We returned to Stockton for another edition of the city’s multi-venue inner-city festival Stockton Calling and were, once again, very impressed with its organisation and impeccable line-up. It helped that the sun shone brightly, but rain or shine, it would’ve been a belter of a day! We started our Stockton Calling at The Social Room with raging Newcastle punk band Jam Tub who brought heavy riffs and thundering soundscapes to shake Stockton awake this sunny weekend!
Whitby based power indie pop outfit Sunbeam made sure we all stayed awake with their ridiculously infectious indie anthems. They played anthemic tracks ‘Northern Town’ and ‘Alone’ and treated their eager audience to a brilliant cover of Amy McDonald’s ‘This Is The Life’. They sure left us all longing for more. After such a sunny set we headed to the BBC Introducing stage at Sticky’s where Church, Honey had just started their performance. This angelic duo was in many ways a surprise for us, going in with no expectations the duo certainly made their way to the top of our list of favourites through their ethereal pop rock soundscapes and a gorgeous ballad they performed with artist Marina Josephina.
Scottish band Theta packed a punch and made The Storytellers shake at its core due to their heavy bass lines and alternative rock tracks. After that we made our way back to The Social Room for Hannah Robinson and her band. The local alternative shoegaze rock band knows how to put on a show and gave it their all on stage. The four piece got international attention with releases ‘When I Was High’ and ‘Rosie’ and is releasing a new single on the 26th of April.
It is pedal-galore at The Link for local pop rock musician Melanie Baker. A full house and a full sound come with her first full band gig, and though we are a fan of her solo performances, nothing truly beats this grand and powerful band sound she’s created with her fellow musicians. Local art rock outfit Cat Ryan brought the sunshine indoors with their characterful and upbeat art pop tracks and catchy compositions, and have clearly made a name for themselves as The Social Room is filled to the brim with bouncing bodies.
KU Bar slowly filled up at the start of Reverend & The Makers’ guitarist Ed Cosens set. Though we weren’t there for bouncing indie bops, we were there for Ed’s beautiful and soul wrenching solo work, which is exactly what we got. He played our favourites ‘If’ and ‘The River’ of his first album and will be releasing a second album in May!
The local twins that go by the musical moniker of Twayn played Sticky’s at dinnertime. The two are still young and fresh on the scene and gaining experience, and in the future their live set could benefit from a full live band instead of a backing track, however, they delivered a nice soundtrack to our tea. Next up at Sticky’s is Moon Wax, this band is without a doubt the funkiest and grooviest band from the north east and they truly upped the level of our Stockton Calling a notch! With incredible compositions, impressive vocals and vocal harmonies, the five piece wowed and made the entire venue shake and dance.
Sticky’s turned out one of our most visited venues this Stockton Calling with its headliner being northern goth girl outfit Venus Grrrls, who brought a powerful and heavy rock set filled with powerful anthems and a front row filled with the middle aged white men they tend to sing about… Their energy is infectious and they made a great headliner! With the last bit of energy we had left we headed to ARC2 where Deadletter brought our day to an ecstatic end. Imagine your favourite eccentric IDLES-esque punk band, add tambourine and a trumpet and you have the latest incarnation of Deadletter! They brought us a great closing set to our Stockton Calling with all-over-the-place grooves and punches!
As Stockton Calling said themselves; “We’ll now be having a long kip… And then starting to think about Easter Saturday 2025…”
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