Warehouse bangers and future stars: A Stone’s Throw 2026 hits its stride
With Working Men’s Club, Chalk and Luvcat leading the charge, A Stone’s Throw 2026 delivers another packed day of future stars.
As a May heatwave settles over the UK and festival season lurches back into life, the North East finds itself spoilt for choice. While Radio 1’s Big Weekend dominates Sunderland, A Stone’s Throw has already firmly established itself as the region’s go-to showcase for emerging talent. Four editions in, the multi-venue festival continues to thrive on sharp curation and genuine discovery.
After a slight delay caused by technical difficulties - a rite of passage for any local venue - Smith & Liddle emerge through the haze at Saltmarket with a set full of sun-kissed charm to kick off the day. Their retro-indebted indie-pop leans heavily into warm harmonies and jangling hooks, with the duo’s chemistry carrying an effortlessly likeable opening performance.
Burnout quickly raise the temperature next door, throwing themselves headfirst into punchy pop-punk despite only releasing their debut single, ‘Dead to Me’, earlier this year. The sound may feel nostalgically familiar, but the energy is infectious enough to win over a room of new converts.
Formal Sppeedware prove far harder to pin down. Somewhere between synth-pop, jazz-rock and controlled chaos, the trio’s off-kilter rhythms and shrieking vocals demand attention rather than easy understanding. It’s a lot to digest, but to do so is to have a good time.
Up at The Engine Room, Beattie delivers one of the day’s most emotionally affecting sets. Backed by sharp emo-rock songwriting and a vulnerable lyrical core, tracks unpack anxiety, codependency and complicated relationships with striking clarity. Barely a year into releasing music, she already possesses the kind of emotional precision many artists spend decades chasing. With momentum building quickly, this feels like catching an artist before the inevitable breakthrough.
Charlie Floyd, meanwhile, looks increasingly comfortable stepping into his own spotlight. A familiar face across North East venues for years, his recent solo material has refined that experience into something more reflective and expansive. At The Exchange, the North Shields songwriter leans into the stripped-back intimacy of this new chapter, with room-swaying highlights like ‘Stay’; joined today by Rowena, dubbed the “Queen of Manchester”. Floyd’s songwriting continues to deepen with every release, and the growing crowds following him around the region feel fully deserved.
Chartreuse bring a quieter intensity to The Exchange. The Midlands outfit’s melancholy-tinged indie-country sound feels immersive rather than immediate, with Mike Wagstaff and Hattie Wilson trading understated yet transportive vocals. Tracks like ‘Keep Checking Up on Me’ turn deeply personal details into something expansive and universal.
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