Marra Fest 2 @ The Peacock (Sunderland)
28/2/25
The second and hopefully soon-to-be-annual Marra Fest took place on Friday the 28th of February at The Peacock, Sunderland. It's a festival curated by Sunderland's own Serial Bowl Records. Tickets were £8 on the door and all proceeds went towards the Pawz For Thought animal rescue and rehoming charity based in North Hylton, Sunderland.
The short and sweet fest would feature Jim Thoroughgood, Cherry and Peesh, Monkeys Blood and would be headlined by House Proud - who's debut single is fittingly titled "Rescue Dog" after their frontman Ben's rescue dog, Alfie.
A merch table filled with CD's, badges, books and shirts sits tucked inside the entrance atop the spiral stairs. Two banners adorn the wall behind the stage: a Serial Bowl Records banner and the other one underneath reads 'Football Lads & Lasses Against Fascism' - F.L.A.F. One of the sound guys for the night, at the back of the room, wears a 'Black Flag' hoodie. Lights - courtesy of a mirrorball - spin around in circles on the Peacock's dancefloor. A dog dressed in a red jacket roams around. The bass-drum on stage reads: Serial Bowl Records D.I.Y. or Die. An air vent above the dancefloor gently blows decorative lanterns into one another. A wide range of people of all ages and all walks of life is apparent.
The night got underway with Jim Thoroughgood.
Jim Thoroughgood - 19:30
"Good evening." Jim Thoroughgood on his one and only opens his set. He wears a funky shirt - puzzle pieces and skeletons decorate his fit. He works his way through a poetical piece. The crowd become dead silent once they realise they're on the receiving end of a sharp intellect.
'Silence is the enemy. Tik-tok-tik-tok. I'm counting down the revolution.'
Other sentiments traversed along the opening piece follow the lines of 'There's one war. Class war.'
The acoustic guitar is brought to life after the poem. A heartfelt song, once again political in nature. Themes of togetherness and rejection of a ruling class - we are one under the Sun. It will be a strong theme of Thoroughgood's performance
'It's a class war, cradle to grave.'
"Thank you very much! This is a song called 'Red'." The Peacock's lights paint Thoroughgood in a deep red hue. His guitar is plastered in stickers. 'Red' comes to a close and Thoroughgood takes a sip of his pint. Said pint is positioned on a holder attached to the mic stand. A handy mechanism for quick sips!
"This one's called 'Chains of Empire'."
'It's a cancer in the zeitgeist of our time. We can't shake off these chains of empire. The puppet pageantry pantomime.'
Thoroughgood weaves in political pieces in between songs. 'I'm not racist, but....' a piece on the mindset which separates differences and furthers the gap between human beings.
Thoroughgood moves into his next track 'The Tide Turns'.
It features the lyrics of: 'just remember, you can kill the dreamer, you can never kill the dream.'
The tattoos on Thoroughgood's fingers read: S T A Y F R E E. He has a booming, commanding - though ultimately friendly - voice.
photo courtesy of Scott from the Black Rain.
"Chuck a few quid towards a CD. There's all sorts over there. It all goes towards Pawz for Thought."
Thoroughgood tells us of a dream he once had involving a mechanical bull and another involving Michael Jackson in Seaham.
A sing-song is had: 'Sing a song of revolution. Sing a song of revolution tonight.'
Thoroughgood ends his set with the words: 'Sing a song of who we choose to be. Sing the songs that define you and me.'
Cherry and Peesh - 20:30
Leslie seems to have gone missing. "This is a song dedicated to Lesley. This is 'Punk Mum'. THERE SHE IS!" Lesley turns up just in time.
Peesh is adorned in red flannel and plays a cherry red guitar. Red is quite a strong colour theme so far.
We're gifted with another poem! One about turning 60: "Lesley, I wrote this for you!" It turns out to be Lesley’s 60th birthday.
Lesley receives a 'Happy Birthday' song from Marra Fest attendees.
"On with the show." says Peesh.
"Any Mods here today? This song's about a Mod that I was married to. It's called 'Married to a Mod'."
As the track comes to a close, Cherry speaks on her favourite aspect of writing songs: "It's nice to get revenge on those that wronged you. That's what song-writing's all about. Don't let them tell you any different."
We're on the receiving end of yet another poem! Cherry mentions a song by Gil-Scott Heron - ''B' Movie' - which makes reference to the fact that we vote for who we know.
Peesh adds a Pop-Punky twist to ‘Lady Cocaine’ as he covers chorus duties.
Described as "a picnic with racist bastards", Cherry and Peesh play 'Bigot's Banquet'.
A John Cooper Clarke piece is somewhat covered - moreso transposed to song. Cherry taps her heels side-to-side as she sings.
"Keep being who you are. They'll tell you to be sensible - fuck thaaaat."
Cherry and Peesh close out on 'Yesterday's kids'. "You can't take our youth away from us." is the main takeaway.
Jim Thoroughgood brought the message of "stay free". Cherry and Peesh bring the message of "stay young".
Monkeys Blood - 21:10
Three-piece Monkeys Blood bring with them the first bit of percussion of the night. Peesh, having shed his red flannel and now playing a black guitar, returns with Monkeys Blood. The pace is quickened as the noise is heightened.
The opening song comes to a close as the drummer fixes his hi-hat.
"We don't usually have a gap in between songs. A slight drum malfunction. Punk Rock 'n all."
One attendee is throwing absolute limbs. He makes sure his camera is well looked after. Mohawks and spiked hair isn't an uncommon sight. It's a definite night of Punk-fuelled energy and ethos.
The band rip through their set. The bassist, with his long and dark hair, has a mean demeanour. Low tones ring out long after the songs end. You can feel it deep within your soul. It resonates with a chaotic spirit.
photo courtesy of Scott from The Black Rain.
The bands logo seems to be a monkey's head on a wafer cone topped, as one would only expect, with ice-cream. There's not much time to speak, or explain, between songs. This is certainly what Peesh was alluding to after the first track. There's barely time for the band to soak up the applause. They just want to play.
Peesh uncannily resembles Henry Rollins.
The limb-throwing attendee now throws down at the front of the stage as he simultaneously takes pictures. Multi-tasking at its finest. He loves it!
Monkeys Blood's drummer manoeuvres with a lot of head movements. He could be a bit stiff from the neck up in the morning - it's better than from the neck down, I guess.
Throbbing bass and feedback see out Monkeys Blood's set.
House Proud - 22:00
House Proud get gig ready. Brief swells of chirpy feedback and bass rings out as they get setup. Rescue dog Alfie makes his first appearance of the night through a banner that the band place over one of their speakers - he's a mascot of sorts, a fifth member of the band.
House Proud open with 'Barber'. The band are beginning to play around with their material - a sign of progression and forwards movement, a restless need for more.
"Hello everybody."
Two things are guaranteed at a House Proud gig: class tunes and Scott of The Black Rain - a gig attendee at pretty much all House Proud performances in Sunderland - being front and centre.
Frontman Ben dons a 'Mobb Deep' jumper. A musical tie which I would never have put together.
"We're all here for a good cause and a birthday party. Up the Vault. This is a new one."
The track bolsters a very wide sound. It tickles your ribs. It's home to the lyrics: 'You got to let it go, you got to breathe it in.'
photo courtesy of, you guessed it, Scott from The Black Rain.
The band dip into 'Dead Eagle'. The lads are adding crazy elements - like musical seasoning - to their "older" songs. It keeps them fresh - to us, and most importantly, to them.
"I'll tell you what. It's frickin' warm. This is our new single. Is there any farmers here? Is there a farm in Sunderland?"
House Proud perform their second official single released on Serial Bowl Records - 'Farmers'.
During the performance, Monkeys Blood's drummer takes videos of the band. The sound guy pumps his fist to the refrains of 'They never, they never...'
"This is a new song. I hope you enjoy it."
It's another huge one. Two women dance connected by a single hand near the stage. They've caught the limb-throwing bug. Rory plays primarily with his back to the audience, facing Cole on drums - they must be telepathically getting things just right. Rory strums all four bass strings of his bass guitar - that explains the hugeness of the track. The four lads are seriously locked-in. Tight-knit and kinetic. 'Farmers' comes to an end and James takes a quick moment to thank the warmup acts, Serial Bowl and Marra Fest.
"Important question: Is there a rescue dog in the room? There is?!? Get him up!!" The dog in the red jacket - who I later find out is named Reg - is brought on stage.
Ben and Reg. photo courtesy of *drum roll please* Scott from The Black Rain.
"This is our last song."
Drummer Cole has a quick stretch before getting down to business.
House Proud dip into yet another new track and close their final song with ear-worming feedback. Pints are held up high from the back of the room as a gesture of respect.
A great night for a great cause.
Sunderland is a music city.
