Everything You Need To Know About… Aelius Alternative
Our guide to brand-new music festival Aelius Alternative
It’s always exciting when a new festival arrives to energise the North East's live music scene, especially when the focus is on new and upcoming bands who might not get seen elsewhere.
Aelius Alternative is exactly that and set to bring a whole host of fresh musical talent to the city this April, so we spoke to the organisers to get the lowdown on what they have planned for the day.
What is Aelius Alternative?
Aelius Alternative is a brand-new day-long festival taking place in Newcastle across four venues and five stages. In the words of the team behind the festival:
“The aim of Aelius Alternative is to bring together those that might not usually get booked for festivals, but are incredibly talented. We are hoping to bring the local scene together and collaborate with local promoters, artists, and businesses, because we believe that we're all stronger when we're working together! We think that once several inner city festivals disappeared, there was a gap in the market that could be filled, and we decided to step in and showcase what the North East has to offer, besides also offering a stage to emerging artists from out of town, that might not always get a chance to play in a city such as Newcastle!”
When is Aelius Alternative?
Aelius Alternative takes place on April 6th, running from 2.30pm to 3am.
Where is it taking place?
The festival is taking place at four venues: Head Of Steam on Neville Street, Mosaic Tap, The Globe (both upstairs and downstairs) and a comedy stage, hosted by Howl Comedy Club at The Forth.
Which acts are playing the festival?
The line-up is an impressive mixture of local underground names and a few bands booked from out of town that the organisers are happy to get back to the Newcastle stage (such as Gemma Gates, Jupiter Strange, Ed Cosens, and Megan Black). Some of the most exciting acts due to appear are Swine Tax, James Leonard Hewitson, Jenny Lascelles and Nadedja. The full line-up is here.
How much are tickets?
Tickets for the festival are £17 plus booking fee, or £20 to include the after-party. You can get them here.
What’s happening at the after-party?
The Aelius Alternative ‘early after-party’ is taking place at Mosaic Tap with DJ $lick King, but then the main after-party is at The Globe after the bands have finished. The Nightbreed DJs will be doing their goth-rock thing downstairs while upstairs there’s going to be a sixties / rock’n’roll night.
With its multi-venue set-up and exciting, varied line-up of upcoming bands, Aelius Alternative is a fine addition to the city's musical landscape and a fine way to spend a Saturday, taking in some of the most interesting bands the region has to offer. To find out more and book tickets visit www.aeliusaltfest.com.
All photos by Elvira Morris
