Evolution Festival 2008

• The Evolution Festival, which is an urban music festival in Newcastle and Gateshead, returns this year with its strongest line-up yet.
  
  The festival takes place over four days in May and will see Newcastle and Gateshead showcase some of the finest musical talent from home and abroad. In addition to this, the festival will also provide a platform for some great local bands with a talent night at Northumbria University showcasing the cream of local talent.
  
  As well as live music, the four-day festival will also feature a series of industry seminars, including one with former EMI chairman and CEO, Tony Wadsworth, which will be called ‘Whats happened to the record industry?' All seminars are free, although advanced booking is advised as places are limited.
  
  The highlight of the four-day festival will be 3volution, an outdoor event that takes place across two stages at Spillers Wharf and Baltic Square on Bank Holiday Monday 26th May between 12pm and 11pm. The organisers of this year's 3volution Festival have promised an even wider variety of musical styles than ever, so visitors are sure to be in for a real treat.
  
  Some of the bands performing at this year's 3volution event include huge established acts such as Kate Nash, who won a Brit award this year, The Streets, CSS and the hotly-tipped Duffy, whose single ‘Mercy' was a smash-hit this year. You'll also be able to see a whole host of up-and-coming bands such as Glasvegas, the Lightspeed Champion, The Whip, This Aint Vegas, Does It Offend You Yeah and Hercules and Love Affair among others.
  
  This enormous gig was formerly known as Freevolution. However, the £3 entry fee that will be charged this year in order to raise funds for charity Wateraid has led organisers to rename the festival, 3volution.
  
  In addition to this large outdoor gig, there will also be 10 shows staged in six different indoor venues throughout Newcastle and Gateshead, including The Cluny and Digital in Newcastle and The Sage in Gateshead. Those playing will include 92-year-old David Honeyboy Edwards, who is a Grammy award winner and arguably the most experienced performer at the festival. Mercury Music prize-nominated folk singer Seth Lakeman will also perform at The Sage that weekend, while The Blackbyrds, a jazz-funk ensemble from Washington DC, and French DJs Ivan Smagghe and Brodinski are a few of the global artists that will be performing live.
  
  Source:
  
  BBC