A Stone’s Throw Festival is doing something most festivals can’t pull off. It turns an entire coastline into a venue.
Now in its fourth edition, the North Shields-based multi-venue music trail returns on Saturday, May 23rd, 2026, and it’s bringing its biggest lineup to date. Co-headlined by dark-pop force Luvcat and Manchester indie-electronic outfit Working Men’s Club, the bill is loaded with artists worth showing up for.
Belfast’s Chalk bring new music from their debut album to the stage. Welsh upstarts Panic Shack are on as special guests. Thrilling singer-songwriter Gia Ford is on the bill, as are alt-newcomer Imogen and the Knife and North Shields’ own Hector Gannet, alongside a deep roster of emerging regional talent.
The festival spans five distinct venues: The Exchange 1856, King Street Social Club, Salt Market Social, Three Tanners Bank, and The Engine Room. The Go North East bus service, included in the ticket price, shuttles wristband holders between stages all day. It’s a genuinely inventive setup, and it works.
Since debuting in 2022, A Stone’s Throw has hosted 150-plus artists across coffee shops, event warehouses, CBD dispensaries, and working men’s clubs transformed into live music spaces for the day. Previous editions have featured Shame, The Horrors, White Lies, Lanterns On The Lake, and Psychedelic Porn Crumpets, among many others.
Founder Anthony Thompson summed it up well: “This festival is rooted in place, community and discovery, and 2026 is shaping up to be another smash hit.”
Chalk are equally fired up heading into their set: “We can’t wait to play A Stone’s Throw Festival. It’s our first time back in the North East since Twisterella. We’ll be coming with new music from our debut album and looking forward to bringing it to the stage.”
The full lineup delivers real range, from established indie names to artists making serious noise right now. It’s a bill that rewards the curious.
Tickets are on sale now.