On the 8th & 9th August the 3rd annual Marrapalooza took place, a rising grassroots festival in the North east, with almost 50 acts spread across 6 venues. All hosted in the brilliant and vibrant Ouseburn area of Newcastle.

The following are our highlights from the Saturday filled with a whole host of musical talent.

Jeanie and The White Boys

Jeanie and The White Boys are a London based act fronted by Jeanie Crystal but, despite having a 7 hour commute, she let the Tyne Bar crowd know she was ready to put on a show. Kicking off in style with “I’m a man”,  the performance was a relentless force of swagger and enthusiasm from the offset

Their sound is both equally unique with a good hit of nostalgia. A raw, bluesy – punk style affair: think if The Cramps were female fronted and you might be somewhere around the mark.

Gans

Currently making waves in the music scene come Brummie 2 piece Gans . Fresh from supporting The Libertines at The Piece Hall the previous evening. Consisting of Tom Rhodes ( bass /vocal ) & Euan Woodman ( drums /vocal ); these 2 guys have been hammering the circuit – playing 92 shows so far this year. For a 2 piece these boys have a big sound and in no time at all soon had the crowd jumping with earlier singles “What You Mean” & “You Talk Too Much” before moving into the newer “In Time” & “It’s Just Life”.

Midway through the set Tom snapped a bass string but, like true Pros, they carried on with the Royal Blood style rock anthem “Dirty Cowboy“. Euan took centre stage jumping into the crowd & dancing whilst performing the EBM style banger . Before the end of the song he was back behind his kit, Tom’s bass kicking back in, continuing on with their rapidly paced and energising set.

There is still plenty of time to catch them live  this year, as they promote their debut album Good For The Soul, coming out on Pete Doherty’s Strap Originals next month.

Venus Grrrls

The lights are down then, as if by magic, the sound of the band kicks in GK bounds onto the stage. The energetic Goth – Grunge sound they embody is even more impressive live, as they blast through their impressive catalogue including. It’s the slowest song in the set “Glisten” that really shows off GK’s impressive vocals, very reminiscent of 80’s Goth/Folk/Rock outfit All About Eve,   completely enchanting the Audience.

If you needed any more evidence of the Gothic influence then it came in the form of a cover of Siouxsie & The Banshees “Spellbound” The set wrapped up with the most recent single “Eighteen Crows” inspired by GK watching the birds out of the window whilst undergoing treatment for Acute myeloid leukemia.

Hopefully we will be hearing more spellbinding chants from this group very soon.

The Safest Place

There was an air of anticipation as the crowd grew noticeably larger for local act The Safest Place taking the stage. Formed in 2023 by Lou Adams and ex Catfish & The Bottlemen guitarist Johnny Bond.

Cool as a cucumber Lou Struts onto the stage as the Safest place invites you into their soundscape. An indie / space rock sound of songs like “Asleep at the Feels” & “Knife Edge” have an 80’s style feel that wouldn’t  be out of place in a John Hughes movie and was lapped up by crowd.

Cruush

The Last stop on the tour of the scenic Ouseburn took us back to the Tyne Bar for this Manchester based outfit. Unassuming & with no big introduction Cruush took to the stage. With daylight still upon us, they were the perfect soundtrack to glide us into the Twilight .

Performing songs from their “Nice Things All the Time” and “Wishful Thinker” Ep’s; Cruush’s roots sit firmly in the Shoegaze/Indie genre. Their swirling & jangly guitars along with Amber’s ethereal vocals transporting the mind to distant places. Then boom ! Its noise rock like My Bloody Valentine at their best.

Marrapalooza 3 was a stand out example of all the great venues and thriving scene the North East has to offer. We look forward to next year’s entry to give us even more fantastic music to sink our teeth into.