By Jenny Dean
Euphony Fest has made its way back to The Peacock on July 26th for the third year in a row. Masterminded by Milly from Nic Promotions, the all-dayer was a great opportunity to catch a wide variation of local and up-and-coming bands playing in the heart of the city.
noyou
This year, none other than Sunderland band noyou headlined the event. They delivered a truly electric performance, and sounded unbelievable. The boys have been on a bit of a hiatus from live shows and this was their only Sunderland headliner of the year, so it was a real treat for fans. The setlist was full of classic bangers from the band along with some new tunes (#bringbackthedistance) and the audience were loving it. I can say with confidence that noyou is one of the best bands in Sunderland, possibly even the North-East.
Critch
Also gracing the stage were local band Critch, which includes 4/5 members of the now defunct Precious Ink. They played the festival last year; but don’t mistake it as just your average rebrand; this is a new band entirely which brings a heavier and tighter sound that suits them so much better than before. My personal highlight of the set was James ending the final song with a wet floor sign on his head, which is very in character. Keep an eye out on the Critch socials to hear about their upcoming releases and gigs… there’s A LOT.
Primaveras
I ended up missing the Primaveras set as I was hosting an interview with another band. Sources tell me they were good though, so I’ll take that word as accurate. Throughout the rest of the day, wherever I went in the venue; the main space, green room, or back corridors – the drummer and his girlfriend were there too carrying out some hefty PDA, so definitely reckon he enjoyed the day.
Wool
Somewhat new band Wool brought the moody, alternative, too cool for school sunglasses indoors vibes to the stage. They played a mix of covers and originals influenced by bands such as The Cure and Radiohead. Despite being recently formed, they seem to have a clear idea of the sound they want to make, and the chemistry between the members is clear. They work well together and the audience received the set well.
Irehaven
I’m not sure if I missed the most recent ‘coolest band’ meeting, but Irehaven has been chosen by the masses. I hadn’t heard of the band before Euphony, but since February, they’ve managed to rack up over 500 Instagram followers with only two posts. The venue was jam packed for their set with some people even sporting Irehaven t-shirts. Their ‘metal with an acoustic guitar’ sound was rogue but it worked, and they had the energy up high. They were throwing picks into the crowd like they were at Glasto, and started a (semi-successful) mosh pit. The band seems to have spawned out of nowhere and looks like they have big things coming.
Last Request
Last Request were the only Teesside-based band of the day. Having played The Bunker in May, a few people in the crowd may have seen them previously. They weren’t my favourite of the day, but I think a few technical issues may have been a downfall. One of the main things I noticed about them is that the average height of the band probably throws the national average off by a mile; they are some very tall boys.
Daniel Maple
Out of the acoustic acts, I only managed to catch part of Daniel Maple’s set and unfortunately missed Ruby Kelly. Daniel was also hopping on the sunglasses indoors vibe (he’s too cool not to) and played a 30 minute set of his Jeff Buckley-esque original tunes. This guy always brings the chill energy and this was no exception, although I’ll be gutted if he played Football and I missed it.
Overall Euphony was an incredible achievement for Milly and the team. There’s always unavoidable hiccups with events like these, and managing an eight act line up with tons of gear is no easy feat, so props to everyone involved who made the day run smoothly. The audience was respectful for the most part and made sure the bands felt welcome in a supportive environment. Hopefully we’ll be seeing the festival for another go around this time next year.
https://www.instagram.com/nicpromotions to keep up to date with upcoming events.
