Fortnightly Music Reviews from the streets of Teesside and beyond
Dominie Hooper, Alex Lyons
The Waiting Room, Eaglescliffe
21 April 2024
A real scoop for the vegetarian restaurant and venue, The Waiting Room, Dominie Hooper brought Sunday harmony and melody to Eaglescliffe.
You cannot get much more local than support Alex Lyons who lives just around the corner from the Station Road restaurant. The talented teenager is off to Manchester soon to pursue her musical studies but in the meantime she is turning plenty of heads and making a real impression with her confident, competent style. Soothingly wonderful compositions like Blinded To Love You and an interesting cover of John Denver This Old Guitar show she can think outside the box and also infuse her folk with country. Alex is clearly an acoustic performer going places.
spots.
Also on the list was the single Hastings which was produced by This Is The Kit. Dominie's music shares similarities with that band in the rhythmic guitars and sentiments explored not to mention Dominie's formidable fringe.
Originally from Dartmoor, Dominie Hooper is another blossoming talent. Switching between guitar and cello, Dominie was part of a 4 piece band filling the entranced back room with gorgeous alt folk mood music. Her vocal has strength and real depths, giving voice to songs exploring a love of nature, teenage angst and sexuality in the form of gay yearning. Her own words. Dominie Hooper played songs from the wonderful Anno EP. The enchanting Dandelion ends in a chorus of high drama. There is often a twist. Like the branches and roots that intertwine in her lyrics between nature and the human condition. Easy to picture the teenager running free through the Devon wild and green beauty
She did sprinkle her set with new numbers that will be included on her debut album. Hopefully released in the not too far distant future. It will be crowd funded, so everyone can help out.
Such an uplifting evening being richly entertained by two exceptionally gifted young women musicians. Marvellous.
Words: Robert Nichols
Pictures: Tracy Hyman
Gig Swap, Stockton: Guilty Pleasure, Silk Road, Criminal Holiday
Of Cabbages and Kings: Mark Boden’s Flamenco
con Fusion, Dr Bob Beagrie, Harry Man, JLM Morton, Project Lono
MG Boulter, Jay Moussa-Mann
Stockholm, The Undecided, High Tide, Pretty Ugly
The Rosalie Cunningham Band, Stolen Dead Music
Classical Café
Copy Crawl
Industrial Coast: Kelan, Marginal Gains, Ekstasis, Haydn Landis
Sofar Sounds
Industrial Coast: Kelan, Matekoi, Ekstasis
NE Thing Goes: Dead By July, Brass Eyed Dragons, Cloudserpent, Ash Amari
Brian Downey’s Alive and Dangerous
3 May £5 + bf 6pm NE Volume Bar, Stockton-on-Tees
3 May £4 OTD 7.30pm The Chapel, Middlesbrough
3 May £8 + bf
£10 OTD 7.30pm Toft House, Middlesbrough
4 May £5 + bf 6pm NE Volume Bar, Stockton-on-Tees
4 May £15 + bf 7.30pm The Georgian Theatre, Stockton-on-Tees
5 May £5 Free for U16 2pm The Crypt, Middlesbrough Town Hall
5 May £17.50 + bf 6pm Ku Bar, The Georgian Theatre, The Social Room, The Storytellers Stockton-on-Tees
5 May £7.50
Cost of living £3
£0.01 7pm Horden Bigfoot Studios, Horden
5 May £10 + bf 7.30pm Central Middlesbrough
6 May £9
Cost of living £3.50
£0.01 7pm Off The Ground, Middlesbrough
8 May £5 + bf 6pm NE Volume Bar, Stockton-on-Tees
8 May £22.50 7pm Middlesbrough Town Hall
Listings subject to change, please check with the venue’s website for full information before booking.
Off The Beat with Robert Nichols and Tracy Hyman
Offski, Perfect Chicken, Tchotchke
Live and Local: The Last of the Fallen Angels, No Ripcord
Risco, The Clocks, My Dreaming Hill
RnB Club: Redfish Blues Band
Stockton Blues, Rhythm and Rock Festival: Animals and Friends, Chantel McGregor, Brave Rival, Redfish, Half Moon Panic, Gerry Jablonski and the Electric Band
Big Little Gigs – 80s Special: That 80’s Band
We Tibetans
Break The Waves #3: Lurcher, Rose Malus, Mascara’s Lies
Get Hip!: The Razerbills, Get Hip DJ’s
NE Thing Goes: Lost Lot, The Evil Litter, Jonny Godwin, Anna Stevo
The Happening, Manfrog, Will We Talk?, Burnouts, Melodic Disaster
-Tees
-Tees
-
bf
The Studio, Hartlepool
Tees
Listings subject to change, please check with the venue’s website for full information before booking.
On Redcar Beach Live
5 July 2024
Deershed Festival
26 July - 29 July 2024
Soundwave Festival
27 July 2024
The Gathering Sounds
28 September 2024 Twisterella
12 October 2024
Listings subject to change, please check with the venue’s website for full information before booking.