Stockton Calling Festival 2026

If your not aware of this Multi-Venue festival which is held every year at around the same time and cover at least seven different venues in and around Stockton-On-Tees in the North East of England, then maybe this is your chance to look it up and plan for next year. The festival has been running now for 16 years and takes in so many genres of an up and coming music scene from around the UK with previous acts have been the likes of Sam Fender, Self Esteem, Venus Grrrls, Maximo Park, Bob Vylan, Loose Articles, and Panic Shack to name a few. What makes this an event that brings a sell out crowd every year though, is its inclusion of so many different and varied musical styles, there is always something for every avid music fan to get the teeth into, and this year was no exception.  As you may or may not be aware, we are a site that brings (or tries to bring) predominantly Punk music to those who love it like we do, but what one person sees/hears as punk will not always be the same as another, its a broad church indeed, and thats why we love it so much. So having the opportunity too cover events like Stockton Calling and bring new names and old to your attention is something we will always endeavour to do, its music and the musical family that matters most to us.

So where do I start, at the beginning maybe I guess, well the very beginning meant grabbing the press entry which has always been afforded to us by the amazing organisers of this event every year, something we appreciate more than ever.  Joining other press and music fans for a kick off drink, and then off to our first venue and band of the day. Ku Bar is the first stop to see a local band that have grabbed attention more and more over the last year or two, Risco play Rock n Roll that dips it foot in Glam with an edge that never fails to send you away feeling sweaty and happy.  Its not long after this that we find ourselves in the bigger Georgian Theatre for the BBC North East Introducing stage take over introduced by local music legend Shakk, Alice Street open up this stage and blast us with some damn great Ska/Punk/Rock that you can dance and sing to like no one is watching.  

Such a long day ahead and within a couple of hours we are already heading through a busy High St to what is normally considered the main stage and hub for the whole event The Arc art and music centre to catch another prolific up and coming act, End Credits have what can only be described as an energy beyond most, a mix of 60’s/70’s psychedelia and straight up Rock n Roll, played to a pretty much full main stage area the look and sound was something to behold, a tightness that you can hear a feel. And here go again, across the road to yet another venue and yet another musical whirlwind of different lineage, Martha May And The Mondays are a force of nature from Glasgow, the band are like a musical perfectly tuned muscle car, but Martha on the other hand is a tornado ripping through the room at full power, a Celtic siren who demands attention and deserves it!, with the addition of the violin in the sound though, brings a wonderful folky softness around the edges.

Only five bands in and in the same venue its time for the Manchester Indie/Punk of The Sick Fix, this is a band I’ve seen previously and they impressed me, with a front man that will grow with time and a band that plays like they grew up together (they may have), a one to watch on the Punk/Indie scene for sure.  Now comes one of those left field moments that could bring you to something great or something not so great but always worth seeing/listening to, this time it’s in The Green Room probably the smallest of all seven but always snug and welcoming, a place to be up close and personal with Shannon Pearl a Witchcore artist with some pretty ethereal sounds that are beautiful yet filled with some damn hard emotion that frankly did hit the soul, we left after finding a new sound that we will definitely be back to soon hopefully.

I have to admit that festivals of this kind, the ones that start early and finish almost in the early hours are getting harder for the young at heart but no so young in body, but it’s just wonderful to know that you can still mix with people that have the same outlook no matter what their age, with this in mind we make our way back to The Social Room for a band that drop more energy than I could muster in a week in a less than 45 mins set, Family Battenberg bring their Welsh Indie/Rock to Stockton they leave the whole room in awe of music that apparently has been dubbed as “Spider Rock” but we would describe as raw and cathartic.

And talking about cathartic, another moment of strange yet beautiful coming right up back on the BBC Introducing stage in the Georgian Theatre with PollyFromTheDirt, a single artist with his electronic loops and acoustic guitar hiding behind a mask that felt like someone of reaching out from a place of shadows with songs that touched emotions and said more than was expected. After all that music and emotional stuff, food is needed and we are a simple few, so off to find something filling and set us up for the second half of the day, the choices a so many in the wonderful town, its not such a “shit hole” as one of those Tory idiots tried to say, its eclectic and great.

Half way or maybe a little over, we wander back to the hub of it all, a place that is staffed like everywhere on during this event with people who care and make it safe and easy to navigate great music.  We drop in for one song of Villanelle which is led by the son of a well known Manchester Gallagher, Liam I believe, not to our taste, but it was packed out. Then we get an unexpected treat, Lawn Chair have just started in Arc 2, this is Punk/Indie at its anarchic best, fronted by an even more chaotic than Martha May singer, who insists on leaving the stage to climb, crawl and dance amid the crowd, a performance that enhances the songs to a point of inclusion for everyone.

Damn this has been a ride, but its not over just yet, now comes a couple of bands that probably would never play together on the same bill, but at a festival they can both drop their music into willing ears and show just why events like this are so great, first up Soap Box who explode onto the stage at Arc 2 like a firecracker flung into the proceedings they hold the torch for punk, punk a the original end of the scale, this Glaswegian band do what punk should always do, never hold back and stand up against the shit stuff in the world. Then at the other end of the Punk scale and our last band of the day comes the break through band of this year, a band that have been one (and whether you like them or not, you must agree) of the most hard working and driven acts for the past 6 years or so The Molotovs, in fact the 1st time they crossed my path was at Stockton Calling around 2022/3 at the bottom of the bill, now they are headlining The Social Room to a packed out crowd. This is Pop Punk with a mod edge to it, the sibling duo backed by a monster drummer show just how leaving everything on stage should go down, and go down with huge excitement they did, everyone left happy and damn well entertained.

If you’ve made it to the end of this review without falling at the wayside, then you have passed the ultimate test of endurance, thats how us old people feel at the end of an epic day like this, but also you have hopefully heard and realised that Stockton Calling 2027 might just be an early in the year festival you could plan for. Hope to see you all next year!

Keep up do date on Stockton Calling Festival 2027 here