Catfish and the Bottlemen to headline new North East music festival

Taking place next to Spillers Wharf on Newcastle’s Quayside, the former site of Evolution Festival, the new festival will feature Brit Award winners Catfish And The Bottlemen who will play on Friday May 25, together with North East indie stalwarts Little Comets, Newcastle born singer-songwriter Sam Fender and innovative alt-pop band Everything Everything.

Inspired by the death of Newcastle University lecturer and artist Richard Hamilton, who taught Brian Ferry, the festival is named after the 1956 art exhibition This Is Tomorrow at Whitechapel Gallery.

The exhibition featured Richard’s seminal work ‘Just what is it that makes today’s homes so different, so appealing?’ and is revered as one of most influential gatherings of pop-art minds of the era.

The new festival is the brainchild of SDD Concerts who stage the annual Live From Times Square gigs, which has brought the likes of Jake Bugg, Manic Street Preachers and Brian Wilson to Newcastle.

Festival promoter, Steve Davis from SSD Concerts, said: “Following on from our sell-out Live From Times Square events, which will also make a welcome return in 2018, we wanted to offer something completely different for the people of the North East.

“This festival is the future and will firmly put Newcastle on the map once again as a leading city for outstanding live music on a large scale. This will be an unmissable event for music fans and will be a welcome boost to an already burgeoning festival scene here in the region.

“This will be the first time there’s been a live music event taking place on the old Evolution site and we can’t wait to build on its legacy.

“We have strived to make this festival happen for some time now and Newcastle City Council have been absolutely incredible to us over the last few weeks. We’re delighted to have got it over the line and this will be the festival to go to in the city this spring.”

Catfish And The Bottlemen’s appearance will follow the clamour for tickets that led to sellout shows earlier this year at Finsbury Park, London and Don Valley Bowl, Sheffield on the back of their latest critically acclaimed album, The Ride.

More acts for This is Tomorrow will be announced in the coming weeks.

Tickets will go on general sale this Friday, December 15 at 10am, priced at £32.50 plus booking fees, and will be available here