LIVE REVIEW: Tom A. Smith, Crystal Tides, Isabel Maria @ Fire Station, Sunderland (15.08.25)

Image: Tom A Smith by Katie Anderson

We Make Culture’s Young Musicians Project have given so many young people across the region opportunities to learn and develop as artists, it’s great to see many of them have then broken down walls and been able to really shine. Perhaps nobody has shined quite as brightly as Isabel Maria, who is opening on this night on the outdoor Parade Ground stage at Sunderland Fire Station as part of their Summer Parties season. The crowd is steadily filing in, her trademark ghost mascot is sitting atop her keyboard and, despite her seemingly timid manner, she is commanding the attention of everyone with a talent and an authority way beyond her years. A very gifted songwriter with a beautiful, passionate voice, Isabel Maria has a real talent for writing songs that are personal and that exude authenticity, and it is that legitimacy and self-reflection in her work that should ensure she has a very bright future ahead of her indeed.

A 300-plus mile drive for a single gig is hardcore but that’s what Portsmouth’s Crystal Tides did to also open for Tom A. Smith, even losing two of their members along the way when their vehicle broke down. Performing as a three-piece for the night, you would not have known they were light on numbers if you were not previously familiar with the band. They make a very hefty, expansive sound that is brimming with fluid melodies and snappy hooks. It looks as though their trip all the way up to Sunderland might just have been worth it given the queue at their merch table after their set. 

There’s a sense of celebration in the air as Tom A. Smith takes to the stage for a hometown show and there is frankly a lot to celebrate. It’s hard to imagine that he has had a 13-year journey to get to this point given that he is only 21 years old. That journey has taken him to Glastonbury, to Hyde Park to open for Elton John and he has been cast to play a young Sunderland-born Dave Stewart in a semi-autobiographical biopic about the Eurythmics legend. The sky is the limit for Sunderland’s fastest rising star and the mood suggests that everyone in attendance is thinking the same thing. Tearing through crowd favourites such as Wolves, Never Good Enough, Like You Do, Weirdo and latest single Fashion with youthful vigour as well as a maturity that only comes with experience, there is also a nice moment where he is joined on stage by the aforementioned Dave Stewart in a surprise appearance. It’s hard to imagine exactly where Tom A. Smith goes from here but wherever it is it seems as though continued success is very likely.