Stockton's Gathering Sounds unveils full line-up

A Teesside music festival has unveiled its full line-up, with more than 50 artists set to perform across seven stages later this month.

The Gathering Sounds will return to Stockton-on-Tees next Saturday (September 26), bringing together established names and emerging talent from across the UK alongside a strong contingent of North East artists.

overpass, Basht., Tom A. Smith, TTSSFU and VLURE are among the leading names on the bill, alongside Humour, Good Health Good Wealth, Little Grandad, Esmeralda Road, Bloodworm, FLETCHR FLETCHR, Pyncher, M60 and Shelf Lives.

The final additions include Esmeralda Road, Little Grandad, VLURE, 24 Hours In Paris, Idle Hands, MOSS, PROJECTOR and The Youth Play.

Organisers have also confirmed the festival’s stage splits, with overpass headlining The Point at ARC and Sunderland musician Tom A. Smith topping the bill at The Georgian Theatre.

Basht. will headline KU, Shelf Lives will lead the ARC2 line-up and TTSSFU will top The Social Room alongside Esmeralda Road.

The festival has built its reputation around showcasing emerging artists, with several of this year’s additions arriving in Stockton amid growing national attention.

London-based Little Grandad, who formed last year, were named as an NME Radar act this summer and have since played sold-out shows in the capital.

Esmeralda Road formed in Belfast in 2023 before relocating to London and have already supported Liam Gallagher, while Glasgow five-piece VLURE released their debut album Escalate this year, featuring Primal Scream frontman Bobby Gillespie.

Esmeralda Road, left, and Basht.

Brighton trio PROJECTOR and London alternative band The Youth Play are also among the latest additions to a line-up spanning indie, post-punk, shoegaze, grunge and electronic music.

The wider bill includes overpass, who have previously supported The Wombats, Inhaler and Wunderhorse, as well as Belfast group Basht. and Manchester-based TTSSFU.

North East talent will also feature prominently throughout the festival.

Tom A. Smith returns to an event he first played during the early stages of his career, while Charlie Floyd, Marketplace, Swindled, Daisy Brown, George Bailey and a number of other regional artists will perform across Stockton.

Tom A. Smith and singer-songwriter and guitarist TTSSFU

They join a line-up also featuring Bloodworm, Pyncher, M60, Pack of Animals, The Kowloons, Andrew Johnson & The Others, Central Arcade, Honeylight, Park View, Strop and Weathership.

Launched in 2018, The Gathering Sounds has established itself as a platform for emerging music while bringing audiences into venues across Stockton.

Previous editions have featured artists including The Royston Club, Sports Team, The K’s, Lottery Winners, ZUZU, Red Rum Club, Antony Szmierek, Fat Dog, CVC, STONE and KEO.

This year’s event will once again spread performances across multiple venues in the town, giving festivalgoers the opportunity to move between more than 50 acts throughout the day.

Jordan Kean, from The Gathering Sounds, said: “We wanted to keep a few proper surprises back for the final announcement. 

“Esmeralda Road and Little Grandad are two of those bands where you can feel things moving really quickly around them, while VLURE are just an incredible live band and one we’ve wanted to bring to Stockton.

“What excites me most, though, is looking right through the poster. 

“There are artists from the North East alongside bands from Glasgow, Belfast, Birmingham, Manchester, London and right across the UK and Ireland, and there are genuinely brilliant discoveries everywhere you look.

“That’s always been the point of Gathering Sounds. 

“Come because there are three or four bands you already love, spend the day moving between the venues and hopefully go home talking about somebody you’d never even heard of that morning. 

“Now the stage splits are out, people can finally start putting those plans together.”

To buy tickets and for more information, click here.

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