Tag Archives: Highlights

Stage Managing at Marrapalooza 2025

Last weekend I returned to the role of Stage Manager at Marrapalooza, an incredible grassroots multi-venue music festival run by David at Portions For Foxes. I was stationed at The Old Coal Yard where, in my personal opinion, the line-up of artists was best.

The Old Coal Yard is a great live music venue with a bar, space for darts, pool, and table football, and with a big stage and spacious dance floor made for the perfect backdrop for Marrapalooza! The day kicked off smoothly with fantastic local rock outfit Wild Spelks, man-with-guitar Withered Hand mesmerised with soft songs, Melanie Baker brought her story telling alt rock tracks in stripped back form with guitarist John Evans, after we picked up the pace and volume with Fast Blood, All Girls Arson Club, Soapbox, Knives, and headliner Native James!

A personal favourite, if I had to choose one, would be Soapbox, who I’ve seen support Snayx in Newcastle before, and they once again delivered on a blinding live set to which I am now undeniably addicted to. Hopefully the band will make their return to the north east soon, on a bigger stage without a doubt, as they are soon off to the Netherlands for sets at its biggest and best music festival; Lowlands, and Left Of The Dial this October.

A new favourite would be alt-rep artist Native James, who blew my expectations out of the water with an explosive set and tracks still ringing in my ears. A bit of hip-hop. grime, punk, metal, and garage, because he couldn’t possibly fit any more genres into his sound, a pleasure to watch and listen to! It was a joy working with such a great team of artists and professionals from across the country, and hopefully we’ll all be back together again for a next iteration of Marrapalooza!

Stage Managing at Stockton Calling 2025

Stockton’s musical highlight of the year is without a doubt Stockton Calling, which is the all-day music festival that makes every Easter weekend a memorable one. This year I intended to attend and review as I usually do, however things turned out a little differently when I got the request to manage the stage at The Social Room, to which I simply couldn’t say no.

This bright and spacious venue became an instant favourite as soon as it opened its doors above Stockton’s iconic KU Bar. Brightly coloured walls, a floor like a chess board, a wide stage and two well-equipped dressing rooms make for a comfortable space to be in whether you’re a music fan, an artist, or a stage manager. With a fantastic sound engineer, light engineer, and team of staff working at the venue, it was always going to be a wonderful day.

Despite the fact that I was working instead of attending, being stationed at one venue makes a multi-venue festival that bit less stressful, knowing where I’m supposed to be at all times. It also meant that I got to see and work with nine incredible acts who were all very professional and so very talented. I have added the latest releases by The Ransoms, Camel Island, North Riding, M60, Currls, Alien Chicks, Adult DVD, Hungry, and The Paddingtons to the playlist linked below!

There really is nothing quite like discovering new musical talents, while being paid to take care of their every need, and helping a fantastic local festival run smoothly.