WEEKLY ROUND-UP (03.07.23)

Image: Eliza Clark by Robin Silas Christian

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 July issue of NARC. magazine – out now in print and online.

ART & LIT
Eliza Clark book launch
Novelist and self-titled Fellow of the Royal Society of Bitchrature, Eliza Clark launches her new book, Penance. Newcastle-born Clark has just been anointed one of Granta’s Best Young British Novelists and her cult-hit debut novel Boy Parts has been dramatised for stage in London. Her new novel Penance more than promises to keep her star rising. Penance is an intricate untrue crime narrative of murder, murky websites and teenage girls. You can also listen to Fran Harvey’s exclusive chat with Eliza on our My Writing Life podcast, here.
Thursday 6^th July @ Biscuit Factory, Newcastle

MUSIC
Jack Ladder
Cult icon Jack Ladder performs in Stockton for what promises to be an unmissable, intimate performance. The singer-songwriter is a towering presence in the Australian indie scene, and has worked alongside some of the biggest names in the music industry, including Bill Callahan, Angel Olsen, John Cale, Sharon Van Etten, Father John Misty and Weyes Blood. Often compared to compatriot Nick Cave, Ladder is renowned for his soaring, tender baritone, as well as his mastery of musical narrative, conjuring tales of beauty, love, hope and redemption that celebrate the human condition in his signature sardonically sentimental style.
Thursday 6^th July @ The Green Room, Stockton

MUSIC
The Ciderhouse Rebellion
Award-winning folk improvisers The Ciderhouse Rebellion and poet Jessie Summerhayes present a haunting reflection of the landscape with music and spoken word inspired by the industrial history of Rosedale Valley. Spun from the wind and weather, drawn from the whispers of history, as if created from the very stones of the valley itself.
Thursday 6^th July @ Land of Iron, Skinningrove

Image: The Ciderhouse Rebellion by Steve Muscutt

MUSIC
North East Hardcore
Local promoters Neversleep are raising the sirens and releasing a rally cry for any like-minded fan of local hardcore music. Marketed as “the hardest show that’ll happen in Newcastle all year” it’s set to be a night of chaos and big beats. Artists including Bloodfury, Wise Up!, Nothing But Enemies, Cruelty and headliners Bulldoze will blow the roof off, and the night promises to be both a celebration of local talent, but also a safe haven for all fans of hardcore.
Friday 7^th July @ Anarchy, Brewery, Newcastle

MUSIC
Club Paradise
With supports from Wild Spelks and Diago, Club Paradise celebrate the release of their latest EP, The Night Carnival, with a night to remember for the four-piece indie sob-rockers. The band have already garnered support from BBC Introducing, Radio X and Radio 1’s Jack Saunders.
Saturday 8^th July @ The Cluny, Newcastle

MUSIC
Tyne & Queer: Pride Power
A roster of local talent includes dreamy alt. rock outfit Labyrinthine Oceans, new(ish) kids on the riot grrrl block Sorority Grrrls, and headliners Teesside melodic metalheads m o t i o n s. Tyne & Queer’s market will be running alongside, where Queer vendors can gather to showcase and sell their work to an audience of like minded individuals. Rounding off the day’s activities is a special appearance by local LGBTQ+ club night Queer Love, who will make the most of the long summer nights with a DJ set to take you all the way to curfew. Food, arts, culture, music and Queer joy.
Saturday 8^th July @ Anarchy Brewery, Newcastle

Image: m o t i o n s

MUSIC
Collapsed Lung
Local promoter Hapless Museum Worker presents the indie pop stylings of Collapsed Lung. The band’s sunshine alternative sounds are perfect for summer, with euphoric choruses and infectious hooks, they are sure to provide the perfect soundscape for a pint in the sun. With a spoken word flair that’s akin to The Streets, the Britpop meets hip-hop sensibilities of Collapsed Lung offer a more hopeful, giddy answer to the London legends. With synth lines as catchy as their guitar riffs, the band have a penchant for relaxed ear worms that grow more enticing with every listen.
Saturday 8^th July @ The Cumberland Arms, Newcastle

MUSIC
Freda D’Souza
Experimental folk, voice and violin artist Freda D’Souza comes to North Shields in support of new EP, Windowledge. The EP’s five songs reveal a moment of clarity in the aftermath of a co-dependent relationship. Drawing from classic and contemporary folk and experimental reference points, Windowledge is a spacious and shimmering introduction to a singular emerging talent.
Sunday 9^th July @ The Engine Room, North Shields

MUSIC
SunLun Calling
The line-up is a who’s who of Sunderland acts including legendary North East rock stars The Futureheads; Tom A. Smith, one of the most passionate songwriters in the UK indie scene right now, who is currently receiving high praise for his performances; and beloved soul band Smoove & Turrell, whose signature Northern funk sound will keep the party going. Audiences can also enjoy the Mackem ballads of The Lake Poets, powerful songwriter This Little Bird, the electronic swagger of Vandebilt, catchy anthems courtesy of The Voyd, and the immaculate energy of Docksuns. It’s a line up perfect for your local music nerd, and guarantees good vibes in the sun.
Sunday 9^th July @ Sunniside Gardens, Sunderland

ART & LIT
Luke Jerram’s Gaia
An illuminated globe installation by the multidisciplinary artist Luke Jerram is to be shown at Durham Cathedral this summer. Gaia is a seven metre diameter globe which will allow visitors to experience Planet Earth from a different perspective, comparable to the view astronauts on the Apollo 17 mission had seen in 1972. This perspective is often described as the ‘Overview Effect’.
Jerram’s work features 120dpi detailed NASA imagery of the Earth’s surface accompanied by a sound composition by BAFTA award winning Composer Dan Jones. The name of the work comes from the personification of the Earth in Greek mythology, and when viewing the installation the viewer can contemplate their own experience on Earth. Nature and environmental concerns such as global warming are some of the other themes that can be explored.
Monday 10^th July-Sunday 10^th September @ Durham Cathedral

Image: Gaia at Natural History Museum, 2018