The Gathering Sounds Festival announces first wave of acts
The one-day music event gears up for its hotly anticipated return to Stockton this September
Last updated 3rd May 2023
The Gathering Sounds Festival has announced its return to Teesside this autumn with an impressive line-up of artists and plans to continue its legacy of bringing local talent and national acts to the mainstage within the North East of England.
Following on from another homerun year post-Covid, the much-loved all-day festival is preparing for its fifth instalment at KU Stockton on Saturday September 30th, where the venue will play host to some of the best and brightest emerging artists from across the UK, including the high rising North East star Andrew Cushin.
Taking its cues from festivals like The Great Escape in Brighton, The Gathering Sounds Festival has positioned itself as a leading event for both music fans and industry professionals. With a line up of new musical acts across a variety of genres, the event has established itself as a key tastemaker in the regional music scene.
Located within the heart of Teesside, KU Stockton is the area’s longest running live music bar. Promoting their “proudly independent and strong belief in a true grass-routes music scene”, KU will provide the perfect backdrop to the atmosphere in which The Gathering Sounds is aiming to cultivate.
Headlining the inner-city fest is breakout local lad Andrew Cushin, whose rising profile and support from icons such as Noel Gallagher and Pete Doherty has him leading the NE music charge alongside fellow Geordie songsmith Sam Fender. Providing listeners with his kitchen-sink/council-estate-kid songwriting style, With singles such as ‘You Don't Belong’ and ‘Where’s My Family Gone’, Cushin’s music blends northern realism with catchy and energetic full-band arrangements, which has quickly sky-rocketed the young musician into the industry big leagues.
Joining Cushin are dirty-faced rock ‘n’ rollers The Skinner Brothers and female alt-rebels GIRLBAND. The Skinner Brothers may be Southerners on paper, but their gritty rogue soldier approach to music is Northern at heart. From their patchwork beginnings, to their matured swagger-filled present, the band have found their voice and have no plans on staying quiet.
While GIRLBAND have a similar devil-may-care attitude to their music, this all-female trio could be described as Gen-Z’s Buffy; slaying stereotypes and music industry vampires one tune at a time. Three mesmerising voices wrapped in a lethal package, these women are performing guerilla-style warfare on the commercial music industry.
Other acts already confirmed include The Clause, Deco, Fat Dog, Finn Forster, The Molotovs, Ruby J, Dawks, PICNIC, Bedroom Highclub, San Quentin, The Redroom, Casino, The Thieves, House of Wolves as well as many more still to be announced.
Viral pop act Deco have been earning legions of new fans this year with their sunny sounds that combine the contemporary with the nostalgia of 80s synth pop. After earning themselves millions of views for their viral 80s mashups, Deco soon appeared on national TV & radio, played BBC Radio 1’s Big Weekend, supported the likes of Nile Rodgers, A-ha and Boy George on tour, and garnered endorsements from their musical heroes like Noel Gallagher and Coldplay. 2022 saw the band perform their biggest headline UK tour to date and had their infectious saxophone anthem, ‘Rain’ played on the hugely popular reality show Love Island.
One of the fastest-growing acts in the midlands, The Clause, is also set to perform, bringing their heady mix of indie disco, 60s fashion, 80s influence and 90s edge. With millions of streams to their name and two successful tours under their belt, the band are determined to become the “biggest band in Birmingham”. Having sold out a 1500-capacity show at Birmingham’s O2 institute, they’re well on the way to achieving that dream.
Joining Deco and The Clause on the line up is The Molotovs. You would be hard pressed to find another young rock band on the UK circuit working as hard as this three-piece. They exploded onto the London live scene mid-2020 and with over 200 gigs under their belts to date, they’re showing no signs of slowing down.
Representing Newcastle is one of the region’s most promising future success stories, The Redroom. Now based in Manchester, the young band have accumulated over 85,00 streams and in 2021 they performed to a sell-out crowd at Hardwick Festival - alongside Nile Rodgers and CHIC. In 2022 they opened the mainstage for Stereophonics as well as music giants Madness at Lindisfarne Festival.
Festival organiser Jimmy Beck commented: “The North East has such a wealth of musical talent and The Gathering Sounds Festival is all about championing this talent along with tonnes of amazing artists from across the UK.
“We shine a spotlight on the artists we believe are truly doing things differently and have the potential to make big waves on the regional, national and international stage. Nurturing the next generation of music is what we’re all about and we’re so excited to bring such an amazing line up to Stockton in September.”
Stockton-on-Tees has a reputation for nurturing emerging musical talent, and The Gathering Sounds Festival plays a huge part in supporting and expanding this endeavour. This inner-city festival’s 5th year is all about the journey, as TGS continues to act as a vessel for artist development.
Tickets for The Gathering Sounds Festival (30 September) are on sale now from:
https://www.seetickets.com/event/the-gathering-sounds-2023/ku/2449716