Sound of music to fill the streets
ORGANISERS of a new festival are calling on people with a passion for music.
Summer Streets will take place in Thompson Park, Southwick, as a celebration of home- grown talent in all genres of music.
The event forms part of the Cultural Spring project, which has won £ 2million from the Arts Council, to boost uptake of arts and culture in Sunderland and South Tyneside.
The first segment of the threeyear project was the Great North Passion event, which took place in South Shields on Good Friday.
From brass bands to string quartets, to DJs and choirs, organisers want to unearth a broad range of local music.
Ross Millard, bassist in the Futureheads, is the project’s artistic director. He said: “In the past, Sunderland was always known for its industry, but for the past 10 to 15 years it’s been more and more celebrated for its music. With this festival, we want to reach out to communities.
“We want to find people who are doing cool things and hopefully bring them together for one afternoon in July.” In the lead- up to this year’s Summer Streets, there will be a number of free taster sessions, to meet and work with professional artists in local communities and learn new skills. The planned date for the festival is July 19.
Anyone interested in the festival can visit www. theculturalspring. org. uk or email cultural. spring@ sunderland. ac. uk.