience of music, poetry, and art. The ensemble is made up of a renowned line-up of musicians: respected folk stars Karine Polwart, Julie Fowlis, Seckou Keita, Kris Drever, Rachel Newton, Beth Porter and Jim Molyneux, who will all be taking the stage at The Glasshouse on Saturday 17thMay. Joining them will be Jackie Morris –conjuring nature with watercolour and ink to provide a sublime artistic display, complementing the kora, electric harp, cello, Indian harmonium and more to be heard by the group. Not only will this be a rare opportunity to see the collective live, but also a special evening for Jackie –who will be reunited with our beautiful kittiwake colony, whom she first discovered in June 2022, leading to dedicated sketches, artworks, and a poem performed for BBC Radio’s Tweet of the Day. Spell Songs’ performance will embody the ecological ethos of the ‘Lost’ books, and, with layers of musical and linguistic influences spanning from Orkney to Senegal, it promises to be a magical evening of folk, art and more -so make sure not to miss out on this special night.
Saturday 17th May @ The Glasshouse, Gateshead
