STAGE JUST ENOUGH MADNESS/BURNT OUT @ DANCE CITY

Words: Kate Relton

Bringing together a rich and vibrant collection of influences and experience, Dance City plays host to an emotional and thought-provoking double bill of dance in Just Enough Madness and Burnt Out on Friday 16th June. Through movement and autobiographical spoken word, Burnt Out sees Glasgow-based dance artist Penny Chivas explore the impact of the devastating Australian bush fires in 2019/20. Known as the Black Summer, this period provides the backdrop for Chivas to deliver a powerful political message about climate change, while giving a voice to the emotional fallout from the trauma suffered by so many. Accompanied by a soundscape of sirens, wildlife and helicopters, Burnt Out is performance as climate activism. Complimenting Chivas’ performance will be

Payal Ramchandani’s Just Enough Madness, which showcases her heritage through South Indian classical dance, Kuchipudi. Aiming to represent the mind through movement, Just Enough Madness uses Indian mythological narratives to tackle contemporary mental health issues. A piece that hopes to change the perceptions of mental health, grief, motherhood and loss, Ramchandani questions our definition of feeling ‘normal’.

The double bill of Just Enough Madness and Burnt Out will be performed on Friday 16th June at Dance City, Newcastle. www.dancecity.co.uk

MUSIC A DIFFERENT THREAD @ THE CUMBERLAND ARMS

Words: Mera Royle

The power and purpose of music sees a reinvention in the hands of A Different Thread. This Transatlantic duo capture a stunning blend of 70s folk revival, country and Appalachian blues in their sound, creating an ambiguous integration that shines as both dark and happy, sad and beautiful.

Made up of musicians Alicia Best from North Carolina and Robert Jackson from Birmingham, the pair have been performing together since they first met busking in Ireland in 2016, and have created a feat of wonderful music which they now carry with them on their UK tour. Their exciting stop for Newcastle dwellers is at The Cumberland Arms on Thursday 8th June, where the pair prepare to share their hearts with audiences in a fantastic expression of loss, love and wanderlust.

Both Best and Jackson are renowned for their travels, and themes of moving and change are a common part of their music, and rumour has it this could be the last time to catch them in the UK before they relocate to the States. With breathtaking harmonies, soulful textures and lyrics that perfectly capture those indescribable feelings of the human experience, this makes for a must-see performance, so intrinsically relatable yet reputably unreplicable.

A Different Thread play The Cumberland Arms, Newcastle on Thursday 8th June. www.adifferentthread.com

MUSIC OFF THE STAGE FESTIVAL @ THE SHIP ISIS

Words: Hope Lynes

Music lovers in Sunderland can get ready for cracking all-dayer, as Off The Stage Fest comes to The Ship Isis on Saturday 17th June, bringing a host of exciting North East artists and bands. Hosted by the Off The Stage Podcast, James Berry and Conor Michael turn their passionate podcast which interviews local artists into a live event at the Vaux Room. Focusing entirely on acoustic performances, this stripped back, initmate experience is both unique and an opportunity to catch a showcase of the up and coming talent emerging through the region. There will be a range of genres

to enjoy, including addictive indie rock from headliners

The Neolectrics; the Pagan Viking metal of LN; the pop punk of Failed To Ignite; there’s intimate storytelling from abstract guitar duo Black Moss; acoustic blued duo YUMA; the personal meditations of Philip Jonathan; alt. pop rockers Fire Lady Luck, and more. With a pay-as-you-feel policy, gig goers are encouraged to donate what they can to support the performers and the event.

Off The Stage Festival takes place at The Ship Isis, Sunderland on Saturday 17th June.

www.linktr.ee/offthestage

MUSIC YOUTH SECTOR @ THE ENGINE ROOM/MUNRO

Words: Jonathan Coll www.youthsectorband.com

Youth Sector are an emerging art rock five-piece emanating from one of the country’s musical and cultural hotspots, Brighton. According to the band themselves, they’ve been “combining beeps with boops” since 2018 and have been on a thrilling musical journey ever since.

Their debut EP, Mundanity, would follow in the summer of 2020; four fun, snappy tracks lamenting the frustrations of modern living. Having taken much of their musical inspiration from Parquet Courts and Talking Heads, their sound is similarly tuneful and interesting, but with an added twist of upbeat, positive melody. More recently, the band have leaned into a post-punk sound, with April’s release containing three excellent tunes – keep an ear out for The Ball and Benign Fire In A Small Room, as they represent the band’s best work yet.

This all bodes well for their forthcoming live shows at The Engine Room in North Shields on Friday 30th June and at Stockton’s MUNRO festival on Saturday 1st July, where their soaring synth lines and funky guitar tones will be on full display. They’ve been known to take to the stage in matching outfits, their obvious chemistry elevates the live renditions above anything you’ve heard on record.

Youth Sector play The Engine Room, North Shields on Friday 30th June and MUNRO festival, Stockton on Saturday 1st July.