Sunderland's Pop Recs to host Generator Live festival fringe event celebrating North East talent

Generator Live is bringing its new festival to Newcastle’s Boiler Shop in September to champion North East talent, and to warm up audiences it’s staging a series of warm up gigs in Sunderland, Stockton and Ouseburn throughout August.

Drawn from a great response to an open call to play the festival, the line ups for the gigs at Newcastle’s Tyne Bar, Sunderland’s Pop Recs and Stockton’s Georgian Theatre feature some of the region’s most hotly-tipped new talent.

Generator is a talent development agency, which has helped artists like Sam Fender and Nadine Shah to break into the music business over its 30 year history in the region.

The gigs all take place in the month prior to the main festival day, kicking off at the Tyne Bar in Newcastle on 12th August, before Pop Recs in Sunderland plays host on the 18th August. The fringe is rounded off in Stockton at the Georgian Theatre on 26th August before the main festival all-dayer kicks off on 16th September.

Sunderland’s The Futureheads helped curate the Pop Recs gig which will feature performances from Hector Gannet, The Early Purple, James Leonard Hewitson and The Samphires.

Barry Hyde from The Futureheads said: “The North East music scene is the most eclectic it’s ever been, and we’re pleased to be involved in

bringing some great bands to Pop Recs as part of the Generator Live Fringe.

"We’re in a region with a strong culture of artists doing their own thing - not getting caught up in the industry rat-race. It means that the bands usually sound unique and have some proper personality.”

The Generator Live festival has grown out of two previous events – Evolution Emerging and Tipping Point – with the former giving a then relatively unknown Sam Fender one of his first live performance opportunities back in 2014.

Along with the main event, the festival will also see a conference attended by hundreds of key players in the music industry the day before, giving the region’s musicians unprecedented access to movers and shakers through a series of workshops, masterclasses and seminars.

Full price for the general admission is £15 plus fees and tickets include access to the mainstage at Boiler Shop, all three fringe gigs and the WHQ electronic stage afterparty.

Tickets for individual fringe gigs can also be purchased on a ‘pay what you can’ basis.

Tickets are available from official ticketing partners See Tickets and Eventim at www.generatorlive.org.uk.

Tickets are also available for free for registered NHS users of Tickets For Good and via charities who are part of the Tickets For Good platform.

The festival’s lead producer and Generator’s Head of Creative Development, Helen Walkinshaw said: “We are really excited to share this year’s line-up of incredible North East artists, who represent such a wide range of genres and influences, from across the region.

“Generator Live Festival is our annual opportunity to shout about some of the North East talent we’re working with through our multiple ongoing talent development programmes.

"We also discover new talent through artist submissions and curated stages and platform artists who we feel are at a tipping point in their career trajectory.”