What's On

Soul singer-songwriter Beth Macari is working on a new EP after the success of her debut single. Beth has been singing and performing since a young age, and started gigging with her first band at the age of fifteen. Despite writing her own material she did not have the confidence to release any of it until she turned seventeen. Since then Beth has written two EPs, along with endless amounts of unreleased material; performed as part of a barber-pop girl group; and sang backing vocals for Loose Women star Jane McDonald. The 21-year-old regularly collaborates with soul/Jazz band Nick Pride & the Pimptones and they have performed at Jazz bars and festivals across the UK. They are currently working on a full album together.

Newcastle-based singer-songwriter James Rooney released his debut EP this week. Try This At Home, was recorded at home in the musician’s home studio and was launched online on Monday February 2 via Bandcamp. It features the three tracks: Midnight, Drifted Apart and Olivia. Originally from Warrington, James moved to Newcastle five years to study Psychology at university and he fell in love with the city. He stayed to complete his Masters degree and now works full-time in the city centre whilst pursuing his musical ambitions.

Indie-rock band Hazels are set to release their second single next month. In Control, is the follow up to their debut single, This Ain’t A Game and was produced by John Martindale and recorded at Newcastle’s Blank Studios. After the success of This Ain’t A Game, the five-piece firmly established themselves as one of the North East’s most exciting new bands of 2014.

Newcastle musician Trev Gibb has secured a support slot with one of the UK’s top bands, Kaiser Chiefs. He will be joining them on stage at Newcastle’s Metro Radio Arena on Thursday February 5 and it’s all down to local studio and record label, Mono Productions. Trev has been working with Mick Ross, producer and co-founder of Mono Productions for the past year and it’s through his connections that the Kaiser Chiefs became aware of Trev’s music.

Electronic pop duo, Silent Houses, are hoping their latest single will help them stand out from the crowd. The North East is not known for its electronic music, but Silent Houses – aka singer-songwriter Hayley McKay and producer and composer Chris Shaw – are determined to put the region on the map. The pair released their latest single, One, at a special launch show at Avalon in Darlington at the end of October.

Cross-genre quintet Ink & Paper are hoping their unique sound will help them stand out on the local music scene. So much so they have taken inspiration from all corners of the musical spectrum to create a blend of acoustic pop, rock and folk music. The five-piece is made up of brothers Andrew Martin (vocals and guitar) and Phil Martin (drums), along with vocalist Sam Scotney, Lewis Payne who provides bass and backing vocals and guitarist Sam Raper.

The quintet are known for their unique sound as they fuse latin music with jazz and funk to create a mixture of ballads and upbeat songs. This is due to Simon’s influences as he has always had an interest in latin music and has experiemented with its different techniques, as well as playing jazz and funk. Simon has been writing new material and is very positive about the music as it’s a new direction for the band. The tracks are more upbeat with bigger hooks and Simon is hoping to be able to showcase them at festivals next year. In the meantime the band hope to record a new EP that will be a development upon the music of Continental Girl once they have secured the finances to put it together with the view of releasing it towards the end of 2015. Next for the five-piece is their single, Hot Love, launch night at The Bridge Hotel in Newcastle on Friday February 6 when they’ll be supported by Lesley Roley and Sol Vedhara. To keep update with the band go to facebook.com/simontaylorandthesundowners

Alt/indie band Coquin Migale celebrated the release of their second EP with a special gig this week. The Newcastle four-piece held a launch party for FEEL at The Head of Steam on Wednesday and were joined by Charlie Dancer, Spitfire Hostels and Back Into The Wild. FEEL is the follow up to their debut EP The Yellow Room and was recorded at Blank Studios in Newcastle across the summer. The four-track EP features Interlude, Paris and Socotra and lead track Gold, which the band released on their soundcloud in November. Coquin Migale formed in summer 2013 when current members Alex Soper (vocals & guitar), Matthew Wooton (guitar) and Stevie Kane (bass), all Yorkshire lads, met whilst at University. Drummer Dan Rawlinson joined the band a few months ago, after their previous drummer left after playing with them for a year. The lads immediately started writing material and produced their debut EP The Yellow Room within weeks. It was recorded in Hexham, Northumberland and released as a free download bef

Singer-songwriter RJ Thompson released his highly anticipated fifth EP last month. The musician who hails from Newcastle has been writing and performing for over ten years, but has only just achieved one of his childhood dreams - to perform at the Royal Albert Hall. RJ is currently on tour with the legendary Jools Holland and is delighted to be supporting him on five of his UK dates, including shows at Birmingham’s Symphony Hall, Manchester’s O2 Apollo, Cardiff’s Motorpoint Arena, and London’s Royal Albert Hall. The tour also coincides with RJ’s new EP release and he is looking forward to playing his new material to a live audience. House Upon The Hill features five tracks including No Man’s Land, Numbers, Born Alone, Cannery Row and title track House Upon The Hill, and was produced by Adam Sinclair and recorded in Blast Recording Studios and Loft Music Studios in Newcastle. The EP has been a project in the making as it has taken RJ a good year or so to complete it. House Upon The Hill reflects

Lisbon are set to release their second single from their forthcoming debut EP next month. The alt-pop four-piece hail from Whitley Bay and the costal town heavily influences their new single Natïve. Produced by Joe Atkinson and Jordan Riley at Newcastle’s Blast Studios, Native explodes with the energy of youth, bursting with colour and vibrancy. Lyrically, the song focuses on the desire to surpass expectation, venturing out of comfort zones in the search of success. The track has already been described as being ‘packed with pop hooks, glistening synthetic production and colossal ambition.’ Lisbon are known for their unforgettable guitar riffs, captivating choruses, and songs full of energy and had great success with their debut single BLUELOVE and second single Rio. To promote Native, Lisbon will be playing at Deep, in Whitley Bay on Thursday December 18. This will be the band’s first headline show since October, when they played the Riverside, after having been on tour with Eliza and the Bear

Indie rock band Avenues release highly anticipated second single Light It Up tomorrow. It’s the follow-up to debut single, My Days, My Afternoons, and the Newcastle band hope it’s just as successful. Drummer Conor McBride explains: “For us, Light It Up is an expression of how feel we feel we have developed as a band in the period we have been together, it is a further development from the sound we were trying to create when we released My Days, My Afternoons / Futures. It is a song which we spent a lot more time perfecting it’s individual components before bringing them together for the finished single. “It features brand new additional instruments including the use of a synth and even a mandolin. During the recording process we also experimented with the use of gang vocals featuring one of our closest friends to create the collective chorus vocal which made the final single. “We opted for a deliberately minimalistic choice of lyrics, with the intention for the the song to be universally ambiguous

Lost in the Crowd have just finished recording their second EP, Dark, and the first single from the three-track EP, Run, will be released on December 5. You can listen to the band at soundcloud.com/lost-in-the-crowd or to find out more go to www.facebook.com/lostinthecrowdmusic/info or follow them @litcmusic.

She’s already well on her way to selling out the nearby Metro Radio Arena next year but it was the more intimate surroundings of Newcastle City Hall Paloma Faith dazzled in on Tuesday night. She could captivate an audience with her distinctive voice alone but while some of her peers are content to just stand behind the mic and do a concert by numbers that is not the cloth that Paloma is cut from.

From the album Sad Man

Ant & Dec tell Helen Rae what they think of Alan Shearer, Gus Poyet and Alan Pardew being in I'm A Celebrity

Bruce Foxton is at the O2 Academy Newcastle on Saturday (Nov 8) with From The Jam, as part of the Setting Sons tour. He recalls to What's On Editor Gordon Barr the making of the Setting Sons album, which featured Eton Rifles, with Paul Weller, and playing it live in its entirety for the first time.

North East rockers Tygers of Pan Tang will be performing in Newcastle at The Cluny on Thursday November 20. Tygers of Pan Tang have been part of the local music scene for over three decades and originally formed in 1978 when Robb advertised in Newcastle Polytechnic for a bass player and a drummer to form an original hard rock band. He recruited Brian Dick (drums), Rocky (real name Richard Laws, bass), and Jess Cox (vocals) and the band rapidly built a local following from relentless touring. In the meantime you can catch the Tygers of Pan Tang at The Cluny on Thursday November 20. Tickets cost £10 in advance or are £13 on the door. To find out more information go to www.tygersofpantang.com

After leaving The Smiths in 1987, Johnny Marr had been something of a wanderer, a roaming guitar-slinger for hire. Then, at the grand old age of 49, he decided he was ready to release his debut solo album, The Messenger.

The North East is not known for its electronic music, but Synoiz – aka Graeme Donaldson from Newcastle – is determined to put the region on the map. Synoiz released his second album, Frontiers, earlier this month and is excited about his latest project as it’s a new direction for the musician.

Hebburn star Pat Dunn talks about playing Dot in the hit sitcom and why there aren't as many regional sitcoms as there used to be on the BBC.