Christmas comes early for punks in Teesside this year as Riverside Rebellion returns on Saturday 4th December at the Westgarth Social Club on Southfield Road in Middlesbrough.
Now in its sixth year, the festival promises a raucous mixture of classic punk-rock and next generation acts in a venue fast becoming a hotbed for punk music in Teesside, recalling the glory days of iconic Middlesbrough venue the Rock Garden as a home for underground rock ‘n’ roll.
Headlining the festival are Belfast’s XSLF, led by guitarist Henry Cluney, a founding member of legendary first wave punk band, Stiff Little Fingers. XSLF’s live performances have garnered rave reviews, featuring SLF classics such as the anthemic “Alternative Ulster” alongside original material.
I sat down with promoter, Stephen Harland, to discuss the festival.
“I like mixing it up with older and newer bands” he says. “I like the contrast. From the very first one I have always tried to have newer bands. I try to provide variety.”
A veteran of the local punk scene, Stephen regularly promotes gigs at the Westgarth, attracting a wide range of bands from across the country.
This year, Riverside Rebellion certainly reflects this ethos. Dundalk’s punk/reggae hybrid The Gakk and Birmingham’s proto-punk styled garage rockers The Black Bombers are being joined by some of the North East’s finest new bands in street punks Boilermaker from Darlington and politically-charged ’77 style punk rockers Slalom D from Sunderland. Rounding the line up off are veteran punk rock ‘n’ rollers Johnny Seven from Thornaby and The Fauves from South Shields, both originally forming in 1978.
In addition to the main festival taking place upstairs, downstairs sees a free fringe festival featuring local acts Raising Romulous, Rudi Betamax, The Continental Quilts and Bones Shake.
Stephen sees the festival as a way to put Teesside further onto the musical map, stating: “We get a few folk from outside the area, so you hope people who do attend leave the town with a positive impression.”
Riverside Rebellion’s eclectic line up offers a rockin’ way to see out the year where things sort of got back to normal, in one of the finest venues in town.
Tickets, priced at £15.00 in advance, are available at seetickets.com. Tickets on the door are priced at £20.00. Doors open at 3pm with an 11pm finish time. Under 16s must be accompanied by an adult.
