Festival line- up is streets ahead
Oline up. The event – part of the Cultural Spring drive to boost uptake of arts and culture in the area – will take place in Thompson Park, Southwick, on July 19.
A free celebration of community music, it will feature established artists as well as emerging talent and musical projects put together specifically for the festival.
Within the park, there will be three stages and a large marquee, with different acts performing on each between 2pm and 6pm.
There will also be a steel band and drummers playing while Southwick Primary School’s artists in residence – Alyson Stoker and Gilly Rogers – have been working on a project to create decorations and banners for the park.
The bands range from nationallyrecognised acts such as The Lake Poets, played recently on Radios 1 and 2, through to local hip- hop, bluegrass, and jazz groups to Sunderland folk- rock band, Lilliput.
Local folk singer and historian Keith Gregson will be performing a song about the rganisers of Sunderland’s first Summer Streets festival have announced the city with children from local primary schools, while Thornhill chemistry teacher Amer Sheikh will perform with his hip- hop group The Word.
The group explores issues of race, class, politics and day- today living through rap.
Big band jazz lovers should look out for the Strictly Smokin’ Big Band, a 19- strong group from across the North East that has been playing together for ten years.
Hot from an appearance at the Summer Tyne Festival will be Gateshead bluegrass band Kentucky Cow Tippers, who’ve been making a name for themselves locally recently.
A band used to the big stage are Baghdaddies, a regionallybased five piece who have performed at festivals all over the world, including Glastonbury.
For younger members of the audience, there will be standup comedy, children’s music lessons and special performances by some of the acts.
Summer Streets will also have refreshment stalls.
The event will start with a musical procession from Southwick Primary School into the park at 1.30pm. Musicians leading the parade will include the newly- formed Southwick Neighbourhood Youth Project Samba Band, Southwick School Choir, and Brassy B – Sage Gateshead’s Youth Brass Band.
BBC Look North’s Jeff Brown will be introducing the acts, as well as performing with his own band, City Road Survivors.
Rebecca Ball, project director at The Cultural Spring, was confident Summer Streets will prove a hit: “It’s about showcasing the musical talent we have in our communities, but also exposing people to a wide variety of musical opportunities.
“It will be a great day out for families and there will be loads of opportunities for people to join in and try something new from djembe drumming to opera singing.”
The Cultural Spring project is working in five Sunderland wards ( Red House, Castletown Southwick, Fulwell and Roker/ St Peter’s) and five South Tyneside wards ( Biddick and All Saints, Boldon Colliery, Cleadon and East Boldon, Whitburn and Marsden and Whiteleas).
For more information or if you would like to be involved in Sunderland’s newest musical festival, go to The Cultural Spring website ( www. theculturalspring. co. uk) or contact Ross on Twitter at @ rgtmillard or email Project Co- Ordinator David Callaghan at David. Callaghan@ TheCulturalSpring. org. uk