Part Toon Punks reveals twelve-act Cluny 2 all-dayer

Part Toon Punks at Cluny 2 returns on Saturday 16 January 2027 with twelve acts spanning North East folk, garage punk, hip hop, darkwave and noisy pop. The annual DIY all-dayer starts at 1pm, with a £16 ticket and no booking fee covering the complete line-up. It is a broad snapshot of independent music built around artists who rarely share the same kind of bill.

Part Toon Punks at Cluny 2: twelve routes through DIY music

Nev Clay brings more than thirty years of local songwriting history and material from So Little Happened For So Long, his first album in 23 years. The Exes offer melodic garage punk and the unusual prospect of hearing new material from a band that plays live sparingly, while Faithful Johannes and Neocia combine conversational rap with drifting electronic soundscapes.

The North East presence runs throughout the day. West Newcastle’s Headfirst for Halos put high-energy music behind songs about identity and freedom of expression. Irked bring the clipped force of modern garage punk, Teesside’s Onlooker favour a fast and raw DIY attack, and The Scarlet Hour work with brooding bass, synth-pop melody and darkwave atmosphere. Specky Cult take a lighter route through neo-punk, acoustic pop, theatrical storytelling and 1990s Britpop references.

The bill also looks beyond the region. Welsh artist John MOuse joins synth-driven new wave to storytelling and stagecraft. Leeds trio Nervous Twitch supply hook-heavy fuzzy pop and a direct connection to the Part Time Punks all-dayer that inspired this Newcastle event. Nottingham’s No Peeling add clangs, electronic details and off-centre stories, while newly formed The Standing People complete a line-up deliberately designed to move between different corners of independent music.

That variety is the point rather than a lack of focus. Part Toon Punks treats DIY as a way of working and building community, not as one fixed sound. A thirteen-hour festival bill would risk becoming exhausting, but twelve short sets in Cluny 2 can keep the room changing shape and give unfamiliar artists a chance to catch an audience arriving for someone else.

Part Toon Punks takes place at Cluny 2, Newcastle, on Saturday 16 January 2027. Doors are at 1pm and tickets cost £16 with no booking fee. See the official event page or buy an e-ticket from Reflex. Browse more events in our Upcoming Gigs guide.

Event details are correct at the time of publication. Please check with the venue, promoter or ticket provider before travelling.