Times Square is going to be busy this May, with five open-air events lined up across the Newcastle city centre space.
The run starts on Friday 22 May and stretches across the bank holiday weekend, before finishing the following Saturday with TRICK Newcastle: Patrick Topping All Day Long. It is not one single festival as such. More a run of big outdoor events using the same square in different ways: indie singalongs one night, daytime disco the next, then country, K-Pop and a full-scale electronic takeover.
That mix might look a bit all over the place on paper. In practice, that is probably the point. Times Square works best when it is turned into a proper city-centre event space, not just somewhere you pass on the way to somewhere else.
The first event is Great British Tribute Fest 2026 on Friday 22 May, running from 5pm to 11pm. The event is billed as Newcastle’s indie and Brit rock singalong, with tribute performances covering acts including Sam Fender, Oasis, Arctic Monkeys, Blur and Gerry Cinnamon.
It is the kind of night built for a bank holiday crowd. Big choruses, familiar songs, and the sort of outdoor set-up where people do not need much convincing once the first anthems start. It is tribute-led, so it is obviously not the place for discovery in the grassroots sense, but it does give Times Square a loud, easy opening night.
On Saturday 23 May, the square changes mood with Day Fever Open Air, the daytime disco created by Vicky McClure. The event is being promoted as a daytime party built around 90s and 00s nostalgia, indie dancefloor classics, rock anthems and soul singalongs.
That has become its own thing now: people wanting the big night-out feel without it turning into a 2am finish. For Times Square, it makes sense. A city-centre outdoor party, done in the daytime, with the station, bars and food spots all close by. Simple, but probably very effective.
Then on Sunday 24 May, it is over to The Road to Nashville, which runs from 12pm to 10pm at Times Square. The event is billed as a full country festival, with live tributes, southern flavours and an all-day Nashville-style set-up.
This one feels like the most themed of the weekend. It is not just a gig with a country playlist around it. It looks more like a full-day outdoor event, which should give the square a different look and crowd again after the Friday and Saturday events.
Bank Holiday Monday brings K-Pop Live to Times Square on Monday 25 May. The event has been promoted as part of the same Times Square run, giving the weekend a younger and more family-friendly ending after three bigger party days.
It is also a reminder that Times Square does not have to be used for one type of audience. In the space of four days, it goes from Brit rock tributes to daytime disco, country and K-Pop. That is quite a shift, but it keeps the run from feeling like the same event with a different poster.
The final event in the May run comes on Saturday 30 May, when TRICK Newcastle: Patrick Topping All Day Long takes over Times Square. The event runs from 4pm to 11pm, bringing a full day and evening of electronic music to the city-centre space.
That gives the run a bigger finish after the bank holiday weekend. The earlier dates lean into crowd-pleasers, themed days and nostalgia, while the final Saturday moves Times Square into a large-scale electronic event setting.
Across the five dates, the strength of the Times Square run is in how different each event feels. Friday leans into big indie and Britpop singalongs, Saturday goes for daytime disco, Sunday turns the square into a country-themed event, Monday brings K-Pop energy, and the following Saturday closes the run with a full-scale electronic takeover.
It is not a run built for one single audience, and that is probably what makes it work. Times Square can feel like a pass-through on an ordinary day, but when it is used properly, it gives Newcastle a ready-made outdoor event space right in the middle of the city.
There is something slightly strange, but quite good, about Times Square as a venue. It is not hidden away. It is not out in a field. It is right there beside the Centre for Life, close to Central Station, with the city moving around it. When it is empty, it can feel like somewhere you cross through. When it is full, it can feel like Newcastle has suddenly built a festival site in the middle of town.
That is why this kind of run is worth paying attention to. Not every event is going to be for everyone. Some people will look straight at the tribute night. Some will be there for Day Fever. Some will only care about the country day, the K-Pop event, or the electronic finale. But across the five dates, Times Square is being used as a flexible open-air space, and Newcastle could do with more of that.
A bank holiday weekend can disappear quickly if it is only built around the same few nights out. This gives people options. Singalongs on the Friday. A daytime dancefloor on the Saturday. Country on the Sunday. K-Pop on the Monday. Then one more big Newcastle night the following weekend.
Not neat. Not quiet. Probably not subtle either.
But Times Square is not really built for subtle.
Times Square Newcastle’s May run includes:
Friday 22 May – Great British Tribute Fest 2026
Saturday 23 May – Day Fever Open Air
Sunday 24 May – The Road to Nashville
Monday 25 May – K-Pop Live
Saturday 30 May – TRICK Newcastle: Patrick Topping All Day Long
More information and tickets:
https://www.evntlive.co.uk/