Fortnightly Music Reviews from the streets of Teesside and beyond
Out Man In The Field, Before Close, The Courtroom, Middlesbrough Town Hall, 15 March 2026
Such a relaxing, uplifting way to spend a Sunday afternoon revelling to the sounds of Our Man In The Field and Before Close in the old Victorian Courtroom at Middlesbrough Town Hall.
This was just the second gig for Before Close following their debut at last year's Twisterella all dayer. This is the side project of Jodie Nicholson and Joe Ramsey. Going off grid in a hut in Alnmouth, Northumberland the duo plugged in a power pack to a laptop and combined their considerable songwriting talents to produce the core of an outstanding set of songs.
What Am I Supposed To Do With It was inspired by tv sci-fi thriller series Severance., Ordinary Life draws on role play games and features supreme harmonies. Between is the tender, sweet Thank God (you're here with me). A gentle, soothing way to ease into this Sunday session.
You can access Before Close Alnmouth songs replete with seaside sounds from their Bandcamp page.
Great to have Our Man In The Field back home again and playing among friends and family. It is such an easy, silky smooth country, folky sound from the trio of Alex Ellis on acoustic guitar, augmented by Henry playing the lovely lament of a slide guitar called a dobler and the calming, charming cello of Maddy. Alex vocals pour over the majestic melodies like Lyle's Golden Syrup.
Feel Good and Go Easy (on yourself) from the last
album, Gold On The Horizon ease us into the simmering set. Although Feel Good is anything but easy for Alex, being about someone that owes him £10k. Easy Going Smile, taken from the first album, The Company of Strangers showcases the richness of the sound and compelling narratives at the heart of the lyrics. Last Dance is a break up song, possibly drawn from life experience hearing a tempestuous bust up through the paper thin walls to his former neighbours in Peckham.
Come On features an absolutely beautiful cello, it profiles the reality of the American dream, workaholics to pay for their health insurance. I never said it would be easy. The American imagery continues with a newish song about rodeo bull riding. I wonder if there is much call for that in Alex native Saltburn?
OMITF encored with an oldie but goldie Thin. I used to be Bulletproof iron skin is growing thin.
It is totally beguiling stuff. And the great news is that a new album is almost in the offing. It would be lovely to welcome Our Man In The Field back home to debut his new songs and maybe this time with the full band in tow. But thank you to OMITF, Before Close and indeed Middlesbrough Gigs for a totally special Sunday.
Words: Robert Nichols
Pictures: Tracy Hyman
Charm Of Finches, Old Cinema Launderette, Durham 3 March 2026
I was totally charmed by the young musical maestros that are sisters Mabel and Ivy Windred-Wornes. Originally from Melbourne, Australia we were told over the course of the two sets that the talented duo have swapped 45 degrees for the 4 degrees of their new home of Glasgow. But it makes total sense to make the move when you are touring UK for 4 months of the year. And making a home from home in a music city, north of the border seems a perfect location for sisters who have been dedicated to their music making ever since their school days. Their song Temporary Home describes their globe-trotting.
Mabel and Ivy currently love over loading on castles and Roman remains so the delights of Durham Cathedral will make the Old Cinema Launderette a perfect venue. That is if they can tear themselves away from the front loaders that form a unique backcloth to the stage in this most idiosyncratic of venues.
Charm of Finches play melodic folk with a contemporary pop feel. Opening song Clean Cut, also the first song on their 2024 album Marlinchen
in the Snow personifies their strong, hooky melodies and warm, wrap around vocal harmonies. Ivy switches from keyboards to violin while sister Mabel sticks to the guitar for older song Treading Water.
There are songs about their love of nature as well as love, loss and loneliness. Tender moments as well as uplifting melodies. Weird dreams are explored on Canyon. Singing of weird dreams takes us to album title track Marlinchen In The Snow, where a frozen lake led them to pen an ode to a Grimm fairytale about the Juniper Tree. It is no surprise then that they cover Kate Bush and do it so beautifully.
Durham is the penultimate night of their tour ending in their new base of Glasgow. It is such a warm and receptive audience to give the sisters a good send off for the last leg. But before that they are applauded back to take their place in front of the laundry machines for one last song. Charm of Finches close out the set with a lullaby about death, well their dad is an undertaker they confess. What a superb night. Hurry back to the north east.
Words: Robert Nichols
Pictures: Kit Haigh
John Cooper Clarke, Mike Garry, ARC, Stockton-on-Tees, 14 March 2026
Although Manchester’s Mike Garry may not be quite as well known as his Salford neighbour-inpoetry Dr John Cooper Clarke, he rose to prominence just over 10 years ago with when his masterful ‘Ode To St Anthony’ poetic tribute to Anthony H. Wilson was set to Joe Duddell’s beautiful orchestral backing with a host of stars including Steve Coogan lip synching his highly charged words. He featured that stirring poem alongside his beautiful eulogy to his mother ‘What Me Mam Taught Me’. He talked about the power of reading, his work in prisons and the almighty power of the spoken word. Skipping between breaking everyone’s heart one moment and crying with laughter the next, Mike is a supremely gifted comedic poet.
It has been a few years since the ‘Bard of Salford’ has performed on Teesside and if a national treasure comes to visit your neck of the woods it is only polite that you reciprocate. Despite a 50-year + performing career and reaching the ripe old age of 77 in January, the rapid-fire delivery of his performances and the joyfulness of his humour
hasn’t waned. He loves performing and the audience are putty in his poetic hands. Although Dr John has his greatest poetic hits (we’ll come to them later), 2018’s ‘I’ve Fallen In Love With My Wife’ and 2024’s ‘RU The Business’ are as witty and acerbic as anything he has ever done. Poking fun at the public’s perception of him in ‘Get Back On Drugs You Fat F***’ the sheer musicality of his poetry coupled with a fair bit of Lancastrian potty mouthed-ness is a winning formula for sure.
To close the show, Dr John finished with ‘Evidently Chickentown’ (which gained a host of new admirers after being featured in The Sopranos’) and ‘I Wanna Be Yours’ (which was endorsed and covered by super fan Alex Turner with the Arctic Monkeys).
Words: Chris Bartley
The Rheingans Sisters, The Waiting Room, Eaglescliffe, 22 March 2026
A violin duet was building and building. It was the finale to two brilliant sets from the Rheingans Sisters in the back room of The Waiting Room. With the fiddling reaching a crescendo, the sisters kicked a switch for the sampled sounds to ring out. Placing down their instruments they cleared the stage to reel and whirl around the space in an exuberant finale. Broad grins from the sisters were reciprocated across those of the audience. Followed by resounding and length applause.
The Rheingans Sisters, originally from the Peak District and in many ways born in to folk now marry trad and contemporary to produce a live sound and vision that is at once atmospheric but beautifully tuneful. Their folk traditions have many different roots from the Pyrenees to Sweden, baroque violins to the droneful peels of the strings of a very medieval looking tambourin a cords instrument. A foot operated midi synth, electric guitar and a percussion mat all add to the 21 augmentation and not forgetting Gourdy the banjo a covid lockdown project from Anna and her instrument maker father fashioned out of a gourd. Sisters Anna and Rowan played their much
acclaimed 2024 album Start Close In in song order. Starting with a sinister bowed drone Rowan then sings, there was an old farmer that lived under a hill.. an old, old tale of devilish consequence. We are then treated to songs of all ages some from an obscure but beguiling Swedish folk fiddle tradition or others delivered in the ancient southern French Occitan tongue. The sisters are helping revive so many traditions, busy recycling and repurposing for the 21st century.
The swishing of The Waiting Room dishwasher has a watery part to play in a song about the sea before we all join in for what Rowan and Anna describe as a joyfully apocalyptic refrain, drink up soon this place is closing.
But The Waiting Room is certainly not closing and in fact the Sunday music nights are going from strength
Spark Sings Spring Concert
Larches, Stockholm, Leaders of Men
Open Day: Bad Actors, Glass Frogs, Hunzz, Velvet Tuxedo, Rye, Anna Karila, Robo, Josh Atkinson, Izzy Neish, Horse
Stockton Calling: Hard-Fi, Young Rebel Set, Gurriers, The Molotovs, Soapbox, Michael Gallagher, Cortney Dixon and more
+ bf
Stockton Globe
Vixen Bar, Hartlepool
U18
Multi-venue festival, Stockton-on-Tees Lindisfarne
Princess Alexandra Auditorium, Yarm
The Ian Bosworth Quintet
Chapel, Whitehouse Street, Middlesbrough Classical Café: Ian Sankey
Crypt, Middlesbrough Town Hall Tom Joshua, Cybil Ends
The Waiting Room, Eaglescliffe
The Jack Dash, NEEB
April
McMurray and the Pocket Jazz Orchestra
Stockton-on-Tees RnB: Gary Cain Band
The Forum, Darlington
Teeth First (Nu-Metal Night): Fractures, Tourniquet, Vehemence
Cirqle: Local MCs Trady, SPNI, dennis and DJ DAWKINS
Georgian Theatre, Stockton-on-Tees The Rock Orchestra by Candlelight
Globe
Session, Magnetic North, Speccy Cult
Listings subject to change, please check with the venue’s website for full information before booking.
An Intimate Evening with Singer/Songwriter John Power
Blues in the Bar: Kaspar & Lucy, David and the Devil
Strahinja Mitrovic, Salome Jordania
Boo Hewerdine, Memphis Gerald
Jessie Ware Album Launch Show
An Evening with Toyah: Songs and Stories
Millie Manders and The Shut Up: Back to the Futour, Death Trails (support)
Huey Morgan – The Fun Lovin’ Criminal
Rituals of Rot: Erebor, Final Witness
Big Figure Promotions: Wasted Youth, Cazimi, Dead Hombres
Man Damage Child, Viliger
Big Little Gigs: SEN special POP PARTY
Loren Heat
Industrial Coast: Ron Morelli
Driven Serious, Stormcrow
Gabriel Moreno and the Quivering Poets
Ranagri
Industrial Coast: Noise is Louder than Words –Dhangsha, Jena Jang, Internal Object, Humansfan (visuals)
Stockton-on-Tees
Georgian Theatre Bar, Stockton-on-Tees
Methodist Church
The Middlesbrough Empire
Alexandra Auditorium, Yarm
The Georgian Theatre, Stockton-on-Tees
Café Etch, Middlesbrough
Education Space, Darlington Hippodrome
Toft House, Middlebrough
Café Etch, Middlesbrough
Hutton Rudby Village Hall
Project Space, Middlebrough
Listings subject to change, please check with the venue’s website for full information before booking.
The Great British Film Orchestra: The Music of John Williams vs Hans Zimmer