Whether your idea of a good time is a local music ‘Stars in their Eyes’ or you’re simply looking to plan a cute evening out for the family at Christmas, the winter programme is chockablock at The Fire Station—here are our top picks.
The Fire Station is Sunderland’s largest indoor music venue and also plays host to comedy, dance, and theatre. It recently celebrated its second year hosting the headline stage of Waves festival, where Miles Kane topped the bill, building upon Everything Everything who headlined the previous year.
Sunderland Music Against Child Poverty – Sunday Dec 8th
2024 marked the launch of Music City, a bid to achieve official Music City accreditation from an esteemed list of other locations around the world with a significant musical contribution to culture. Music City has done a lot of good already, hosting gigs for local bands, building an online music directory for local movers and shakers, and even making charitable donations to local music institutions like The Bunker.
The Christmas, Music City is fundraising for Love, Amelia, a Sunderland-based charity that supports families experiencing poverty and hardship across Tyne & Wear. And they’re doing so with a brilliant supershow of North East acts like The Futureheads, Maximo Park’s Paul Smith and BBC’s Jeff Brown all tributing artists that participated in 1985’s Live Aid concert!
As part of your ticket purchase, you can even donate a care package to a family at Christmas—such a brilliant idea and gesture!
Royal Northern Sinfonia by candlelight – Sunday Dec 1st
With a rich 46-year history, Royal Northern Sinfonia is one of the most well-respected chamber orchestras in the country, and the crown jewel of the North East’s classical music scene. In what has become a bit of a tradition, RNS will be hosting an evening of festive favourites at the Fire Station that will get you and the family feeling Christmasy on the 1st December—not a bad way to start the season!
And if the ambience of candlelight isn’t enough to keep you feeling bright, Royal Northern Sinfonia will no doubt light up your dark winter night with the melodies of Bach and Vivaldi, in a venue purpose-built to make it sound banging.
Tickets available at thefirestation.org.uk
