Emerging local & national talent to lead the Georgian Theatre stage line-up

The Gathering Sounds Festival has just announced a second wave of artists for its 2023 fest, which features an impressive mix of regional & national emerging talent.

Following on from another homerun year post-Covid, the much-loved all-day festival is preparing for its fifth instalment across a variety of venues in Stockton on Saturday 30th September today revealing the full line-up at one of its flagship venues, The Georgian Theatre, run by Tees Music Alliance.

Leading the second wave artist announcement is the NE’s very own straight-talking quintet Komparrison – fresh from a performance at Isle of Wight Festival – whose unique brand of electric and empowering pop/punk has caught the attention of industry tastemakers across the UK. Existing within the space between nostalgia & current trends (as heard in fan-favourite 2022 single ‘And Again’) , friends and band members Elise, Kaitlyn, Ellie, Jess and Elliott, each add their own zesty talents to this fun, infectious and undeniably tasty mix.

Next up we have GIRLBAND, also victorious at Isle of Wight, whose devil-may-care attitude has already led fans and critics to brand the Nottingham-based all-female trio as Gen-Z’s Buffy; slaying stereotypes and music industry vampires one tune at a time. Three mesmerising voices wrapped in a lethal package, these women are performing guerilla-style warfare on the commercial music industry.

Continuing along TGS’s empowering alt-music roster, the fest will also be welcoming the NE’s “brat-pop” siblings ZELA, who have created their own dark and imaginative world of hard-hitting alt-electronic pop. Drawing from personal experiences with misogyny, harmful stereotypes & debilitating double standards, frontwoman Liv Griff is able to masterfully combine toothache-inducing pop with her irony-flushed lyrics, all while underpinning their tracks with her explosive feminist writings (as heard in their hit single ‘I Want Attention’).

Other acts announced for the Georgian Theatre stage line-up are Bedroom Highclub, Lipfiller, Picnic, Provenance and Hightide, who will join the first wave artists in September. Confirmed artists also include headliner Andrew Cushin, as well as The Skinner Brothers, The Clause, Deco, Fat Dog, Finn Forster, The Molotovs, Ruby J, Dawks, PICNIC, San Quentin, The Redroom, Casino, The Thieves, House of Wolves and more.

Festival organiser Jimmy Beck said today: “Stockton-on-Tees has a reputation for nurturing emerging musical talent, and The Gathering Sounds Festival is proud to play a huge part in supporting and expanding this endeavour alongside our national promoters and industry.

“The festival’s 5th year is all about the journey, as TGS continues to act as a vessel for artist development. 

“Our national friends are helping us put together an amazing line-up and judging by today’s Georgian Theatre announcement, we’re super confident this is going to be our biggest and best event yet. Stay tuned for yet more announcements across multiple venues.”

With plans to continue its legacy of bringing local talent and national acts to the mainstage within the North East of England, the Teeside fest has curated its second line-up of some of the NE’s best & brightest.

With a line-up of new musical acts across a variety of genres, the event has established itself as a key tastemaker in the regional music scene, collaborating with a string of high profile national promoters including the likes of Liverpool’s Evol, This Feeling, and Under The Influence to put Teesside and Stockton firmly on the map.

Tickets for The Gathering Sounds Festival (30 September) are on sale now from: https://www.seetickets.com/event/the-gathering-sounds-2023/ku/2449716