THE North East has always been a prominent feature in music, producing the likes of Sting and the vocalist of legendary rock band AC/DC Brian Johnson, and it’s not let their reputation drop in the slightest! You are spoilt for choice when it comes to places to see and hear […]
Music
How ‘Ed Sheeran’ lost his livelihood thanks to the pandemic lockdown
As we pass one year since the lockdown began, we look at how a professional musician working in the music industry has coped. IT’S BEEN a whole year since the lockdown first came into effect and musicians are among those who have been hit hardest by the pandemic. Tours, gigs, […]
What’s your favourite Christmas song?
DECEMBER is finally well under way, which means that you can play all your favourite Christmas songs without fear of judgement. We’ve been asking our readers – and some of the North East’s most musical people – to share their favourite Christmas songs. FRANKIE Francis, lead singer in the […]
US ELECTION 2020: so who’s on the edge of glory … macho man or man of the people? Check their playlists!
Search ‘US Election 2020’ to see all our coverage In the run-up to Tuesday’s US Presidential election our student reporting team aims to explore, explain, enlighten and even entertain you on the race for the White House. THE US Presidential elections are heating up as we approach voting […]
Virtual gig featuring local artists to take place in aid of Sunderland Foodbank
WITH local communities still struggling after being hit hard by the pandemic, a group of Sunderland’s most popular musicians are hosting a virtual gig to raise money for Sunderland Foodbank. A NUMBER of local musicians and bands, including bigfatbig, noyou, Lottie Willis, Vandebilt and The Lake Poets are taking […]
Government approach to Covid striking a bum note with North East musicians
The past few days have seen a storm of controversy around apparent Government ‘contempt’ for the UK’s arts and creative industries (A&CI). First, Chancellor Rishi Sunak provoked anger with comments which, while mis-reported, created the perception that ministers saw careers in A&CI as somehow ‘disposable’. But then came a government […]
Hot Rats record shop hopes to be ‘Boomtown Rats’ for UK Album Day
NATIONAL Album Day will be hoping to hit a high note as it returns for its third year. The event aims to celebrate music albums and what they mean to fans. Taking place tomorrow (Saturday, October 10), this year’s theme is the 80s, a period voted as Britain’s favourite […]
Will our music scene bounce back after Boris’ bum note?
#The CoronaDiaries Music journalist and University of Sunderland journalism graduate and mediahub intern Jordan Davidson – who runs the SPOTLIGHTUK.co.uk music coverage website – reflects on the possible damage done to the regional music scene by the rather confused and disjointed initial government response to the coronavirus crisis. […]
Coronavirus:Sunderland nightclub ‘Independent’ introduce new steps to help “minimise spread” of the illness
Popular Sunderland nightclub and music venue Independent are providing hand sanitiser stations and extra bins in an effort to lower the risk of infection. The venue, based at Holmeside, posted to their Facebook page this morning a list of steps they are taking to minimise the spread of COVID-19. […]
Bridging Tyne Talents: Music networking event supports young Newcastle-based musicians
An informal networking event for young musicians based in Newcastle to explore their career options took place at The Globe in Newcastle on Tuesday. March 10th saw Newcastle University music students set up a networking event to give young musicians a helping hand at the start of their careers. […]