Charlie Floyd’s headline show at Three Tanners Bank on Saturday 9 May looks like the right sort of next step. Not because it needs dressing up as a big breakthrough moment, but because it feels like the point where things are starting to tighten into focus a bit more. He has already had a strong run as a solo artist, but this one sounds different. This is the first official headline date of his year, and from the way he talks about it, it is the night where people start to hear more clearly what he has actually been building towards. Doors are listed for 7pm.
That matters, because Charlie Floyd is at his best when things feel like they are moving rather than sitting still. He describes each headline show as the point where he is ready to show what he has been hiding away, and by the time they come around, the music usually reflects a different version of where he is as an artist and as a person. There is something good in that. It means the show is not just another date in the diary. It feels like a marker.
“I think moving onward to Three Tanners Bank is an exciting step,” he says. “Especially this venue, I love the Fish Quay and North Shields music scene. It really is special.”
That comes through quite naturally in the way he talks about the night. The earlier headline shows at Oxygenic clearly meant a lot to him, not just because they happened, but because of the crowd that formed around them. He talks about those gigs as something communal, somewhere people could come out, hear live music and feel part of something. This next one feels like an extension of that rather than a reset. Same artist, same push, just carried into a different room and a different part of the coast.
Musically, Charlie still is not the sort of artist who makes much sense boxed into one neat line, which is probably part of the appeal. Guitar music sits at the centre of what he does, but there is more going on than that. The songwriting pulls from classic indie and rock, while the arrangement and production lean into the influence of hip hop, alternative music and artists more interested in texture and movement. His own version of it is simpler: “groovy and melodic.” That is probably the cleanest way of putting it.
That blend sounds like it has become clearer in the newer material too. Charlie says his debut EP was an attempt to experiment with those influences, but from “Stay” onwards, he feels like he has properly captured them in his own style. That is one of the reasons this show feels worth paying attention to. It does not sound like a night built around replaying what people already know. It sounds like a first proper look at what comes next.
He describes “Stay” as a kind of palette cleanser — stripped back, giving the performance and songwriting more room, and opening up another side of what he does. That track may have felt more vulnerable by the time it came out, but it also seems to have cleared space for the next batch of songs to land harder. If this show does what it sounds like it is supposed to do, people will leave with a much clearer idea of the version of Charlie Floyd that is taking shape now.
There is some weight behind that too. Floyd was named one of BBC Introducing North East’s Ones to Watch for 2026, which he says gave him “every ounce of rocket fuel” he needed going into the year. It is the sort of recognition that can go one of two ways, but he sounds like someone who has taken it as fuel rather than pressure. He even says that pressure suits him — that he likes having a platform to fail or succeed, and that it is when he feels most confident.
Live, the show should have a bit of force to it. Charlie will be joined by Thomas Seagrave on bass, Jude Connor on guitar, Luc Hindmarch on drums and Genesis Gonzales on percussion, and he says the newer material leans more openly into his rock and indie upbringing. He is also especially excited about playing the unreleased “Get Up,” a song he calls one of his favourites and one he is being careful with in the studio. That alone gives the night something extra for anyone already following him closely.
Just as importantly, he still talks about the live side of this project in a way that feels inviting. Not overly polished, not overthought, just someone who genuinely wants people to come down and be part of it. He wants people to leave feeling like they have found another North Shields artist worth backing, and he is clearly proud of the kind of crowd these shows have been drawing too. That says a lot. There is ambition there, but it has not come at the expense of warmth.
So no, this is not just another hometown headline date. It feels more like the point where things begin to stretch a bit further. A bigger room, a strong band, unreleased songs, and an artist who sounds ready to put a clearer version of himself in front of people. That is usually where the best gigs start.
Charlie Floyd plays Three Tanners Bank, North Shields, on Saturday 9 May. Doors are listed for 7pm, with support from Joe Bartley and Robyn Banks. The event is listed as 16+, with under-18s to be accompanied by an adult.