I was unfamiliar with Window Kid when I was invited to the Newcastle date of his latest tour, and it’s these kind of shows that are my favourite to review. There’s an unmatched anticipation to being in a room full of people who are buzzing to see one of t…

I’m sure everyone knows that “vukovi” means “wolves” in Serbian/Croatian, but did you know that the thrilling alt-rock duo – also known as Vukovi – are playing Newcastle this January? First thing up: Vukovi are actually from Scotland (North Ayrshire, f…

Stealing Sheep are the Liverpool three-piece whose live shows are real avant-pop raves, and they’ll be bringing their sonic party-poppers when they visit Newcastle in early February. Stealing Sheep haven’t troubled the charts all that much, but for th…

The Irish singer-songwriter (and actor) Niall McNamee is an incredibly exciting prospect and he’ll be holding audience members rapt when he appears at the Cumberland Arms at the back end of January. Niall McNamee is a genuinely exciting prospect on the…

The Texas band Midlake are one of the best bands to come out of the US this century. There, I’ve said it. They’re playing Sunderland on the last day of January. Oh, Midlake! How do I love thee? Let me count the ways. For one, their ability to craft dee…

The Croupiers are a ten-piece Northern Soul band and their incredible live shows have seem them in huge demand up and down the UK. And – get this! – they’re playing PILGRIM in Newcastle in early February. Woo hoo! Of course, there’s nothing Northern So…

The Bay City Rollers are headlining the third annual Tyneside Blues and Americana Festival, which is coming to North Shields once again this January. This year’s Tyneside Blues and Americana festival closes on Burns Night, so organisers Stephen Donnell…

Newcastle’s abundantly talented Melanie Baker has just signed to Tambourhinoceros, news which gets a hearty “Woo hoo!” from me. And the first fruits of Melanie Baker’s dalliance with Tambourhinoceros is her latest single ‘Sad Clown’, which is a blister…

Dolder are Dani and Zara Dolder, twin sisters from Newcastle who have been turning plenty of heads recently with their harmony-dunked alt-pop. And one of the heads that Dolder has been turning is that of Little Mix’s Perrie Edwards, who, on hearing a t…

This pic is of the wondrous Frankie Archer who is playing a gig in Sunderland this January along with ATFK (and if that pic could talk, I’d reckon she’d say: “Come along to see this show as I reckon it’ll be the best thing you do all month). Well! This…

…and it sounds like K-Pop; then it probably is K-Pop. Time to get yourself glittery for K-Pop Live, which is coming to The Hub in Middlesbrough this January. K-Pop grew even bigger in 2025 what with the likes of ‘KPop Demon Hunters’ dominating the film…

Lordy! Steve Steinman and his incredible cast of reprobates are bringing their ‘Vampires Rock Eternal Love’ musical to Whitley Bay this January. I’ll say it again: Lordy! Brace yourself for a night of high-octane theatrical rock as Steve Steinman’s ‘Vamp…

Michael Morpurgo’s novel “War Horse” was, surprisingly, no great success when first published in 1982. Inspired by the first-hand experiences of a bloke the author had met down the pub, its gritty realism might have been too strong for the Young Adult aud…

Here is Kylver recreating, what very much looks like, that Homer Simpson hedge gif. But no need to hide lads! You’ve got a fab new album to talk about. This very excellent Newcastle four-piece create monumental soundscapes, untethered by time and space…

If you’re in the market for an exciting new band on the folk/pop scene, then this Newcastle five-piece are packing real quality. Crane House recently put out their first single ‘Cuban Heel’ and it really slays – and by slays, I mean it arrows straight …

I’ll tell you what’s going on with Hector Gannet: a fab new single; a Newcastle gig in early January; and an album to follow. Oh, my! Aaron Duff – the singer/songwriter from North Shields working under the artist moniker Hector Gannet – is the proud re…

If you’re not in the mood for a panto this year, then The Fire Station in Sunderland has a real cracker of a line-up that is sure to tick at least one of your boxes. I’m not going to tell you about everything that The Fire Station are showcasing this …

As someone whose football knowledge begins and ends with the glimpses I saw of ‘Match of the Day’ in the living room growing up, I wasn’t sure what I’d make of Dear England, the National Theatre production about Gareth Southgate’s eight years managing the…

The Glasshouse in Gateshead are as excited for Christmas as an eight-year-old on Christmas morning, and that’s certainly reflected in their programming. This year they’re gifting us everything from Messiah to musicals, big laughs to big bands, festive fil…

On a sweltering Sunday afternoon, Glasgow’s The Pastels played a sold out matinee gig in Byker. The band has been integral to the Scottish indie music scene, and are forever associated with the NME’s C86 cassette cult. When other bands moved to London, Th…

The Engine Room is the perfect setting for the last night of Dean & Britta’s tour, before they head back to America. Dean Wareham was co-founder and guitarist/ vocalist of Galaxie 500, a band that were integral to the shoegaze/dreampop movement. I loved t…

I went in to see Bad Lads blind, having not heard of the Medomsley Detention Centre before. The fact that an abuse scandal with over 1800 reported victims is not common knowledge is exactly why this play needs to exist. It is not an easy watch, but it’s a…

Some eight years ago (really? REALLY?) I saw Jenny Éclair’s one-woman show “Guide to Being a Middle Aged Woman Without Going Insane”. Back at Northern Stage this September, her new production, “Jokes, Jokes, Jokes: My Very Funny Memoir” is based on her la…

On the day that thousands of anti-racism protestors stood firm against a march of UKIP supporters, what better event to go to than a showcase of the work created by the Poets of Colour Incubator programme. Previously debuted in Manchester, this showcase w…

The titular Mr Funbles, a mysterious interdimensional clown, did not make an appearance in this eclectic variety show, which was in fact held on a Saturday and not a Sunday. However, his surrealist fingerprints are all over it. Hosted by August Mwfanwy, w…

Ellis Jones’ Trust Fund project stopped by at The Holy GrAle, Durham. Trust Fund can be defined by its versatility if anything – over the years it has metamorphosed into Jones’ one-man Indie Pop act at times, into a full-blown Indie Rock band at others; t…

This production of Verdi’s Simon Boccanegra was another in Opera North’s excellent series of slightly-staged concert performances, where the orchestra visible on stage behind the singers adds a special style of visual enhancement to the action. The main h…

Moira Buffini’s 2010 one-act play has been reimagined, enlarged and given just a touch of an ‘80s soundtrack (which HAS to be an added attraction, right?) for a new tour that brings an even sharper edge to its scalpel-like dissection of the relationship b…

If you’re looking for a show that’s as empowering as it is silly, Geet Northern Show, the brainchild of Rhian Jade, is the one. While every show is different, hilarious sketches about the dramatic lives of pickles in a jar, Geordies living in medieval tim…

The brain-child of actor Andy Nyman and Jeremy Dyson (co-creator of The League of Gentlemen TV series) Ghost Stories, is a theatrical oddity. It’s a short, sharp performance, with no interval to dissipate the tension, yet still manages to tell three dif…

Truth be told, I cannot adequately describe this play within the word limit I’ve been given. A surreal semi-musical comedy, it follows the story of brothers Ken and Mark as they struggle to run Bell’s End, their late father Barry’s 24-hour garage, after h…

Buff follows a primary school teacher who, following a bad breakup from a long relationship, decides to start dating again, but finds the dating world is even crueller to plus-sized, black, gay men than he remembers. However, it's his own prejudices and f…

It takes a brave soul to cover Bob Dylan live let alone tour a song-for-song tribute to his iconic Royal Albert Hall gig of 1966. It takes an even braver one to do it while clearly under siege from some upper respiratory misfortune. But for one night in N…

I first met Ilisha Thiru Purcell when we were both Young Creative Associates with New Writing North in 2023, and it was there that I first heard about her project: a poetry collection where she reimagines the ancient Tamil poetry practice of Thinnai - in …

One of the first music festivals on the calendar, Stockton Calling continues to deliver a true celebration of new and original music from the north east and beyond. Spread across nine venues in the town, the event is 100% focussed on bands and solo artis…

It’s amazing how many people, on hearing I was going to see The Flying Dutchman, gave the same response – “At least that’s one of Wagner’s shorter operas.” Yup, it may not go to the same bladder-testing lengths as The Ring Cycle, but its taut three-act…

I know it’s a cliché to say this sort of thing, but it REALLY doesn’t seem possible that Matthew Bourne’s innovative re-imagining of that perennial favourite Swan Lake had its premiere thirty years ago. The buzz at the time considered whether it might all…

Tchaikovsky’s 1892 Nutcracker Suite must provide the most gloriously inconsequential excuse for a ballet ever, offering quite literally a sumptuous feast of sugar plums that still delights sweet-toothed audiences today. It’s also a fabulous excuse for co…

Shockingly, despite having lived in Newcastle for 5 and a half years, this was my first ever gig at The Cluny. It definitely won’t be my last, as I was genuinely taken aback by how lovely the atmosphere is there. I could tell most of the crowd was made up…