Tag: newcastle
-
Florence Road live at NUSU review – viral Irish rockers are stadium bound
The buzzy Wicklow rock group have only released a handful of songs, but have already received support from a staggering array of the global music industry’s big names. This set of largely unreleased songs in Newcastle mostly justified the hype, although Flo Ro’s live offering still has plenty of room for improvement.
-
Six of the best new albums to listen to in May 2026
The beautiful month of May is here, and with it a host of new music to enjoy.
-
Nubiyan Twist live at Digital review – soul-filling neo jazz is for humans only
Tom Excell’s Leeds collective made a thoroughly convincing argument against AI in music with this evening of unadulterated phone-free joy. The funk and soul delights lit up a dance-ready crowd in Digital, but it was the surprise EDM and punk diversions that really took the breath away.
-
Psychedelic Porn Crumpets live at NUSU review – rapid-fire riffs hit like a drug
Kick-starting their umpteenth UK tour, the Crumpets are very much a well-buttered machine these days. A strong ninth album has only bolstered their set list of precision-tooled riffs and prog rock neck-breakers. NUSU’s paltry sound system simply couldn’t keep up.
-
RPO/Petrenko at the Glasshouse review – high octane Shostakovich sets the heart racing
Tom Borrow’s solidly unassuming rendition of Tchaikovsky’s First Piano Concerto was a little heavy-handed, but nonetheless a worthy scene-setter for Shostakovich’s whirlwind Tenth Symphony, a timely piece about Stalin’s authoritarian regime that sounded viscerally shocking under Vasily Petrenko’s assured baton.
-
Every Mercury Prize 2025 nominee, ranked
The Mercury Prize is back, and a new album will be crowned as the UK and Ireland’s best in Newcastle on Thursday 16 October. To celebrate this year’s competition, Undertone listened to all 12 nominated albums. Which is the best, and which has the best shot at winning? The verdict is in…
-
Friday Night Club with the Unthanks review – beautiful ballads, evocative prose and a full-face gremlin mask
Debuting a brand new series of variety shows at Gateshead’s Glasshouse, the Unthanks were warm and welcoming hosts for this feast of North East culture. Tim Dalling was hilarious and the RNS Quartet were predictably compelling, but it was Clara Mann’s devastatingly elegant songs that stole the show.
-
Black Country, New Road live at the Glasshouse review – not what it once was
The boundary-pushing Cambridge band have boldly ventured forth into a third album after departing frontman Isaac Wood left a gaping hole in the lineup. Three years on, the band’s spectacular glory days still cast a long shadow over this middling live set in Gateshead.
-
Ichiko Aoba live at the Glasshouse review – perfect serenity from the Japanese isles
Ichiko Aoba’s virtuosic guitar playing proved the main draw for a night of deeply beautiful experimental folk pieces from Japan, prefaced by one of the most extraordinary support acts I’ve ever witnessed.
-
Adwaith live at the Cluny review – Welsh indie trio are worth rooting for
The pioneering Welsh-language trio had plenty of quality material from their recent double album to dig into in Newcastle, although the scuzzy guitars and restless basslines were occasionally let down by Hollie Singer’s limited vocal performance.
-
Sam Fender: People Watching review – the Geordie Springsteen delivers a classic
Valorised Geordie hero Sam Fender paints a vivid picture of ordinary working-class life in this extraordinary third record. Never has Fender’s trademark brand of melancholic beauty sounded so potent.
-
RNS/Ólafsson live at the Glasshouse review – quite possibly the best pianist in the world right now
Beethoven’s flamboyant Emperor concerto was an odd choice for this master of pianistic introspection, but Ólafsson nonetheless proved his world class status following a typically daring and dynamic first half from Sousa’s Royal Northern Sinfonia.
Undertone 