The Sound of the North East

From the seven bridges that bracket the Tyne through Newcastle and Gateshead, to the blustering winds of the Tynemouth Longsands and the historical hills of Northumberland, the scenery of the North East is a force unto itself that has inspired and ignited generations of creative artists as varied and as unique as its landscape.

The success of The Animals’ ‘House of the Rising Sun’ in 1964 (with a Top Of The Pops performance that provided the first platform for a Geordie accent on the BBC) woke the world to the tour de force that is the North Eastern music scene. From there, Lindisfarne and The Geordies came forth from the Tyne, Roxy Music and our own Lauren Laverne of Kenickie surfaced from Sunderland and Sting popped out of Wallsend.

Musicians and fans are not alone when in the North East, as Mackem Ruth-Ann Boyle of Olive told us in the late 90s. And never forget that it was in Newcastle where Nirvana played their first gig in the UK and that seminal series ‘The Tube’ was broadcast in the 1980s….

Little Comets played the 'Save the 6 Music' gig at the Shepherd's Bush in 2010

More recently the dulcet tones and topographical lyrics of Paul Smith have paved the way for a new generation of musicians that are supported so fervently you can only assume that cult status comes with the territory. From the ferocity of The Futureheads and Dartz! to the ‘kitchen sink indie’ (is there any other kind?) of Little Comets and Frankie & the Heartstrings, it’s easy to see why BBC 6 Music decided to host its second festival in Tyneside, in a host of venues as diverse as the artists that make up its scene.

In fact, if you keep your ears peeled for the Festival trail floating out on the 6 Music airwaves you may notice that up and coming South Tyneside songstress Nadine Shah is ‘the voice' of the Festival – lustrously reminding you that ‘this is us, this is our alternative spirit’.

And so, as up and coming acts like Shah and The Lake Poets gain recognition from illustrious Sunderlanders like Eurythmics's Dave Stewart in places as far away as Nashville and as vintage NE-ers Maxïmo Park gear up to grace The Sage Gatehead on the 21st, it’s clear that musicians are continuing to up the-ante, up in the North East.