The Friday Night Club with The Unthanks
Discover. Enthuse. A proper Friday night out.
Hosted and curated by Tyneside music pioneers The Unthanks, this series brings together unexpected lineups, from local legends to the best touring artists. Don’t be surprised to find singers alongside poets, comedy followed by classical music or short films next to jazz sets.
Think of it like heading round to a friend’s on a Friday night – good company and music you didn’t expect but won’t forget. A space for discovery, conversation, and shared experience.
There’ll be surprises, singalongs, and even the playlist in the bar will be put together by the artists behind the evening.
Come curious – leave inspired!
This edition’s lineup features choral, post-rock and retro inspired band Ugly, cutting-edge collaborating composers Aidan O’Rourke and Graeme Stephen, genre-spanning songwriting experimentalist Me Lost Me and feminist folklore artist Lucy Wright.
Need to know
Need to know
Venue: Sage Two (cabaret with bleachers seating)
Price:£12.90 (under 30s) to £25.90
Stage times: announced closer to show date.
Age: Ages 14 and under must be accompanied by an adult.
Lead image illustration by Jon Mackay .
Who's on stage?
Ugly
Originally hailing from Cambridge, now residing in London – Ugly have been using downtime to craft a sound true to their own. One fusing inspiration from various backgrounds of Choral, Post-Rock and the staples of the 60s/70s. Ugly’s take on the writing process is unique and constantly moving forward. The sextet comprises Sam Goater (guitarist/vocalist), Jasmine Miller-Sauchella (Vocals/Keys), Tom Lane (Vocals/Synth) and Theo Guttenplan (Drums) Harrison Jones (Guitar) and Harry Shapiro (Vocals, Bass).
With tours with Black Country, New Road, multiple sell out shows across London and the release of their debut EP Twice Around The Sun under their belts Ugly are ready for their next chapter.
Aidan O'Rourke and Graeme Stephen
Aidan O’Rouke and Graeme Stephen are two award-winning Scottish musicians and composers who’ve completed a range of fascinating projects in their own rite and through collaborations. Including ones with each other.
Aidan O’Rourke grew up in an Irish family in Argyll and learned fiddle in the West Highland style. His roots are in Scottish and Irish music. And he’s been at the forefront of progressive, inventive traditional music for over four decades in groups including his trio Lau. Aidan’s also a successful curator and teacher.
Graeme Stephen’s also a guitarist, and improviser whose work spans jazz, contemporary classical music, folk, and free improvisation. With over 30 years of working internationally, and a PhD in Composition from the University of Edinburgh, Stephen’s developed a musical voice shaped by curiosity, harmonic imagination, and deep collaboration.
Me Lost Me
Newcastle-based artist Me Lost Me, aka Jayne Dent, delights in experimenting with songwriting. Soaring vocals meet atmospheric electronics that playfully push the boundaries of genre. You’ll find folk, art pop, noise, ambient and improvised music influences in her work.
She’s notably performed live for BBC Radio 3’s After Dark Festival and as part of the 2022 BBC Proms alongside Spell Songs, Royal Northern Sinfonia and the Voices of the Rivers Edge Choir. She received the prestigious Paul Hamlyn Foundation Award for Composers and was 2020-2021 Artist in Residence at Sage Gateshead.
Me Lost Me’s fourth full-length album, This Material Moment, was released June 2025 on Upset the Rhythm. It’s her most honest and vulnerable yet, akin to rummaging through a box of long-forgotten trinkets.
Lucy Wright
Lucy Wright uses visual art, performance, and critical writing to explore where folklore, feminism and social practice meet. Her projects often emerge from years of study into under-recognised and female-led traditions. Especially those associated with her own working-class upbringing in the north. The result? Art that provokes and serves as an invitation.
She challenges the exclusionary ideas of the past that often appear in folk. Aiming to reframe it as a form of modern resistance. Through working in and with existing folk practices, while also playfully inventing new ones—Wright’s work encourages viewers to reimagine the traditions we need today, to unite us.
Lucy’s a ‘hedge morris dancer’, author of the ‘Folk is a Feminist Issue’ manifesto, and originator of ‘Dusking’, a 100% invented tradition and annual participatory project for anyone who’s ever wanted to dance the sun down.
The Glasshouse Artistic Partners - The Unthanks
A group that have become one of the essential voices of our region over the last 20 years, The Unthanks excel in bringing new ears to traditional songs. The band inspire fans to learn more about the folk music and how it continues to evolve and reflect modern as well as traditional music in the North East.
