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OUR PICK OF SOME OF THE BEST EVENTS TAKING PLACE ACROSS THE REGION THIS WEEK…
Image: LAIR by Deby Sucha
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
With country music experiencing a worldwide boom that began across the pond in the United States, it’s only right that the more understated distant relative, folk music, has a similar resurgence. It’s in no small part due to the quality and depth of emerging talent, and nobody embodies this better than Northern Irish singer-songwriter based in Belfast, Joshua Burnside, who’s heading to The Grove on Tuesday 22nd July. Burnside has been a BBC Radio 6 Music favourite since the 2017 album Ephrata, which was awarded the Northern Ireland Music Prize Best Album in 2017. He’s now touring his brand new album, Teeth of Time, and it’s exactly the sort of album which will translate perfectly to The Grove’s intimate back-room gig venue. It’s a record which blends poetry with dark wit; a unique instrumental style which marries a folky sound with Irish Trad. He will be ably supported by Myles McCormack, a supremely talented multi-instrumentalist who also hails from Belfast. He’s recently been selected for NI Arts Council’s ACES, a scheme for Northern Ireland’s most exciting emerging artists, and is the ideal way to kick off a night of dreamy, beautiful folk tunes on the banks of the Tyne.
Tuesday 22nd July @ The Grove, Newcastle
Image: Joshua Burnside by Nathan Magee
MUSIC
Soweto Kinch occupies a unique place in the rich tapestry of the UK jazz music scene. Not only in his breathtakingly wide array of musical talents, but he’s also one of the few artists to hold a degree from Oxford University in Modern History; it’s an unconventional CV befitting of one of the more fascinating musicians that you’ll find performing in the North East this summer. Soweto Kinch performs as part of the BBC Proms at The Glasshouse programme, which includes a special edition of the Radio 3 jazz programme Round Midnight on Thursday 24th July at The Fire Station in Sunderland.The lineup also includes jazz trumpeter Theo Croker and the boundary pushing Joe Webb trio, alongside Newcastle-based neo-soul singer Rivkala, a thrilling local artist whose lyricism and sleazy, bluesy instrumentals are inspired by the likes of Amy Winehouse and Alicia Keys. There won’t be many places where you can see so much talent sharing one stage; and it’ll be the ideal way to kick off a typically excellent weekend of musical performance.
Thursday 24th July @ The Fire Station, Sunderland
MUSIC
British folk rock group Home Service are embarking on an extensive UK tour this summer which includes four shows in the North East: Thursday 24th at the Gala Theatre in Durham; Friday 25th at the Witham, Barnard Castle; Saturday 26th in Alnwick at the Playhouse; and finally, Sunday 27th July at Sunderland’s Fire Station.Originally formed in 1981, Home Service were formed by members of the Albion Band (led by folk legend Ashley Hutchings, and the group behind the classic folk rock album Rise Up Like The Sun).Despite a handful of line-up changes, the group have managed to retain their pulsating folk rock and indie sound, which they bring to the stage this July.The eight piece’s current form is now fronted by popular folk singer Bob Fox, and they released their first album together last year – A Live Transmission. The eight-piece’s current line-up also includes guitarist Graeme Taylor and virtuoso saxophonist and flute player Andy Findon. It’s a triumphant fusion of brass and rock, and its the record they will be celebrating on the road.With four gigs across the North East in four days, there is no excuse not to catch this iconic, electrifying and revered band take their music across our region and the country.
Thursday 24th – Sunday 27th July @ Various Venues
MUSIC
What’s your dream northern line-up of LGBTQ+ artistry? We can’t see it being much different from this one, which has materialised at the end of July with two of the region’s most inimitable queer-pop legends already confirmed – attitude-laced alt. pop icons ZELA and turbulent dark pop artist Loren Heat.
Saturday 26th July @ ARC Stockton
Image: ZELA by Brian Nicholson
MUSIC
A truly special live music experience is set to take over one of Newcastle’s most iconic landmarks on Saturday 26th July, as Newcastle Castle hosts a unique, multi-room event that celebrates grassroots music. Teaming up with Sofar Sounds and promoters LLIVELY, the venue will be transformed into a labyrinth of intimate stages, offering audiences the chance to discover emerging artists in a setting steeped in atmosphere and history.Promising a rich blend of genres and moods, the line-up features rising talents including the introspective indie vulnerability of India Arkin; Scottish indie wordsmith Joe Goodall; the cinematic jazz/neo-soul stylings of Rivkala; mood pop outfit Vigilantes; dynamic alt. rockers Porcelain; anthemic indie collective Wolfred; bold jazz/alt. pop artist So Anne-So; and upbeat indie rock songwriter George Bailey. With sets scattered throughout the Newcastle Castle’s historic rooms, the evening invites audiences to wander, discover and connect; whether through the music, the venue’s rich stories or a drink from the on-site bar. Add in exclusive merch and a crowd of like-minded music lovers, and this one’s shaping up to be a highlight of the summer!
Saturday 26th July @ Newcastle Castle
ART & LIT
Jill McKnight: Past And Future Pact
Sunderland-based artist Jill McKnight prepares to unveil a new exhibition of sculpture, works on paper and video material at Northern Gallery for Contemporary Art’s Collection Space. Inspired by Sunderland’s industrial heritage, the exhibition opens on Saturday 26th July and runs all the way until Saturday 6th December, so you’ve got plenty of time to hop on over to Sunderland and have a look. McKnight produced the art whilst working as an artist in residence for AA2A and DePOT between 2023 and 2024, using the art and design facilities at the University of Sunderland as her homebase. Her work commonly strives to amplify working class, feminist and artistic voices, and this collection of art is no different, exploring her home city of Sunderland 30 years on from the mass closures of many of its heaviest industries. The work is not only visually fascinating and delightful to view, it’s also copiously researched, rooted in truth and real stories; McKnight used research from Sunderland Antiquarian Society, the National Women Against Pit Closure 40th Anniversary Commemoration, and museums in Sunderland, as well as online groups, relatives, friends, residents and students. It’s deep, thoughtful work, and it deserves to be looked at.
Saturday 26th July @ NGCA, Sunderland
Image: Artwork by Jill McKnight
MUSIC
Pronounced lah-eer, a local dialect for the Indonesian word of lahir, meaning birth or, roughly, ‘being born’ the travelling troupe blend psychedelic soul and funk into something sonically and socially challenging. In support of second album, Ngélar, the sextet come to The Lubber Fiend, Newcastle on Sunday 27thJuly. The joyous Indonesian psyche-world group is helmed by singer/songwriter Monica Hapsari and producer Go Kurosawa, focusing on the rituals and traditions of harvest and the ruins of what was oncea dense forest in Java. It is a contextually sorrowful album.Ngélar simply means a traveling performance, while LAIR’s ethos is primarily concerned with their geographical journey, time and all of their interactions along the way. Like the old fashioned minstrels, for LAIR how they interact and communicate to celebrating and making sense of everything that is going on within and around them is a method, a creative process and (as an album) a culmination of this journey.With The Lubber Fiend fast becoming the go-to place north of the Tyne for anything off-piste and experimental, while this is no way the end of LAIR’s spiritual journey, it becomes a valid and essential stopping-off point nonetheless and worthy of our attendance.
Sunday 27th July @ The Lubber Fiend, Newcastle
COMEDY
Laughing Stock Comedy Festival
For the first time ever, Laughing Stock Comedy Festival heads to the coastline with a mighty roster of some of your favourite comedians, all ready to treat you to some family friendly fun and funniness on Sunday 27th July at Coronation Road in Seaton Carew. Laughing Stock will be headlined by one of the UK’s top names in comedy, Russell Howard, who is best known for his TV shows Russell Howard’s Good News and The Russell Howard Hour. His comedy is observational, tackling life from an innately charming, positive perspective -perfect for a sunny summer Sunday. Joining Howard is a stacked line-up of hilarious guests including award-winning powerhouse Adam Rowe from Liverpool; master of the one-liner Gary Delaney; BBC Three Non Blondes trailblazer Ninia Benjamin; nightclub bouncer turned stand-up comedian Emmanual Sonubi; North East staple Matt Reed; TV writer -think 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown -Andrew Bird; and fast-paced prop-heavy bizarre comedy duo Raymond & Mr Timpkins. How’s that for a variety? The eight-hour extravaganza is the perfect activity for your summer calendar -and you can take the whole family if you so wish. Coastal scenes, comedy heroes and big, side-splitting, face-aching, can-barely-contain-yourself laughs. Comedy connoisseurs – this one’s practically compulsory.
Sunday 27th July @ Seaton Carew
