Songs From Northern Britain is fast becoming an essential part of the live music calendar here in the North East – especially if you’re a fan of up-and-coming artists.
The next event, to be held at Stockton’s Georgian Theatre on Saturday 17th November, is again packed with gems of the emerging music scene from far and wide.
Previous events have been headlined by Avalanche Party (November 2017) and Cape Cub (May 2018) and have proved to be incredibly popular with the gig-going public – so if you’re thinking about heading along, I recommend you snap your tickets up as soon as you can. This month’s line-up sees local big hitters combined with some great out of town acts that offers great value for money.
I’d be very surprised if you’re not familiar with Billingham’s lo-fi garage rock duo, Mouses. Guitarist and vocalist Steven Bardgett and drummer Nathan Duff have wowed audiences with their intense and energetic performances. Having completed their hugely successful headline tour in April of this year, this event is another chance to catch their fuzzy guitars and surrealist vocals on home turf.
Joining Mouses will be Glasgow-based punk band Rascalton whose brand of classic meets noughties indie-ish punk-rock have gained them support slots with The View and led to sell-out gigs in both Edinburgh and Glasgow of late.The four piece’s sound has been compared with The Libertines, Slaves and The Clash. Rascalton have also regularly gigged with Glasgow indie-punkers Baby Strange and their profile and reputation both at home and outside of Scotland is growing fast.Of course, there’s plenty of material on Spotify and YouTube to get yourself familiar with the band before the gig.
Formerly performing as a duo, Nieves now comprises of four band members including Brendan Dafters and Herre de Leur’s on vocals, guitar and keyboards which have been enhanced with the addition of Martin Murray’s guitar and Ross Forsyth’s drums. Influenced by fellow Scots Mogwai and Twilight Sad, Nieves’ unique keyboard-driven folk rock is a breath of fresh Scottish air that’s sure to go down well in Stockton. Nieves’ debut album ‘Exist and Expire’ was released in February and is well worth a listen. In the words of singer Brendan, “Folk music can be more like a Sunday roast in that it can take a bit longer to get what you want, but when you get it right it’s magnificent.”
Continuing this invasion of sounds from Scotland on the line-up at the Georgian Theatre are vintage indie-rock band, Dancing On Tables. Their EP ‘Space Race’ has been streamed on Spotify over a million times so there’s plenty of you out there who have already had a listen to this Dunfermline- based rock/pop outfit. Their live performances are described as engaging and dynamic, and as Robbie, Callum, Hamish, Gregor and Michael all went to school together in their hometown just outside of Edinburgh, expect a tight-knit live show with some real personality.
Finishing off this awesome line-up is multi-instrumentalist singer/songwriter Tamzene from Cromarty in the Scottish Highlands. Tamzene’s sound is melodic and accomplished for such a young artist. She sites influences from Roberta Flack, Aretha Franklin and Eva Cassidy and has a delivery that puts her in the same league as these legendary ladies, in my opinion. Her debut single ‘Lullaby’ is both tender and soulful, with the incredibly well-polished production courtesy of the mixing skills of Grammy Award winner, David Donaldson. Her most recent single, ‘Count Your Days’, released in October this year, continues her rise to prominence and sets to establish her as one of the most exciting female vocalists to hit the scene in a very long time.
Songs From Northern Britain takes place at The Georgian Theatre, Stockton on Saturday 17th November. Tickets, priced at £12.00 in advance (plus booking fee) are available to purchase online at georgiantheatre.co.uk.