Gan On (not Ganon)

The second Gan On of the year is now officially out. This has been a labour of love and a lot of work that started as soon as the last one was released. Gan On as a whole has grown immensely since the February edition — the team has increased, and we’re finding a lot more people know and recognise the name which is great! It all came together with massive thanks to the whole team and everyone who has shown support, and I’m incredibly proud of it all. AND don’t forget about our launch event at Independent on Wednesday. This is a free event thanks to the support of @wemakeculture , we’ll be having a panel discussion, and musical performances from bands Swindled and Claudia, as well as solo artists Callum O’Neil, and Aimee. I’d love to see lots of friendly faces there so come along and grab a copy of the new issue (and some brand new merch👀) while you’re there. Lots of love, hope you enjoy the new edition, it’s available to pick up in all the cool places in Sunderland x Front cover image by @akennedyphotographer

GAN ON IS HOSTING IT’S FIRST EVER EVENT We’re so excited for this one! In conjunction with the release of our May print issue we’re having a lovely launch event to celebrate all the work everyone has put into the magazine since we relaunched the print this year. It’ll be a great chance to see some of our favourite local bands and musicians live, who will all feature in some way or other in the May edition. We’ll also have a panel full of people who have been involved with Gan On — whether it be from the very beginning or more recently, but who all have their own things going on in the local music scene — and they will be speaking about how they’re involved in the mag and all the ways Gan On helps local creatives, as well as how to get involved. Entry is completely FREE as we want it to be accessible to everyone but we do ask that if you’re planning on coming down that you secure your spot via the free ticket link, so we know how many to expect. We hope to see all of you there, and if you can’t make it then please share around to anyone you know who might be interested in coming or learning more about Gan On and what we do. Big thanks to @independentlive_ for hosting us as well as @wemakeculture for all their support through the Future Music Leaders programme, we couldn’t have done it without you. So, who’s coming? ❤️🤍

All these cool people and bands love Gan On and have their copies already! If you want to be cool like them, you can get your own copy from one of our stockists listed in the highlights on our page, or you can read it online. Did a little restock this week as a few places have already reached out to say they’re running low or have none left, which means they’re FLYING off the shelves! Not too shabby for the first issue back, in fact I’ve already started preparing for the May issue 👀 📸 @kw.visualss #sunderland #northeast #ganon #sunderlandmusic

We had a great night on Wednesday at the launch for our second issue of the year! @aimeec.music @callum.oneil.music @claudiawinkleband and @swindledofficial all delivered incredible performances and we heard some great insights from our panel: @kw.visualss @the_black_rain_band @milly.ln @ebsonyx @crispythompson A great big thank you to everyone who came and showed support, it means so much to us, and to the music scene, that people show up for events and projects like these, and it just goes to show how strong and supportive our local scene is. Hopefully we’ll be able to do more things like this in the future (Gan On fest, anyone) and keep shining a light on as much as we possibly can. A big thank you also to @wemakeculture @independentlive_ @philjax96 @benrichardson___ as none of this would’ve been possible without you, and to all the Gan On contributors as well. We hope you’re all enjoying the new issue, make sure to pick yours up if you haven’t yet! Pics 2-8 by @lucyshlds @shybairnsmedia

Part 3: I visited @ottosunderland and spoke to @ganonsun editor @jennybeans about the secret music festival in #sunderland We now know that @hugeweekend will be at @the_ship_isis , so I’ll soon visit there to find out more

Your chance to win some FREE Gan On merch! Our event is just over a week away and we’re giving you all the chance to win some brand new merch that hasn’t even been revealed to the public yet👀 To win a FREE t-shirt (choice between two designs) all you need to do is… • like this post • share to your story • send us a screenshot of your (free) event ticket confirmation Head to independentsunderland.com or click the link in our bio to get your ticket. You can still enter even if you’ve already got your ticket! The winner will be chosen at random and announced on the night, but the winner must be in attendance to claim the prize. One entry per person. Good luck!

Aelius festival mini vlog, interviews coming soon, although if you were tuned into the Tuesday Lunchtime show on @sparksunderland on Tuesday you would have already heard one👀 This was a great day, thank you @aeliusaltfest for having us 💙🤍

Did a cheeky little Q&A at Stockton Calling the other week to find out who everyone was most excited to see on the lineup, and where does the best pints of course (is it spoons?) If you were at the festival, who was your favourite band of the day? 🩷🪩 Had 3 different cameraman over the course of this video so thank you Ben, Baker, and Si 📸 @stocktoncalling

Gan On went to Stockton Calling 2026, and we had a great day. Despite the storm we had a wonderful time watching loads of acts over 7 different stages, and we got to chat with a few of them. Thank you @stocktoncalling for having us, we’ll be back next year! Keep an eye out for more content from the day coming very soon.

Stockton Calling this Saturday! We can’t wait to see all the class bands and artists playing, and there’s still tickets left. More than 60 acts over seven stages so well worth it, gonna be a class day, get yasel down

Lucy spoke to Callum O’Neil after his very first headline show at The Ship Isis on Friday, to launch his brand new single Useless Time. Have you listened to it yet? Review of the gig by Scott Hays is up on our website to read now! #sunderland #northeast #localmusic #northeastartist

Courtney Barnett live at Independent [29/03/2026] @courtneybarnett @independentlive_ #CourtneyBarnett #Australia #music #alternative #indie