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OUR PICK OF SOME OF THE BEST EVENTS TAKING PLACE ACROSS THE REGION THIS WEEK…
Image: The Lovely Eggs by Darren Andrews
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.
ART & LIT
Queer art is more important now than ever, and Voices of Pride, an exhibition celebrating a diverse range of queer artists with spectacular practices, will be a must see when it runs at Vane Art Gallery from Wednesday 11th June – Saturday 5th July.
Marking the beginning of Pride Month, this fantastic exhibition spotlights incredible LGBTQIA+ artists in the region, all exploring queerness through their own unique lens. The outstanding line-up includes Chris Fleming (also known as IDa4 and drag artist Latrine Lurka), who uses bold stencil art exploring identity, activism and visibility; Will Hughes, who conceptualises aspiration, queerness and glamour using casting, layering and bejewelling techniques, weaving of personal narratives with pop culture references; Meg McWilliam creates bold, maximalist and satirical collages inspired by girlhood, class and identity, empowered by the strength of the queer community and challenging expectations; Davey Powell uses textiles and quilted work inspired by the visual spectacle of the fairground, exploring identity and heritage shaped by his upbringing in the traveller community; and Bethany Stead, a multidisciplinary artist who draws upon allegory, iconography, feminism and more, using visual storytelling that disrupts fragile socio-politics.
Voices of Pride is an incredible feat of important and defiant queer work, and will undoubtedly be a joyful, insightful and thought provoking exhibition.
Wednesday 11th June – Saturday 5th July @ Vane, Gateshead
Image: Voices of Pride – W. Hughes
ART & LIT
Libraries in Teesside once again throw open their doors for a celebration of the written word, as literary festival Crossing The Tees returns from Thursday 12th – Saturday 28th June. Authors taking part include best-selling author Mike Gayle, who introduces his new novel Hope Street (Redcar Library, 13th June); YA author Ravena Guron talks about her twisty murder mysteries (Darlington Library, 14th June); crime writers Jo Furniss and David Fennell join forces to introduce their new novels (Darlington Library, 19th June); Lizzie Tiffin chats about the wayward wives, mad mothers and scandalous sisters in her book Bad Girls of Ancient Greece (Seaton Carew Community Hub, 20th June); and Steve Nicholls documents his journey along the length of the River Tees in his book, Steel River (Stockton Central Library, 25th June); plus there’s readings and chat from writers including Jess Kidd (Acklam Community Hub & Library, 13th June), Sarah Brooks (Norton Library, 21st June), MJ Robotham and Emma Flint (Acklam Community Hub & Library, 21st June).
Other highlights of the programme include Hark! The Sound of Stories event which showcases music from a new album inspired by the Stockton and Darlington Railway by Sam Slatcher, with poetry from Lizzie Lovejoy and Carmen Marcus (Darlington Library, 20th June); poetry gurus Born Lippy present a poetry slam in which twelve poets go head to head in a war of words (Stockton Central Library, 18th June); and in The Haunted Generation, local treasure Bob Fischer spins tall tales, jumbled memories and urban folklore in his look at the weirder side of growing up in the 70s and 80s (Community Hub Central, Hartlepool, 14th June).As always, learning and participation is a big part of the event, with budding scribes able to dig deeper into their craft thanks to a variety of workshops which explore story development and structure, zine making, art poetry and more.
Thursday 12th – Saturday 28th June @ Various Venues
MUSIC
Platinum-selling, award winning singer-songwriter and rapper Betty Boo heads to KU for a huge celebration of her music, paired with the special edition re-release of her albums Boomania and GRRR! Considered a 90s legend and a hip-hop trailblazer, catch herin Stockton now in case she scuttles off on another 30 year hiatus…
Friday 13th June @ KU, Stockton
Image: Betty Boo by Sandro Hyams
MUSIC
Another Friday 13th offering -but the only thing spooky about this is how good it’s set to be. Jali Bakary Konte, grandson and son of legendary kora players Alhaji Bai and Dembo Konte, brings his own take on classic West African kora music to Newcastle. Support comes from the acclaimed Canadian folk songwriter Dana Sipos.
Friday 13th June @ Cobalt Studios, Newcastle
MUSIC
Foxing have always balanced the violent surges of noise rock with the tender inanities of low-fi indie. There’s a duality that makes the band tirelessly endearing. Foxing harnesses a harmony between the dissonant opposites that captured the hearts and ears of fans for a decade now, and you can catch them for yourself at The Cluny on Friday 13th June. Their self-titled latest edition to the catalogue, walks a similar path, albeit to a far more ambitious extent. Foxing, as an album, is a force of nature; building up from tiny, trembling beginnings. It feels close, fragile and weak. The opening track, Secret History shows a whimpering vocal creaking out over next to no instrumentation, almost drowning in its own emotion. By the end you are engulfed in an explosion of adrenaline that has enveloped the track, with bellowing vocals tearing up over thundering drums and bonfire of white noise. In another world, the hooks and choruses across this release would top the charts, had they not been buried under the incredible violence and immediacy of the album. The self titled release feels important, as if they have mastered every artistic expression they’ve been honing for years. Coming to The Cluny on Friday 13th June, this gig promises to be unparalleled and utterly exciting.
Friday 13th June @ The Cluny, Newcastle
Image: Foxing
MUSIC
A fantastic initiative from a brilliant artist, Mura Masa is hosting a series of events entitled LOCAL, in partnership with Relentless. Stockton’s glorious Georgian Theatre is the first stop in a series of shows touring three UK towns, showcasing under-sung talent from sometimes overlooked places, with the aim of shining a spotlight on local artists, venues, communities and stories.
The line-up for Stockton’s stop on Friday 13th June is curated by local DJ/electronic artist Boo, a brilliantly singular artist who has recently been selected as a Tees Valley Artist of the Year after a wealth of hard graft that has seen her mix sets for NTS, Boiler Room and BBC Music Introducing whilst regularly curating some marvelous showcases of talent with her Ghetec parties, which she hosts all across the UK. This LOCAL showcase will see a headlining set from the aforementioned Mura Masa, who saw plenty of acclaim with last year’s fifthLP Curve 1, and carved out a unique career that boasts a plethora of releases and accolades, collaborating with the likes of A$AP Rocky, Charli XCX and Shygirl and remixed a solid who’s-who of 21st century musical royalty. Boo will also demonstrate her brilliantly singular talents, alongside support from the dynamic talents of house producer Alousea, Cousin Dan andDJ and label head Rees.
Friday 13th June @ The Georgian Theatre, Stockton
EVENTS
Bringing much needed queer joy, celebrations and community into the heart of Hexham, this year’s Hexham Pride features two days of fantastic LGBTQIA+ music and speakers, with a line-up including Gender Envy, Gem Andrews & Nicky Rushton, Maddie Morris, Jade Mia Broadhead, PJ Taylor, Rose Juliette, Alice Skye and more.
Saturday 14th – Sunday 15th June @ Hexham Bandstand
EVENTS
Just in time for pride month, Star & Shadow Cinema brings us a beautiful celebration of all things regarding lesbian and sapphic pop culture. Multimedia doesn’t even cut it -we’re talking music, film, TV, games, books and even more incredible queer media to bask in. Everyone is welcome, given you’re an adult!
Saturday 14th June @ Star & Shadow Cinema
MUSIC
Smote now take many forms – sometimes it’s the solo project of Newcastle’s Daniel Foggin; other times it’s a four-piece with a reputation for absolutely crushing live shows; recently, at Roadburn Festival, the Smote big band added Adam from Pigsx7, John from Gnod, Ian from Lankum and Lisa from Flowers Must Die to the line-up for a performance that by all accounts laid waste to Tilburg. Last year’s excellent fourth album A Grand Stream (on Rocket Recordings, a perfect home) got some incredible reviews and Foggin and co are clearly on a creative high right now. Occupying a space somewhere in the Venn Diagram between noise rock, deep psych, pure drone something more eldritch and folky, Smote are a fearsome live proposition, and their show on Saturday 14th June at The Cluny is not to be missed if you like your music to be the aural equivalent of a black hole (but in a good way…).
But because the Wandering Oak crew always have your best interests at heart, they’ve added Aussie-born/UK-based artist Penelope Trappes to the bill, a really simpatico pairing with Smote. With her recent album A Requiem, Trappes has moved further into a droney, folky, ritualistic soundworld and it’s beautiful, immersive stuff.
Saturday 14th June @ The Cluny, Newcastle
Image: Smote
MUSIC
The uncompromisingly brilliant The Lovely Eggs bring their joyful punk mayhem to Pop Recs in Sunderland on Saturday 14th June. Holly and David, the fierce northern duo behind the madness, have long since been cult icons of the DIY underground, known for their raucous live shows, surreal lyrics, and a ‘no rules’ ethos that has taken them from SXSW and Shonen Knife tours to recording with Gruff Rhys. Armed with one guitar, one drum kit, and a Big Muff pedal, their stripped-down garage psych racket is full of wit, rage, and weirdo joy. With records like This Is Our Nowhere and Wildlife, they’ve long celebrated life outside the mainstream by providing a clutch of gleefully noisy anthems for the outsider in all of us.
Support comes from lo-fi North East songwriting legend Nev Clay, whose wry lyricism and understated delivery are cult favourites in their own right. Also on the bill is fuzz-heavy noisemakers Super Burner who have been making a name for themselves by channelling motorik grooves and smouldering distortion. An unmissable night of grassroots grit, DIY ethos, and genuine oddball brilliance, with Pop Recs providing the perfect home for this off-kilter celebration of creative freedom.
Saturday 14th June @ Pop Recs, Sunderland
ART & LIT
Queer Pleasure Archive is an exciting and much needed discovery and celebration of queer joy organised by Sarah Li. The exhibition is a new, socially engaged art project and DIY archive by the Newcastle-based artist which was born out of a lack of positive and joyful representation of queer people in archives and collections. As part of the exhibition visitors can enjoy new archive pieces that were created by members from the Drag King, Genderchaos and Alternative Drag Collective documenting pleasurable activities.Previewing on Saturday 14th June at Helix Arts in North Shields the exhibition then runs from Monday 16th June to Friday 27th June. A performance of the DGA Collective will take place on the preview night, including portraits by Emma Bentley-Fox of some of the co-authors involved in the project and artwork responses to the archival pieces and activities by Sarah Li. This project has been funded by Helix Arts, the Newcastle Arts Team, Arts Council England, and the Ouseburn Trust and will be showcasing the presence of the queer community within the North East. Sarah Li is a musician, composer and artist from Liverpool based in Newcastle and has made an impression on the North East artscene through musical projects SMLM, Bitchfinder General, Woven Ensemble, and the aforementioned DGA Collective.
Saturday 14th June @ Helix Arts, North Shields
MUSIC
While Paul Smith is best known as the frontman of Newcastle-based art-rock group Maxïmo Park, he has also released three acclaimed solo albums and collaborated with the likes of folk singer Rachel Unthank on 2023’s Unthank | Smith project, and Field Music’s Peter Brewis amongst others. Maxïmo Park’s eighth album, Stream Of Life, was released last September to their customary critical acclaim and the band also recently headlined Stockton Calling. Smith’s increasingly uncommon solo concerts are known for their conversational intimacy and their mix of grunge-inspired power pop, combined with fingerpicked melancholy and The Georgian Theatre in Stockton are delighted to have him back on Sunday 15th June.
This will be a rare opportunity to see him play alone, and hear his songs at their most stripped back;while also focusing heavily on his solo material such as Our Lady Of Lourdes from 2010’s Margins album and Your Orbit and Critical Mass from 2018’s Diagrams.The tracks showcase the singer’s high-brow and archly witty lyricism, along with his unique ability to craft a melody which has seen his parent band carve out their own very fertile indie pop furrow. So don’t miss your chance to see this rare delight from a local art-rock legend.
Sunday 15th June @ The Georgian Theatre, Stockton
