More about: A Stones Throw

It’s no easy feat to launch a brand new festival let alone one of this magnitude, but after over a year of planning, on Saturday May 28th, A Stone’s Throw Festival finally arrived. One of the biggest collaborations between local venues and promoters alike saw the team bring the spirit of an inner city all day festival to the beautiful Tyneside coastline with weather so good we had to send our friend to the co-op for suncream. Over 60 acts graced 8 stages between Tynemouth and North Shields fish quay over the course of the day as part of one of the best localline ups the North East has ever seen. 

Kicking off proceedings at The Exchange in North Shields was neo-soul singer songwriter Kate Bond and her backing band (aptly titled “The KBB”). Fresh off the back of her new release “All I Need”, the crowd that Kate managed to draw to open the festival really spoke for itself. Channeling the likes of Tom Misch with soulful vocal lines and laid back head bopping guitar riffs with enough funk to give Thundercat a run for his money. Set highlights came from hit track “Yasmine” and the aforementioned new single “All I Need” as the set closer. Special mention to a track wherein Kate challenged any wannabe soundcloud rappers in the crowd before going on to prove that not only is she an exceptional vocal talent but that she’s “got bars” as well. For those who didn’t fancy basking in the seaside sun but instead needed a quicker method of transport between North Shields and Tynemouth (roughly a 20 minute stumble after a few pints), A Stone’s Throw had you covered with a a hop-on hop-off open top bus especially for festival go-ers. Much to our surprise after embarking, brass party band Dilutey Juice emerged from the bottom deck, set up a full drum kit and launched into their set atop the open top bus. I don’t know if you’ve ever seen anyone swinging a Tuba around on the top deck of a bus but it really took Tynemouth high street by surprise and brought the “anything could happen” magic to the festival. 

I took a brief pitstop and change of vibe in the airy neon-basked upstairs stage of Tynemouth’s part CBD store part cafe, Karma Coast. Cortney Dixon played to the lucky few who managed to squeeze in and she quickly became my hidden gem artist of the day. It was an absolute treat to see her in this incredibly intimate environment, her voice is incredibly unique and the two tracks I managed to catch were really special. Motel Carnation came next at Tynemouth CIU, a venue which boasted one of the most desirable line ups amidst its 70s decor. The band ducked and weaved through a set of their own brand of electro-indie coming to a close on “Westside” which by this point had drawn one of the biggest crowds the venue had seen on the day as they left following chants of “one more song”. 

It’s easy to draw comparisons between Sam Fender and the music of Keiran Bowe but it’s clear that Keiran is set on forging his own path. This singer-songwriter is really making a name for himself in the North East and further a field. Highlights from his set included party-indie rock tracks like “Into the Night” and latest single “left it all behind” which people couldn't help but move to and the emotional and down right beautiful track “Hinny” providing proof that Keiran just keeps on getting better and better. 

Following the release of single “Chaos Queen” and its debut on BBC Radio 1, it’s hard to move for the brat pop duo ZELA at the moment and for good reason. Taking us into the evening with their sub-headline slot, the duo rattled through hit after hit with fan favorite “I’m Healing” and ear worm “Lemonade” coming out on top for me. Yet to be released track “I want attention” really piqued my interest as well seeing the brother-sister sibling duo take new sonic strides almost into the tropes associated with nu-metal on that track. Their set went down an absolute storm with the crowd and every track felt like a stand alone single and a banger in its own right. 

As we moved into the later stages of the festival elsewhere across Tynemouth and North Shields, festival go-ers were treated to sets from the likes of local native and rising star Heidi Curtis, who has been making a name for herself on a number of tour support dates to Sam Fender. Grunge-pop star Lauran Hibberd, rapper/producer Berwyn and TikTok viral sensation Sam Tompkin closed the festival’s mainstage at Salt Market Social but for me I was headed back to Tynemouth CIU in search of local heroes FEVA. Having taken a leave of absence for a while leaving fans wondering if they were ever going to return, FEVA have come back stronger than ever. The indie-rock 4 piece have a sound reserved for stadiums and they took apart the venue much to the awe of everyone in the crowd. Debuting a lot of new material amidst their hits “Uneasy”, “Undone” and “Waiting Room” to name but a few, all the while singer Sam is looking for the next stack of speakers to climb on. He eventually settles, shirtless, on a ledge over the emergency fire exit and has the crowd in the palm of his hand from the outset. These 4 lads were nothing short of incredible and were an explosive way to end the day.

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More about: A Stones Throw