Musicians

Ushaw Flower Festival returns

Blooming lovely Flower Festival returns to historic site

Ruth-Ann Boyle with her portrait on the Sunderland Music Wall of Fame

Sunderland-born singer of dance anthem 'chuffed' to join Wall of Fame

John Miles senior pictured performing with his son John. John junior has announced plans for a tribute show to his dad.

Tribute to music legend John Miles is coming to a North East stage

The family concert features classic film tracks

Star Wars, James Bond, Frozen music & more at free family concert

Spotlight on Sunderland

'The city did us proud' - Sunderland hosts global music leaders

Next Steps participant, Melanie Baker

How emerging musicians and artists can apply for £1,000 bursaries

The Futureheads unveiled on the Music Wall of Fame

The Futureheads recognised for huge contribution to music scene

Monkeys Blood are among the performers at Park Live

We're taking over Mowbray Park with a day of free live music

MCN Live: Sunderland takes place in June

Free evening of live music with local and international artists

Oneodio's new wireless DJ headphones are impressive enough for serious users - and audio lovers - alike

OneOdio Studio Max 2 review: low-latency wireless DJ headphones

Free conference to help musicians take a step up the career ladder

Ben Deacon, aka Bill Banks, DJing in Cresswell Launderette in Ashbrooke

DJ takes over city launderette in series of secret Sunderland gigs

Eyes of the music world to fall on Sunderland

Student Felix Walls who will be performing at the Radio 1' Big Weekend with his band Swindled

Playing my home city stage at Big Weekend is going to be very cool

Bradley Creswick (violin) & David Murray (piano) will be performing in Sunderland

We're bringing distinguished musicians to Sunderland

Some huge shows are heading to the North East this month

The biggest artists and musicians heading north for gigs in March 2026
Our region is set for some big nights in the weeks ahead.
Jason Button

Kieran, top right, and some of his work

I'm celebrating Sunderland's vibrant music scene

From left: Ava and the Fates, Georgia Ruyi, Ethan Stayman and Aimee Curtis

Talented young Sunderland musicians release wave of new music

Ryder have made the top 20 with their debut single

Meet the Sunderland band who've stomped their way into the Top 20

Helen Robinson has penned a Christmas song for Sunderland

I've written a Christmas song for Sunderland

What if Midge Ure had joined Queen, or Courtney Love hadn't been fired from Faith No More? Here are six near hits/near misses in music history that could have changed the fate of your favourite band.

The near misses who could have changed your favourite band's history

Slipknot have reportedly sold a majority stake of there music catalogue to a global investment firm.

Slipknot sell music catalogue for an estimated $120 million

Sunderland Music City officer Marty Longstaff

Call for talented Mackems to pen a Christmas song for Sunderland

Myles Smith, sombr, Olivia Dean and Sabrina Carpenter are all in the top tens across streaming services this week - but who is heading into this week's UK Top 40 chart looking strongest?

Who could be in the UK Top 40 Chart this weekend based on streams?

Fearne Cotton has teamed up with Samsung to go back to her chart show roots.

David Bowie named among top icons to have predicted the future

Who are the 13 richest UK musicians under the age of 30, according to Heat Online's recent rich list?

Who are the 13 richest UK musicians under the age of 30?

A change to Billboard's Recurrent Rule has seen a purge of some of the chart's biggest hits, including Lady Gaga, Teddy Swims and more.

What is Billboard's new ruling, and how will it affect musicians?
The new rules have effectively ‘wiped’ some of the Hot 100’s biggest hits in the space of days.
Benjamin Jackson

Sunderland Minster

We're bringing wartime music to Sunderland for Remembrance Day

Who are your last-minute favourites ahead of this evening's Mercury Prize ceremony, taking place in Newcastle - the first time the event has left London since starting in 1992?

Who are the favourites to win the Mercury Prize this evening?

These are some of the biggest stars heading to the North East in October.

The biggest artists and musicians heading to the North East in October

RAYE was nominated for the award in 2023, losing to Ezra Collective, but still benefited from the attention the shortlisting of her album gave her.

What is the 'Mercury Bump' and who are this year's favourites?

Dave Stewart with Dan Donnelly from The Northern Academy of Music Education (NAME).

Legend Dave Stewart set to inspire Mackem musicians of the future

A lot has happened since Oasis announced their reunion almost 12 months ago to the day. So what are some of the music world's biggest moments between the announcement and the current day?

Everything that has happened in music since Oasis announced reunion

The beaches, food, music, culture - Jamaica has it all but it is the people who will make you want to return.

Jamaica: Sunny isle which gave us rum and reggae sees surge in tourism

From championing bootlegs to clamping down on music shared on P2P systems, here's how Metallica, despite trying to do the right thing for the music industry, became public enemy number 1 with music fans.

How Metallica nearly alienated itself from the digital revolution

Who from the English-speaking world of music has been helping those non-English speakers pick up the subtle nuances of the language, and who has made it completely complicated?

What musicians are helping non-English speakers learn the language?

RAYE is set to be awarded the inaugural Ivors Academy Award in October 2025 after her continued campaigning for equitable treatment between musicians and labels.

RAYE to be awarded inaugural Ivors Academy Honour

Their bands have also featured at Expo 2020 Dubai and the F1 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix

Ad Feature Europe’s hottest event music platform expands across the Middle East

Long before Spotify gave you the world of music at your fingertips, music fans used some 'less-than-legitimate' ways to download music back at the turn of the millennium.

Five nefarious ways we downloaded music before streaming services

A theft from a vehicle part of the Cowboy Carter tour saw numerous items stolen - including hard drives featuring unreleased music from the superstar.

Beyoncé the victim of a theft - including numerous unreleased tracks

JoJo Siwa and Chris Hughes.

55 famous Sunderland supporters: from Chris Hughes to JoJo Siwa

A popular sea shanty crew lead a boozy sunset sing-along outside an RNLI station

Watch sea shanty crew's boozy sunset sing-along outside RNLI station

Inside Fortress Festival 2025. Hero image: 1349. Inset: Screengrabs from the video report including fans and (lower) Katherine Shepard aka Sylvaine. All photos credit Lucinda Herbert

Fortress Festival: Weekend of sun, sea and metal is a dream come true

Who should have picked up an invite to record a song, which went on to become a smash hit for the artist it wasn't intended for?

13 pop classics & the artists who were originally set to perform them

RM and V are the latest K-Pop idols to have completed their mandatory military service - but are there exemptions for K-Pop acts?

K-Pop stars set to re-join BTS after completing military service

What are the most coveted musical DVD releases that users of online marketplace Discogs are after?

The 15 most wanted music DVDs according to Discogs in May 2025

2023 Eurovision contestant Mae Muller has accused the contest organisers of not investing enough mental health support for those taking part in the finals.

'I was thrown to the lions during my Eurovision performance'

Kurt Cobain features twice in the list of the 13 most expensive musical items sold at auction - but was one of his guitars 'the' most expensive sold of all time?

13 of the most expensive musical instruments sold at auction

Major celebration of Sunderland music takes place this weekend

What have been the most covered songs between the years of 2000 and 2025 - and have you been known to croon along to them?

The 10 most covered songs in the 21st century named

The Bunker taking free music sessions into schools

Who are bookies suggesting will be the next musician in line for the great big screen biopic?

Who do bookies think will have the next musical biopic about them?

From Trent Reznor releasing a hip-hop album to Hanson covering a nu-metal act, here's some of the more memorable April Fools day jokes and pranks musicians have played on the public - and each other.

Music's Mischievous Moments: 13 epic pranks for April Fools Day 2025

Musician diagnosed with MND releasing single to help fund research

Bastille have announced a series of arena shows in support of Youth Music's Rescue The Roots campaign.

Bastille announce nine date UK tour - locations and tickets

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