Sunderland

OLIVIA Lawson is aiming to reach for the stars in a national competition. The 15-year-old, from The Broadway, Sunderland, has sailed through to the area final of the prestigious Live and Unsigned contest, a country-wide search to unearth new talent. She impressed with a performance of a track from musical Miss Saigon as well a [...]

ONE of the best indie bands to break into the mainstream in 2011 are set to round off an amazing year with a triumphant homecoming gig. Frankie and The Heartstrings emerged from the same Sunderland scene which produced The Futureheads, Golden Virgins and Field Music. Formed in 2008 by frontman Frankie Francis and guitarist Michael [...]

Its time to TAKE THAT and Party! Gary Barlow, Robbie William, Mark Owen, Howard Donald and Jason Orange are gearing up for the first night of their record breaking ‘Progress Live Tour’ kicking off at the Stadium of Light tonight. Despite the excitement for the show, Howard says he is “nervous, as well,” where as, [...]

TAKE That will be joined by special guests Pet Shop Boys when their tour kicks off in Sunderland. The record-breaking act has announced it will be warming up the Stadium of Light crowd next month. Neil Tennant, who is from North Shields, and Chris Lowe, are the most successful duo in UK music history, racking up [...]

AWARD-WINNING pop star Paolo Nutini will take to the stage at the Sunderland Empire in a summer of music for the city. The Scottish singer-songwriter will perform in June – the same month that Take That, Kings of Leon and The Stranglers will entertain at city venues. Famed for his soulful sound, Paolo has announced [...]

A TEENAGER has taken her first steps to being crowned Miss Sunderland. Performing arts student Jennifer Foulds was named Miss Passion nightclub in the first heat of the beauty competition. The 17-year-old, from Grangetown, said: “They announced the winners in reverse order, and I really thought they had finished when suddenly he called my name. [...]

The University of Sunderland has taken gold in the contest to become the training base of choice for Grenada’s Olympic team in the run-up to the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic games. The successful selection comes just three months after a delegation from the Grenadian National Olympics Committee (GNOC) spent a day touring the university’s [...]

An exciting new project has launched in Sunderland which uses the power of sport to help people back into the workplace. The inaugural Street League Academy is an eight week course in which the participants have the chance to gain qualifications, volunteer opportunities and most importantly, rediscover the confidence and self-esteem to make a return [...]

IT may be a venue more used to jazz hands musicals, but last night chart-topper Alexandra Burke injected some diva glamour into the Sunderland Empire. Think Beyonce mixed with Diana Ross and you get some impression of the vocal acrobatics the X Factor starlet used to raise the roof at the Edwardian theatre. Few winners [...]

A student is over the moon after landing a prestigious art prize. The iconic image of man’s first landing on the moon proved the inspiration behind Alex Hedworth’s illustration. Sunderland University’s Alex beat hundreds of entries from across the UK to win first prize in this year’s AVA Academia creativity competition. Based on the theme [...]