Saturday saw the 15th installment of Stockton Calling take place. Brought to us by ARC (Stockton Arts Centre), Ku Promotions, Tees Music Alliance and Tracks Darlington , bringing independent music to independent venues across this Teesside town Stockton Calling is the perfect one day, multi-venue, festival where you can not only see superb, well established artists playing in small venues it’s a guarantee that you’ll discover at least one, but probably more, band that you’ve never heard of before who suddenly become your new favourite “Must see them again and buy their records” band. Seven venues ranging small, intimate places with a capacity of around just 70 to bigger places holding up to 550 standing punters. And with well over 50 bands/artists to choose from the biggest issue was always going to be who to see when and who to choose when the inevitable difficult clash appears on the final running order. But difficult choices/clashes are the sign of a quality festival and you can’t please all of the people all of the time. Stockton Calling could rightly claim that if you can’t find artists you really like at numerous points in the day then you probably aren’t a fan of live music anyway. Punk rock, mod revival, ear splitting garage rock, indie, pop, riot grrrl, chilled out ethereal tunes, banging dance tunes, acoustic, in your face electronic onslaught. You name it, Stockton Calling will provide it for at least one of the live slots that start at 1.30pm and carry on until the final band strikes it’s final notes at 11.30pm. Ten hours of music, 56 bands and a ticket price of just £40. I’m not one for dashing around trying to see 15-20 minutes of as many bands as possible preferring where possible to see full sets and managed to see ten bands. Think about that. That’s a mere £4.00 per band. Add in the fact that venue bar prices are decent and in the surrounding streets you’ll find a great variety of reasonably priced food outlets and coffee shops and you’d be hard pushed to find a better value day of live music anywhere.
Helpful, friendly staff on the doors, behind the bars or just wandering making sure everyone is OK. No overcrowded venues – the strict one in/one out policy once capacity is reached works well. And let’s not forget that feeling of being surrounded by people who are here simply because they love live music. That’s a special feeling.
Arriving in town early the place is buzzing a good 90 minutes before the first bands even walk on stage and in the bar/booking office area of ARC there’s a real sense of anticipation about what lies ahead. Fair to say there was not a single disappointing moment. Always get there for the support bands means that an event such as this being in the venues to watch the bands that open the day and set the scene for what’s to come. These are the bands that in the not too distant future everyone has heard of. By getting in to see them opening a festival day you’re not only supporting grass roots music and independent venues you just might be able to say one day “I saw them at 1.30 in the afternoon in a small venue at Stockton Calling 2026” when all your mates are logging in to be ripped off by Ticketmaster because they’re now selling out huge places.
First stop Ku Bar and it’s already rammed well before Risco walk on stage at 1.30. Quite possibly the coolest looking North East band right now Risco hammer out a perfect 30 minutes of mod/glam influenced rockin’ tunes. Singer/guitarist Ralph and bassist Maya in perfect sync as they jump and swagger around the stage banging out fan favourites ‘Triple Agent’, ‘Le Chateau’ and ‘It’s Over’. But it’s not just Risco’s three singles that hook the crowd in. This band are now a Teesside favourite and every song delivered over their too short 30 minute set packs a punch and provides the perfect adrenalin fuelled start to the day.
From Ku it’s a short stroll upstairs to Social Room for Hartlepool’s Northern Hospitality and their hard hitting punk influenced rock n roll. Packed with emotion and the ball of energy in the shape of vocalist/guitarist Gaz Price Northern Hospitality don’t disappoint as they blast through ‘Goodbye To Shangri-La’, ‘Momento’, ‘Break Free’, ‘Lust For Living’ and more. Songs full of searing guitars and pounding drums. It’s loud, punchy and rocket paced. Brilliant stuff.
Next on the ‘must see’ list, Martha May & The Mondays are not scheduled for another 30 minutes so I get the chance to dash down to ARC2 where I catch the last 10/15 minutes of Scotland’s The Noise Club. Brilliant foot tapping beats, poppy guitars and sing-a-long lyrics have the crowd bopping, heads nodding. Glad I made the effort – The Noise Club are, for me, one of the reasons Stockton Calling is so good – discovering great bands not previously on my radar.
Back in Social Room Martha May & The Mondays tear the place apart with their violin tinged, dark, anarchic punk rock noise. From the opening notes of ‘Black Dog’, through the slicing guitars of ‘War Games’, the chaotic ‘Touch Me’ and none stop charge of their cover of ‘Gay Bar’ the band are tight, Martha letting loose as she hangs over the crowd on the barrier yelling vocals like a mashed up Suzi Quatro/Amy Taylor. It’s a non-stop, superb thirty minutes and a real highlight of the day.
A quick 5 minute dash to the small, intimate surrounds of The Green Room and we’re treated to something completely different but no less hypnotic. The sounds of Moss are ethereal, dark, haunting. They fill this tiny venue with a dreamy atmosphere that grabs you and really doesn’t let go. If something can be beautiful and often disturbing at the same time then Moss are that thing. Remember Portishead and Mazzy Star? If there was any justice in the musical world then Moss would be as huge as they once were.
Seriously who wouldn’t want to investigate the sounds of a band called Roller Disco Death Party? The Glasgow duo smash out proper electro dance noise complete with live drums. It’s intense, brutal, non-stop dance music. Close your eyes and you could be in a cavernous warehouse at a packed out illegal rave. Open them and it’s Arc2 bouncing along to the infectious grooves booming out from the stage. Another band that makes Stockton Calling special with the sheer diversity of sounds you can choose to immerse yourself in.
The Family Battenberg‘s recorded output is superb. Live though they’re off the scale. Snarling, fuzzy guitars, rumbling bass riffs and thumping drums drive their high octane, garage rock n roll. It’s heavy, addictive, danceable and ear splittingly loud and there is absolutely no let-up. ‘Foggy’, ‘Anteater’, ‘Gwyllgi’ – there is absolutely no respite from start to finish leaving us with that feeling that almost every sense has taken a battering. Just like a great gig should do.
Pollyfromthedirt draws us in for the first visit of the day to The Georgian Theatre. Polly(his mum’s name), from the dirt (Darlington) captivates those present completely with his ambient, dreamy, folky, experimental sounds. This masked singer deals with bleakness, hometown realities and nostalgia. No pretense, real songs about real life.
Pit Pony absolutely nail it in the Georgian. Always a must see, their two albums some of my favourites of recent years and their live shows always packed with energy tonight sees Pit Pony hammer out a set that seems even more explosive, more powerful than usual. Maybe it’s because the sound is absolutely spot on, maybe it’s because they haven’t played live in a while or maybe I’ve just left it too long since I last saw them. Whatever the reasons tonight Pit Pony are on fire. A huge sonically charged noise blending great melodies and lyrics that yell about the real world. And whilst the hard hitting ‘classics’ we’re used to hearing – ‘Black Tar’, ‘Well Well’, ‘Osaka’ and the always sublime set closer ‘Supermarket’ are still as formidable as ever it’s two new songs, ‘Thunder’ and ‘Come By’ (??) that seem particularly massive in their sound, really grab my attention and leave me really looking forward to what Pit Pony release next.
9.15pm and it’s time for the most serious clash of the day. Gurriers or Soapbox? A flick of a coin earlier in the week had said Gurriers but Soapbox start 15 minutes earlier meaning I can catch a full 30 minutes before leaving to (hopefully) beat the expected massive queue for The Molotovs later. So Soapbox it is and we’re not disappointed. They’re raw, 100% in your face, hard, raging full on punk rock n roll. Within minutes frontman Tom Rowan is in the crowd as he spits venom about the issues facing today’s working people. ‘Jungle Beat’, ‘Value Added Glasgow’, ‘Fascist Bob’ and more are ferocious, political, anti-fascist, anti-greed, anti-austerity. In today’s political climate with ‘leaders’ who think little of anyone other than themselves we need bands like Soapbox more than ever.
And so to The Molotovs. Quite possibly the hardest working band in the country at the moment they seem to be everywhere. With a top 3 album ‘Wasted On Youth’, support slots with Sex Pistols, The Libertines and other big names, being given the seal of approval by Paul Weller and a recent appearance on The Jonathan Ross show the buzz around teenage siblings Matthew and Issey Cartlidge isn’t going to stop growing any time soon. Despite being just 18 and 19 years old they’ve played over 600 gigs meaning any live show they do is tight. Really tight. Their influences are clear for anyone to see – The Jam, The Clash, Buzzcocks etc etc but they’ve certainly stamped their own mark on the sounds of late 70’s punk and new wave. And despite being so young and delivering songs about growing up in today’s world they have an obsessive fan base that crosses the generations, perhaps reminding those of us who were teens during the original punk rock explosion what it was like back then whilst their explosive energy, uber cool looks and songs packed full of melodies bring todays youth on board.
Tonight, headlining The Social Room and the whole festival day, The Molotovs show exactly why they’re the band everyone’s talking about and everyone wants to see live. From the opening notes of ‘Urbia’ to the night’s closing rallying cry of ‘Today’s Gonna Be Our Day’ it’s a none stop 70 minutes of intense, energetic, fizzing rock ‘n’ roll. Matt jabs at his guitar and makes regular jumps towards the low ceiling just like the early days of Weller whilst Issey plucks her bass at the same time as swaying, striding around the stage all the while pouting and eyeballing the crowd. The extensive setlist includes the majority of Wasted On Youth, the energy of the songs, the chemistry between the siblings lapped up by those lucky enough to have got in for this gig. The melodies are tight, the songs pack a real punch, the stage presence is mesmerising.
Fast paced, hard edged two and three minute bangers leave little time to take a breath. Prior to tonight I was more than a little sceptical about the claims being made about The Molotovs but I leave the gig with a real appreciation of what all the hype is about. A real band for the youth of today and a brilliant end to a fantastic day.
There were other bands I experienced for just 15 minutes. The absolute standout of these being Lawn Chair. A tumultuous, lawless indie/punk band with some solid, almost disco beats tearing up ARC2 with front person Claudia Schlutius spending almost as much time in the crowd or lying on the floor/stage as she does standing on it. Probably the one band I regret not a full set. But clashes happen.
Stockton Calling was, once again, a superb day of brilliant live music. Bands I’d seen before and really had to see again, bands completely new to me who now have a new fan. Other people will have had a day just as great as mine watching 8, 9, 10 bands that never even crossed my path. That’s what makes a festival such as this so special. A couple of thousand people spanning a wide age range with a massive range of musical tastes all brought together by an appreciation of live music in independent venues organised by people with a passion for what they do.
Early bird tickets for Stockton Calling 2027 are available HERE. And look at that price. Just £35 but get in quick as the early birds will be gone soon.
words/photos: steve white
