By Lucy Shields
‘Twas 2 nights before Christmas, and gigs for the year were seemingly done, but the lights were on at Indie, for some last minute festive fun.
It now seems like tradition for Sunderland gig goers to have an event to attend on the 23rd of December, and I hope it continues. Since for the past two years, this day has entailed 2 full blown Stockton Road Hit Squad Gigs, a smaller celebration of previous Hit Squad headliner, Patrick Gosling, seemed appropriate.
Gosling and his entourage of local legends have had a busy year surrounding the release of Pat’s debut EP The Summit Push, which has launched the lads into a new era, seeing a huge shift in production and their live performances. The setlist of this gig was predominantly filled with tracks from the EP, but Gosling has been teasing new music at recent gigs, setting up what is hopefully going to be a few releases in early 2026. Of course, it wouldn’t be a festive gig without a few Christmas classics making their way to the stage, including a rendition of Paul McCartney’s, ‘Wonderful Christmastime’.
At the beginning of the evening, Callum O’Neill opened the night up. Surprisingly, it was O’Neill’s first live show with a band which was not reflected in their performance. Reminiscent of Paolo Nutini and early Sam Fender, Callum’s timeless approach to songwriting is sure to serve up some classics in the future, already evident in his poignant Chritsmas banger, ‘You’re All I Need This Christmas’, which won him the Music City Christmas song contest in 2024.
Contrarily, spacecadetbloom followed with their raucous shoegaze. In the lead up to the release of their sophomore single, Playing Cards, they have seriously upped their game since the beginning of their journey. A stand out part of the ensemble is the hypnotic guitar led by Will Lovell, together though, all elements combine harmoniously to create the beautiful noise they are so well known for.
As if all of this wasn’t enough, the night was perfectly rounded off by a self proclaimed “non-encore” in collaboration with the wonderful Jenny Dean. Gosling, the band, and Jenny came together to perform a beautiful recital of John Lennon’s ‘War is Over’, with Dean working in conjunction with a very merry crowd to provide backing vocals – a wonderful way to end the night.
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