Seminal sounds to rock the Tyne at open air gigs this summer
Music fans disappointed by the cancellation of Down to the Woods festival at Hardwick Hall will still get the chance to see headliners Catfish and the Bottlemen and Primal Scream in the North East this summer.
Influential rockers Primal Scream, fronted by enigmatic indie icon Bobby Gillespie, will kick off a weekend of live music in Times Square, Newcastle, on Friday, August 26, while Catfish and the Bottlemen, fresh from their storming set at Glastonbury and the release of their second album, will headline the following night.
Although Down to the Woods was cancelled due to poor ticket sales, sales are soaring at the series of open air concerts at the Tyneside site.
SSD Concert’s Steve Davis, who is co-hosting the show with promotions giant SJM, said: “We wanted to give the people of the North East some amazing events to remember this year and the July Times Square shows with Fatboy Slim, Ocean Colour Scene and Maximo Park have all but sold out, so now we can turn our attention to this.
“Catfish and the Bottlemen are riding the crest of a wave at the moment and North East indie fans are in for a real treat; the new album is absolutely outstanding and it will be amazing to see songs from that performed in front of our eyes.
“The band are all about the live performance and we can’t wait to see them rock Times Square, which we believe is the perfect venue for them. The fact that they are 1/4 Geordie makes the show extra special for us.”
Catfish and the Bottlemen’s debut album, The Balcony, reached number 10 in the UK Albums Chart, and they have taken part in a wave of tours throughout the UK, Europe, North America and Australia.
They’re becoming famed for their high-octane festival performances at the likes of Glastonbury, T in the Park, Reading, and Leeds.
Riding high after the release of their 11th studio album, Chaosmosis, released in 2016, Primal Scream – whose hits include Movin’ On Up, Rocks, Country Girl and Come Together – are currently touring the UK and say they are looking forward to stopping off in Newcastle.
Speaking ahead of their eagerly-anticipated Tyneside show in Times Square – which will feature old classics and material from their latest offering – frontman and chief songwriter Gillespie said: “I think we’re getting better at writing songs and more confident and less self-conscious.
“We’re better at letting things flow. Whereas 20 years ago, it was painful trying to make a Primal Scream record, it was like hell. I’m clearer-headed now, I’m better expressing my feelings and
“It can sound an angry record, but it’s also personal” BOBBY GILLESPIE
what I want to say.
“I’m trying to make sense of my life, of the world, and I’m trying to put it into a pop song.
“The current political climate is deeply upsetting and we’re aware of it and opposed to it, and we’d like to see something different.
“It can sound an angry record, but it’s also quite a personal record. I want to write about real situations, things I feel strongly about. But I also think the music’s becoming clearer, the lyrics are clearer.
“Art, politics, music, the people I love are the people who care about something, who care about beauty. That’s what we’re trying to do here. And this album is beautiful.”
Support on the night for Primal Scream will come in the form of fellow 1990s psychedelic rockers Super Furry Animals.
•Tickets for Catfish and the Bottlemen on August 27 are now sold out.
•Tickets for Primal Scream at Times Square on August 26, priced £35 plus an online booking fee, are available from www.seetickets.com/ event/primal-scream/timessquare/998125.