Everything Everything announced as this year's headliners for Sunderland's Waves Festival

Everything Everything return to Sunderland as festival headliners

The Manchester outfit has been announced as the headliners for the return of Waves Festivals, which will be taking over seven venues in the city centre for its third edition on Saturday, November 11.

Bringing international, national and regional artists together for a day of music in Sunderland, Waves will once again utilise the city’s flagship venue The Fire Station as the main stage whilst also welcoming community hubs Pop Recs and Diego’s in Sunniside to the line-up, alongside Independent, The Peacock, The Ship Isis and The Bunker who have been involved since 2021.

An extended line-up of artists and stages, with collaboration from some of the region's top live promoters, is to follow soon; however, Waves has revealed pop/art-rock outfit Everything Everything as festival headliners in this year's first announcement.

Waves takes over city centre venues this November

The band released their sixth studio album, Raw Data Feel, in 2022, critically held as their most successful record yet which charted at Number 4 in the UK, their third Top 5 album.

Everything Everything have been twice shortlisted for a Mercury Prize and five times nominated for Ivor Novello Awards all whilst constantly pushing boundaries with their music and playing live to ten of thousands on tour plus featuring on major festivals across the globe.

The band first played in Sunderland for Waves organiser Ben Wall at The White Room in 2007, eight years before their first studio album, returning to play Independent soon after supporting The Futureheads.

Ben said: “It’s great to work on a show of this size, reconnecting with a band I worked with so many years ago when they were first starting out. Hopefully some people that saw the Everything Everything play The White Room over 15 years ago will see them again in Sunderland at Waves.”

Co-promoter Ben Richardson added: “We’re over the moon to be able to bring the third edition of Waves to Sunderland in 2023, it’s a passion project for us, and something we think is really beneficial for the city.

"To have a band of Everything Everything’s stature as headliner is a real achievement for the festival and hopefully a sign of things to come.”

:: Tickets for Waves go on sale Wednesday, August 16 at 10am from: www.independentsunderland.com