Working out which emerging bands to see can be a difficult task to do if you’re a fan of music, and with so many exciting bands in the music scene it’s testing to know who to see, who’s ‘hot tip’ to follow and who’s recommendation to trust. Should you rely on the local music press listings? Word of mouth recommendations? Social Media shares? Not wanting to miss out, you may tend to end up trying to see everyone, all of the time, but somehow still miss the shows which go on to have ‘you should have been there’ status.
To help with this challenge it’s always nice to rely on a source with a proven track for identifying the best musical talent around. Sure NE Volume can help, as can the Crack and Narc, but it’s probably Evolution Emerging who have the strongest reputation, in recent times at least, for identifying the very best emerging artists. To prove the point ‘Evo’ has showcased notable performances across it’s eight years from the likes of Nadine Shah, Hyde and Beast, Lanterns on the Lake, Beth Jeans Houghton, Eliza and the Bear, Lisbon, Shields, The Lake Poets and Lulu James.
It’s the result of this ability to talent shop some of the very best emerging bands that Emerging has fast become one of the North East’s hottest annual tickets for music fans and a real opportunity to see bands in an intimate setting before the big time comes knocking.
Returning for its ninth year, and spread across a single day, Emerging offers music fans the opportunity to see over 40 exciting emerging artists in over ten of the region’s best independent music venues including the Cluny, The Tyne Bar, The Tanners and The Tyne Bar.
In their biggest showcase to date, Evo have managed to grab the cream of the region’s emerging talent to sit alongside headliners 21st-century soul sensation Lulu James, BBC favourites Coquin Migale and garage-rock extremists Eat Fast.
Along with the likes of Cape Cub, Bryde and the hotly tipped Keiandra this year’s Evo features psych pop favourites The Old Pink House, inspired singer-songwriter Mat Hunsley, psychedelic rockers Mongeese and alt-pop outfit Shamu.
If you’re yet to attend an Evo have confidence that the event will be well organised, with wristbands allows you to ‘venue-crawl’ and see as much music as possible which is just as well because also appearing on the bill will be Teesside shoegazers Figmennt, Newcastle three piece instrumental noise-rock band Apologies and the four piece indie pop band, Llovers.
Evo organisers, Generator, are confident that this years line up will be the best yet: “Not only do we have Evolution Emerging acts from previous years returning as our established headliners but there’s a torrent of new talent coming through too. This is the ideal opportunity for people in the North East to discover their new favourite artist and to support future success stories from the region.”
Speaking ahead of the event, Lulu James, who will headline The Cluny stage, said: “I’m so happy to be coming back and playing on home turf again! I’m starting this year’s run of shows at Evolution Emerging after two years on the road with the amazing electronic music duo, Gorgon City. I’m delighted to bring you my new project. Come along and check it out”
It’s not just the headliners who are determined to use Evo to showcase their new work and raise the ambition for the NE music scence. London-based British-Grenadian rapper, Sagaboi advised us that he would be using the gig to showcase his philosophy for the ‘North East Urban sound’, tech-enthusiast Jennifer Walton will try to ‘bring electronica music to life’, guitar heavy Cauls will showcase their new album and new line up, whilst Twist Helix are set to debut some of their material from their forthcoming- Ouseburn focused- album.
With the strongest line up yet, and a reputation for unearthing the best of talent, the question shouldn’t be ‘should I go to Evo’, the question should be ‘What do I need to do to make sure I can see all of the bands”
Evolution Emerging 2017 takes place on Saturday 27th May across 10+ venues in the Ouseburn Valley, Newcastle. The event takes place from 4pm-2am (including Official Aftershow). Entry to all Evolution Emerging 2017 venues is wristband only. There are no individual venue tickets. No wristband no entry.