Fortnightly Music Reviews from the streets of Teesside and beyond
The Howl And The Hum (solo), Celia Grace, The Courtroom, Middlesbrough Town Hall, 11 April 2026
What an absolute treat to spend a Saturday evening being entertained by Howl and the Hum's genial genius singer Sam Griffiths in the sumptuous restored Victorian courtroom. Thank you Middlesbrough Gigs for this. The hottest ticket in town. Sold out immediately, even the former reporters benches and I was up in the public galleries which were also full. Talk about cracking atmosphere. And yes there was perfect silence in court for the performers.
Lovely to see Celia Grace performing live again. A prodigious young talent, the Hartlepool singer songwriter is back recording and playing again after bravely fighting through serious illness. The recently released Phone Operator reveals Celia as an outstanding purveyor of the lilting, laid back pop that seems to be a Hartlepool style as profiled by Mt Misery and Marketplace.
Championed from the start of their rise by The Kids Are Solid Gold, York's Howl and the Hum were embraced by the Teesside crowd, many of whom have
travelled with them on their journey so far. This was a wonderful opportunity to get closer to the main man and also closer to the songs that are rooted in modern folk tale but can build to anthem. Closer to that incredible voice.
The guy next to me mouthed every word and I am sure was not alone. Or rather the audience were miming along to all but a series of new songs that Sam felt comfortable enough playing to his trusted home from home audience. You got me in a choke-hold darling, was followed by Wild Horses.
Sam paints pictures with his words. The only boy racer left on the island... they say you can hear the engines from the mainland. He had driven here today past former Middlesbrough venues, most notably the much lamented Westgarth Social Club and had also remembered the venue for his first ever parmo. See, I told you it was his home from home. Now living in Leeds, Sam tells us he can tuck in at the same restaurant chain. Teesside and Parmo's are following him around.
He puts down his guitar and sits at the piano. Sam tells us he played his first piano gig only last week in Leeds. It was scary but he likes scary he reveals. I burned out at 27 he sang at the keys.
The emotions were still raw as we met him on a bridge to hand over our hostages. Talking of bridges the encore just had to be Godmanchester Chinese Bridge. Surely one of the most beautiful and haunting songs you are ever likely to hear. With the chorus rising up to the stained glass fanlights it was a truly electric finale.
Special stuff...
Words: Robert Nichols
Pictures: Tracy Hyman
The Howl And The Hum
Stockton Calling, Various venues, Stockton-on-Tees 4 April 2026
Stockton Calling. Always such a great day. Music fans criss crossing the widest High Street between town centre venues, perhaps pausing for chips, or dipping into the market before plunging again into a feast of live sounds. It would not be Easter without Stockton Calling.
The event is eagerly anticipated. The build up is filled with clash-finders, Spotify playlists and preferred routes. Or perhaps just following a lucky dip “method”, as you know full well by now that the promoters can be trusted to come up trumps as always. There is nothing more certain than you will emerge from the other side of Stockton Calling excited by a couple of new songs and new names to carry you on a musical wave through the rest of the year.
I embarked on my odyssey at the Green Room, this year curated by Noisy Daughters. A young Tic Toc star in the making Kate Fallin (perhaps once of Komparrison in a different life) was also kicking off a live career. Nostalgia, drew appreciative whoops from social media followers. Kate explained that the realisation that she was no longer in the younger age category for Tic Toc means she can now look backwards as well as forward. Accompanied by Si on guitar Kate continued to enjoy rapturous backing from the crowd, including front row perennial T-T-Teessider, Mal, who she acknowledged. We all joined in for a Teesside Two Step and we
chorused the shopping list held aloft by Kate for the final song. Every song had an accompanying story. So warm, thoughtful, engaging and fun.
Great to see so many fans down so early and great to see so many young faces among that crowd, no doubt helped by a specially discounted younger age ticket as well as younger acts like Kate.
The Noise Club kicked off proceedings down in ARC 2. They are a Scottish six piece, with a very high beard count. Groovy dancing from the chanting lead singer but then they are a groovy band. There are no less than 3 guitars weaving away before hitting the after burners with real power play.
Along Prince Regent Street and into an already rammed Ku Bar where another young talent, Robyn Errico, was singing about the tragedy of Anne Boleyn before diving into imagination to paint sweeping synth scenes of Arizona desert in Welcome to Sedona.
The last time I attempted to watch Moss technical difficulties prevented the duo from even starting their performance. No such problems today as the Darlington duo arrived on stage on a jet plane, or at least to sound effects like jet engines. Which was apt because the singer has a soaraway voice. Ha ha but she does. Moss are electro, techno, metally. And they also do more soulful. Hi Stocky Calls we are addressed and then showered with flowers, a nice springtime touch. The flora fits well with, Calm, a call to calm, not fighting. But by the finale they have cranked up the heavy guitar to drive home the chorus, dance on the
Robyn Errico
Glasgow's dynamic drum and synth duo Roller Disco Death Party were one of the sensations of last year's Twisterella. There was a big crowd in ARC 2 and they were not disappointed. The hyper energy rave and rage, Chemical Brothers type overload had everyone shaking a leg. At the very least. They are enthralling and absolutely intoxicating.
If that was fun in ARC 2 then up in the main ARC auditorium Hartlepool's Marketplace never fail to put a smile across their audiences faces. Just back from Texas SXSW the word is spreading out from the North Sea port over the Atlantic. The boy/girl harmonies. The summer-y pop tones. Kitchen sink narratives. Getting more serious with a song addressing reddit incels. The keyboard player dances manically before we O-O along to the last song after we have answered the call to get our horns out with a few hundred digits in the air.
Another much travelled local talent, Amelia Coburn, is next up on the same stage. Amelia injects a sense of drama into her performance with the spooky, nursery rhyme/warped lullaby, Sea Saw. Something Wild imagines turning into a dog. The cracked sea shanty Oh Captain! Guide Me Home. Through the ebb and flow, the tug and the tow.. we trust the skipper to steer us safely through the final song Perfect Storm. So much charm and such a tight musical outfit, including Robyn Errico on keys. Amelia reflected she has come a long
way from her first ever gig to three men and a dog in Stockton High Street to the main Arc stage at Stockton Calling.
Talking of storms, The Family Battenberg, never let up for a minute with a tempestuous psychedelic, garage rock set. The Cardiff band nail the killer guitars; heavy riffin' in the Social Room.
Huddled over their consoles Kiosk belt out their electronic sounds. Their heavy rhythms and vocals soon circle the Green Room. A sonic slice of Leeds annexed by the Tees.
A mysterious, masked console dial twisting figure Pollyfromthedirt stands tall on the Georgian stage. Originally from Darlington BBC Introducing has introduced his deep voiced narratives to the world. Darlo cowboys sit at home and watch their kids grow up, we are instructed.
He picks up an acoustic guitar and serenades us, I saw the signs.. when England comes.. I won't let go. There is dry wit and humour and some stark reality, a weekend in Majorca.. sitting with your father who is dying.. I want to run.
The masked solo artist has been to Stockton Calling before as a punter and also in an indie band and here he is making his mark.
Roller Disco Party
Jodie Langford has travelled north, from lovely Hull, she says. Jodie is accompanied on the Green Room stage by a guy in a mask. It must be catching.. The duo bounce around to their sounds. Jodie's northern spoken word rap is the real deal so she should not need to be experiencing imposter syndrome that she shares with us in song. Put It Down, is the artist having a pop back at those fans who insist on filming entire sets on their phone. Something staple front rower David Hayho would never do. Probably why the man in the legendary green stripe jacket gets a dedication for Put It Down.
I loved Lawn Chair. Quirky, super fast, indie guitars. Great, snappy songs. Vocals along the lines of Wet Leg. And she wanders and wanders, on top of speaker stacks. Scaling the seating racks. Through the audience. On to the floor. So much energy. One song morphs into the next. On and on and on. All the way from Berlin. Really exciting stuff. Then they are done. After which, Soapbox, another Scottish band that get on their soapbox and play punk with passion like a 21st century Sham 69. The furious Fascist Bob sparks a mosh pit maelstrom.
Talking of full on, Dublin's Gurriers are intense. Sloganeered vocals explode into a musical wall of sound. The absolutely packed to the rafters Georgian
Theatre crowd goes manic. It's just a Sign of the Times. Frenzied.
And so to Ku Bar for an emotional finale from Young Rebel Set. Tom Blackwell has taken over a heavy responsibility with lead vocals, guitar and front man duties. But YRS do it all with humility and good humour as well as exceptional talent. It strikes a chord and eases through the more emotive passages and songs that have guys and gals clinging to each other in the audience. Lions Mouth gets roars of approval and hundreds of mouthed words from the crowd. So, finally to, If I Was, and Tom initially fluffing his lines totally strips away the tension of the moment and makes instead for a hugely uplifting final note from what was a truly massive day for Stockton and Teesside.
Words: Robert Nichols
Pictures: Tracy Hyman
Gurriers
Off The Beat with Robert Nichols and Tracy Hyman
The Rift Festival: BDGR, Tony Bird, Beau Bowen, Compression Session, Crescent, Draags, Gaydar, Glad Town Ghost, Perfect Chicken, Stock Image, Volk Soup and many more
Saturo, Josh Atkinson, Jay Baker
Harlan Frank & The Houseplants, Bogus
Jayden Tomlinson, Max York, Jake Holt
Amped Up! Stockton-on-Tees The Fallen Leaves, Thee Strawberry Mynde
Copy Crawl 2026
Multi-
Listings subject to change, please check with the venue’s website for full information before booking.
Calum Baird, Glad Town Ghost, Rick Dobbing, Aimee.
Soundcheck: George Bailey, Nice Guy, Alex Lyons, Jake Diaz
Hark!
Listings subject to change, please check with
before
James Leonard Hewitson, JP Riggall, Anna Karila
of Rot: Motions, Ossuary, Lay To Rest
Royal Northern Sinfonia – Brahms Violin Concerto
and the Maytals ft. Leba
and Local: Ghostlamp, Spyderz, Darkroom
Calderias, The Regency
Orange Pip Market: Vice Killer, Annie Lince, Charlea B, AMZ
Butterfly Effect Festival: Analogue Blood, The Callows, Ceiling Demons, Cortney Dixon, Dossers, Loren Heat, Robyn Errico, Marketplace and more
The Lovefools, Ron Jon, Adian Feners
Battle of the Bands: Bloodmoth, Subterranean, Ossuary, The Larches
to
’s Barn, Northallerton
Industrial Coast: Drew McDowall, Finn Darrell
A Stone’s Throw Festival
23 May 2026
Munro Festival
8 June 2026
Deer Shed Festival
24 - 26 July 2026
Fire Dance Festival
24 - 26 July 2026
Saltburn Folk Festival 7 - 9 August 2026
Lindisfarne Festival
3 - 5 September 2026
Headland Folk Festival 2 - 4 October 2026
Listings subject to change, please check with the venue’s website for full information before booking.