Indie house: Here’s the online gigs you should check out this Independent Venue Week

By Becky Hardy

There’s just something about an independent performance venue, isn’t there? That je ne sais quoi factor about sipping a cheeky craft, watching an act that you’re willing to swear is going to make it to the big time from about three feet away, sometimes packed in so tightly with other like-minded flâneurs that you can smell what they had for their tea before they came out. Those are the nights you always remember, no matter how much you had to drink.

But from an artist’s point of view, indie venues give them their first show of support; they’re the first stage they get to perform in front of a live audience on. And for better or worse, the biggest learning curve of their career happens on that stage. Similarly, these venues are a Mecca to anyone who wants a career in live entertainment behind the curtain – offering an unrivalled opportunity to learn up close from real experts in stagecraft. In fact, we’d go so far as to say that independent venues are the very backbone of the live performance scene. And we know plenty of others who feel the same.

Because these venues aren’t just places to go to catch some live music – they’re cultural hubs for learning about and creating art, all the while bringing people of all ages, backgrounds, abilities and walks of life together like only art can. And we’re so lucky that right here in the North East, our independent scene is alive and thriving (if, admittedly, taking some enforced downtime right now).

All this (and more) is why indie venues are among the things we’ve been missing most since the pandemic began – and why we couldn’t be bigger fans of Independent Venue Week, this year more than ever.

THERE’S NOTHING TO WORRY ABOUT

7.30 pm, Monday 25th January

Alphabetti Theatre, Newcastle

The first of Alphabetti Theatre’s Listen Up project – which aims to showcase nine short audio plays written by underrepresented writers in the North East – There’s Nothing To Worry About is just what we need to hear right about now. An exciting thriller written by local actor, playwright and comedian Julie Burrow (who is currently working on another project about a six-foot showbiz moth, FYI), There’s Nothing To Worry About promises to entertain.

Livestream is free on a donate-what-you-can basis.

Find out more at Alphabetti Theatre

SERIOUS SAM BARRETT

8 pm, Friday 29th January

The Globe, Newcastle

The Globe is offering up a bumper weekend of live-streams thanks to its involvement with IVW, and kicking us off on Friday is Serious Sam, who is definitely up there with some of our favourite curly-haired Yorkshire folk singers. Having garnered plenty of attention in the UK after the release of his debut album Close To Home back in 2009, he has since toured the US widely too, usually in the company of friends and fellow skaters The Pine Hill Haints. If you want to catch what is really a pretty magical amalgamation of clawhammer banjo, southern blues, and quintessentially English wit, then seriously – Sam’s your guy.

Tickets for livestream are £7.50, £15.00 or £20.00.

Find out more at The Globe

FIRE LADY LUCK

8 pm, Saturday 30th January

The Globe, Newcastle

Sunderland may be known as the home of the Black Cats, but these indie rockers have just about had it with Lady Luck in all her forms. Made up of a couple of brothers and their school mates, the quartet are rough and rambunctious in equal measure and promise to have you roaring away to their big ol’ choruses at home just like you would if you were actually there. A sonic stress-buster if ever we’ve heard one.

Tickets for livestream are £7.50, £15.00 or £20.00.

Find out more at The Globe