City music festival celebrates 10th anniversary

An annual music festival which mixes big acts with community artists is celebrating its 10th anniversary.

Sunderland's Summer Streets Festival started off as part of Cultural Spring, a programme designed to get more people involved in the arts.

It has grown into a standalone event and this year will be taking place at Cliffe Park in Roker this weekend.

The festival's founder, Ross Millard, said Summer Streets was a chance to enjoy live music while giving families the chance to "pick up an instrument" for the first time.

"The idea of the festival was always the same, to have established headline artists with more emerging and community performers," Mr Millard said.

"Sunderland is one of those places where there are lots of small organisations beavering away. Summer Streets Festival is a good conversion point to bring those organisations together to show what is going on in the city."

The festival has grown over the last 10 years, but Mr Millard said it had faced challenges, such as the Covid-19 pandemic.

"We did keep the festival going throughout that period, although it morphed into something different," he said.

To keep the event going during lockdown, Summer Streets created the Festival in Your House, using recordings with artists which people could watch at home.

It also relied more on its YouTube channel and launched a quiz.

But despite surviving the pandemic, Mr Millard said organising the festival was still "extremely precarious".

"There is no guarantee that because it is here this year it will be here next year, which is the case with arts events these days," he said.

"It's about making the case to the council about the value of these events."

This year's line-up includes acts such as Field Music, Royal Northern Sinfonia, Sunderland Empire Academy Singers and festival favourites Dilutey Juice.

Those wanting to try their hand at playing an instrument will be able to take part in music workshops run by Sunderland Music Hub.

England's Euros match against Switzerland will also be shown live on a big screen.

But for Mr Millard, one of the highlights of this year's festival will be Tom A. Smith's set on Sunday.

"He's a local lad and it is his first headline event," he said.

"I think it is going to be a really big moment."

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