Photo + Words: Mavis Rama
Gathering Sounds is an indoor festival based in Stockton-on-tees and its many music venues, it incorporates a lot of upcoming talent, not only bands also some solo artists but also bigger bands to play the many stages Stockton has to offer. I saw the line-up for this year months ago and since then it has sprouted my curiosity, as you have bands as big as Keo, Somebody’s Child, The Kairos and many others, as well as some local bands such as Provenance, Risco, Cardiac, etc.
Let’s get into the acts I saw on the day of the festival,. I started by watching Cardiac at The Social Room, and they’re a band I’ve been working with and following their work for quite some time. I always love to watch them as they bring emotion, passion and skill all together in their performances. Even though they were one of the first few acts of the day they managed to get a good crowd. The lights were spot on as well as their performance.
Next I saw Hannah Smith in The Green Room, she’s a solo artist from Sunderland and I’ve been following her for quite a while and since discovering her I’ve really wanted to see her play live. I can tell you I was definitely not disappointed by her performance. She brings the solo singer songwriter vibe, and she has a beautiful, powerful voice. I was sad when her set finished as I believe that she has the potential for much bigger things and I can’t wait to see her play and develop in the future.
The rising star Isabel Maria played the festival too. This was my first time seeing her and she’s definitely someone I’ll be looking out for. Her music has influence from all of the biggest pop stars at the minute and you can definitely feel this by her heartfelt lyrics and the way she sings softly. It definitely creates a wholesome, enjoyable vibe to fill the room. Something I really enjoyed from her set was the friendship bracelets that were distributed. I’ll be wearing mine like the most prized possession.
The Kairos played the stage at the Arc. The room was completely packed with fans. Their stage presence was impeccable. The vocals were very impressive. Their music shows influences from Oasis, Arctic Monkeys and even The Stone Roses. Definitely a band worth to keep an eye out for.
Keyside had an entire room of fans singing line per line. I love their songs but they didn’t interact much with their crowd from what I saw which is a shame because it really enhances the experience for all fans when it happens.
I also watched Cruz. They put a high energy show on and you can definitely tell this by their facial expressions. Their passionate playing and it was quite sad to see the room not as full.
Better Joy played the same stage as The Kairos. They had an electrifying stage presence and definitely love to interact with their crowd, even though the room wasn’t full, they still managed to get everyone inside dancing and in a great mood.
Carsick has a unique style compared to the acts I’ve watched before, by adding bit of rap mixed with mosh pit vibes to their set in The Social Room. Very high energy and enthusiasm filled the room and they loved interacting with their crowd. You can definitely tell that they take some inspiration from Limp Bizkit.
I saw a section of Somebody’s Child set and for someone who has never seen them play before, their stage introduction was very unique and interesting to see as not many other bands did one.
One of the bands I was looking forward to seeing was Dirty Blonde in KU bar. I’ve been following the band for a few years now, and this was my first chance to see them live. They are an indie rock band from Manchester and they take inspiration from musicians such as Kings of Leon, Taylor Swift as well as even Oasis and The Stone Roses. I loved seeing them live, their stage presence was immaculate, you had the singer, Ailis MacKay, walking through the crowd and singing with their fans. My favourite song from the set was ‘Come Over‘. I liked how they added a tambourine, connecting even more with their Manchester Heritage.
In The Green Room, I saw Labyrinthine Oceans. It was the first I’d heard of them, and the vocals are very impressive for being a local band. They do know how to put a show on. My day ended by seeing Keo perform. Throughout the day I kept hearing people excited to see the band play, and being headliners in the Georgian Theatre it was to be expected. As you approached the venue you could hear that everyone was chanting for Keo and they continued chanting for them throughout the gig until the end of their set. This was my first time seeing them play on stage, you can definitely tell they have strong influences from Wunderhorse, Fontaines D.C. and Jeff Buckley. Their songs mix grunge, indie and rock with sentimental lyrics. They had a great presence on stage, however there wasn’t much interaction with their fans, which I thought was a bit of a missed opportunity. Overall, the vocals were pretty good and it was a good gig.
In the end, I enjoyed the full day of Gathering Sounds festival. It had what felt like endless great performances on their line-up this year. Can’t wait to see what they will put on next year. Because they definitely have set the bar high this time around.
Taped Magazine 