Looking for something to do in mid-May 2024 in the North East? I’ve got you covered with this list. As part of my feature on BBC Tees and Newcastle, I select my top picks of things happening across the North East, and here’s what I’ve chosen for Thursday 16th May to Friday 24th May (I usually do Thurs to Thurs, but I had to include the final event in this list!).
GrooveFest – Darlington town centre – Thurs 16th to Sun 19th May
We’re starting in Darlington for four days of live music with GrooveFest. This is on from today until Sunday with a fantastic line up of free music, all in the realm of disco, soul and Motown, and bookable music-related activities. So if you fancy doing something on Thursday 16th, you can book last minute tickets to the Greatest Hits of Motown at the Hippodrome, or join the disco, funk and soul quiz at the Market Hall, both of which are on at 7pm. And then if that wasn’t enough, across Friday 17th, Saturday 18th and Sunday 19th, you can enjoy a whole host of live performers in tons of the town centre pubs and bars, as well as a Big Little Gig at the Dolphin Centre for little music fans. The line up is absolutely packed, so you could totally make a weekend of it, so if you want more info, take a look at the Enjoy Darlington website.
The Late Shows 2024 – Newcastle and Gateshead – Fri 17th and Sat 18th May
This is an absolutely massive, award-winning event taking over Newcastle and Gateshead, so massive that it’s quite difficult to narrow it down, but I will do my absolute best. If you’re a fan of all things arts and culture, this will be totally up your street, as The Late Shows brings a late night culture crawl to the toon, covering over 60 music and performance venues, art studios, galleries and museums. And all of these places will be hosting some kind of event, exhibition or activity for you to get stuck into, such as live painting, a photography exhibition, and a sustainable clothing and eco-bookshop pop-up at The Biscuit Factory. At Dunston Staiths, you can enjoy heritage talks and panoramic views of the Tyne. Grainger Market will come alive with projections after dark and Great North Museum Hancock will be filled with inflatables for the adults to let loose. There really are so many brilliant sounding events, so if you fancy checking it out, that’s happening Friday 17th and Saturday 18th, and you can see the full list of events and venues on The Late Shows website.
John Bishop: Back At It – Stockton Globe – Sat 18th May
Comedy superstar John Bishop is getting Back At It – doing what he does best – with a new UK stand-up tour for 2024. After two years spent TV presenting, stage acting, podcast hosting, dog walking and decorating the spare room, John is getting back to the thing he loves most; standing on stage and making people laugh. And as part of this tour, he’s doing a stop at the Stockton Globe on Saturday 18th, and it’s guaranteed to have all of the autobiographical anecdotes and deadpan Scouse humour that we all know and love from him. It definitely isn’t one to miss out, but if you want to go, you’ll have to run to get tickets because there’s only a tiny handful left, so get booked on the Stockton Globe website.
Nature printing and song writing workshops – Crook Hall Gardens – Sat 18th and Sun 19th May
We’re still in blossom season, which I think has been slightly prolonged by the glorious weather we had over the weekend and early this week, and one place that knows that better than anyone is Crook Hall Gardens. They’ve been running a series of blossom-themed events, like the Blossom Picnic Weekend I mentioned last Thursday, and this weekend, they’ve got two more springy events up their sleeves. So on Saturday 18th, you can enjoy a nature printing workshop, where you’ll use leaves, flowers, feathers and other natural materials to make monochrome artwork to take home. Then on Sunday 19th, you can join in with a blossom songwriting workshop, where North East singer-songwriter Sam Slatcher will take you through the gardens to soak up some inspiration, then help you turn those ideas into a song. Both of these are free events, but need to be booked, and with the songwriting workshop, you get free entry to the gardens too, which is a nice bonus. You can get more details about both on the National Trust website.
2:22 A Ghost Story – Sunderland Empire – Tues 21st to Sat 25th May
This has been such a highly anticipated show for the Sunderland Empire and I, for one, am very excited about it. 2:22 A Ghost Story is the new stage phenomenon that has taken the West End by storm and it’s now heading to the Empire for five chilling nights from Tuesday 21st to Saturday 25th. This story follows Jenny, who believes her new house is haunted, but her husband, Sam, isn’t having any of it. Belief and scepticism clash as they argue about the paranormal with their dinner guests, Lauren and Ben, and as something strange and frightening feels like it’s drawing closer, they decide to stay up until 2:22 to find out the truth. It’s supposed to be an adrenaline-filled, spine-tingling show with some light comedy relief, so if you want to see something a bit different, then this could be up your street. Find out more and book your tickets on the Sunderland Empire website.
Drop The Dead Donkey – Newcastle Theatre Royal – Tues 21st to Sat 25th May
This is another stage show that’s coming to the North East that’s for those of us who want something witty and razor sharp, rather than spooky. 30 years since the trailblazing smash hit TV series, Drop The Dead Donkey is coming to the Newcastle Theatre Royal from Tuesday 21st to Saturday 25th. Fans of the TV show will be absolutely chuffed to bits to know that the stage show features the original cast members, including Stephen Tompkinson, Victoria Wicks, Susannah Doyle and Robert Duncan, and all of that unmistakeable, classic British humour. Written by the same award-winning writing team, Andy Hamilton and Guy Jenkin, this show exposes the underside of the broadcasting industry in all its riotous glory. It’s going to be brilliant, so don’t miss out if you’re a fan of the show or a lover of British comedy, and book your tickets on the Newcastle Theatre Royal website.
Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band – Stadium of Light – Wed 22nd May
The Boss is back at the Stadium of Light in Sunderland with the E Street Band as part of their new world tour. This is the first time Bruce Springsteen has been back at the stadium since 2012, so this is an absolutely massive return. Lauded by Rolling Stone as “the embodiment of rock & roll” with more than 140 million records sold around the globe and more than 70 million in the United States, he’s one of the world’s best-selling artists and he’s coming to little old Sunderland, which is just major! The 2023 European run of this tour was praised in reviews as “one of the greatest shows ever”, so you’ll have to go along for yourself and see if you agree. If you fancy that, he’s performing on Wednesday 22nd and you can book your tickets through Ticketmaster.
Red Hot Chilli Pipers – Tyne Theatre & Opera House – Fri 24th May
I absolutely love an unusual music act that just works. We spoke about Elvis Fronted Nirvana recently and I think this is in a very similar vein. So we have the Red Hot Chilli Pipers, a bagpipe band with attitude. From their formation in 2002 to opening the T in the Park main stage in 2014 to the present day, the past 20 years have seen the Red Hot Chilli Pipers become arguably one of the most famous bagpipe bands in the world. They fuse traditional Scottish music with rock and pop anthems to create a genre that they define as Bagrock. They truly are unique and so infectious, and I promise, you’ve never heard anything like it before. They’re doing a show at the Tyne Theatre & Opera House on Friday 24th and I urge you all to have a look because it’ll be a fab night out.
Make sure you check back next week for more amazing events!
