Idle Hands, Central Arcade & Stageminus Set for Three-Band Showcase at The Grove

Idle Hands, Central Arcade and Stageminus each get an extended set as a three-band showcase comes to The Grove, Newcastle on 28 October 2026.

September 13, 2026

Idle Hands, Central Arcade and Stageminus come together at The Grove in Newcastle on Wednesday 28 October 2026 for a three-band night presented by SJL Historian. Doors open at 7pm.

It is a strong midweek bill for anyone following the guitar bands coming through Newcastle and the wider northern scene, with two North East acts joined by visitors from Leeds.

Idle Hands return to The Grove

Newcastle four-piece Idle Hands have been building momentum around the North East since forming in 2022. Joe Currey, Jude Connor, Harrison Brown and Evan Adamson combine alternative rock with shoegaze textures, but their current live set shows how the band’s sound has continued to develop.

For anyone whose introduction to Idle Hands has come through their existing Spotify releases, Bullets and See It Big give a better indication of where they are now. Both capture the feistier, heavier direction of the band while retaining the atmospheric edge that remains part of their sound. There is also material in the set that has not yet made it onto streaming services, including the unreleased Overtime, which has regularly closed their live shows.

With around 45 minutes to work with at The Grove, this should be an opportunity to hear much more of that current version of Idle Hands than a shorter support slot would normally allow.

Central Arcade join the bill

Central Arcade should also benefit from the showcase format, with the Newcastle band getting the opportunity to play a much more substantial set than audiences may previously have seen from them.

Their sound draws on indie and alternative rock, combining driving guitars, punchy rhythms and a rawer edge with plenty of energy on stage. There’s an intensity to their performances that suits a live setting, with the band capable of shifting between more controlled passages and bigger, harder-hitting moments.

They’ve also had plenty of new material to draw from in 2026, including the No Place To Be EP. Tracks such as Cane, Banshee and Liar In The Heart have helped build out the band’s catalogue, while Solace shows another side to what they’re doing.

With around 45 minutes to work with, they’ll have room to develop those different sides of their sound and show more of what they can do rather than squeezing everything into a short support slot. For anyone who has only caught Central Arcade briefly before, this should offer a much better introduction to the band.

Stageminus make the trip from Leeds

Completing the line-up are Stageminus, making the trip up from Leeds and bringing another strand of alternative guitar music to the showcase.

There’s a darker, more abrasive character to their sound, with guitars that can move from tense and atmospheric to much more forceful passages. That contrast should work particularly well in The Grove’s smaller live setting, while also giving the night something distinct from the two Newcastle bands.

Like Central Arcade, Stageminus will have around 45 minutes rather than being restricted to a brief support appearance. That gives them the opportunity to build a proper set, explore the different sides of their material and give a Newcastle audience a much fuller introduction to the band.

With three acts getting substantial stage time, Stageminus aren’t simply visitors filling out the bill — they’re very much the third part of the showcase.

With three emerging bands sharing the bill, this looks well suited to The Grove: close, loud and built around discovering acts in a grassroots setting rather than watching them from a distance.