A DARLINGTON-BASED singer-songwriter is due to support one of the UK’s biggest names on tour this spring.

Luke Royalty will be on the road supporting Jake Bugg for eight dates in March and April, with help from Creative Darlington and Tees Music Alliance.

Although the gigs have been set up by his management company, Luke faced the challenge of raising enough money to cover transport and accommodation for himself and his band.

Tees Music Alliance stepped in however and, along with Creative Darlington, gave advice and support to Luke, enabling him to raise the much-needed cash to cover his touring costs.

Luke said: “A career in music often means moving to a big city to stay at where the main industry networks operate from.

“I'm managing to make progress being based at home in Darlington - and I'm determined to keep it like that.

“Having access to the help and knowledge that Tees Music Alliance has given me, makes it much easier to base myself locally - I don't need to uproot myself and move away when proper music industry support can be found on my doorstep.”

Read more: See inside Darlington's newest boutique - and here's what's on offer

Tees Music Alliance's Music Development Manager, David Saunders said: “We were advising Luke on a few other areas of his career plans when he mentioned the exciting opportunity to tour with Jake Bugg, but also the frustration of not having the necessary up-front cash to cover essential travel costs.

“After a quick chat in the office, a few phone calls and a chat with our colleagues in Creative Darlington, we were jointly able to point Luke towards a solution to cover his costs.”

Read more: 'Good thing' or 'recipe for disaster': Darlington reacts to Covid self-isolation ending

CEO of Tees Music Alliance, Paul Burns said: “Our team is always delighted when we can help an artist to achieve something as significant as this – but it’s equally important to us when we can do it by working in collaboration with others.

“This particular piece of work further enhances our ties with Creative Darlington after previously working with them to promote Darlington artists on the regional online platform NARC TV and giving support to Tracks Darlington in their early days.

“It’s an example of the support we provide to artists across the Tees Valley as part of our behind the scenes work with artists and event promoters. Anyone involved in producing original music looking for support is welcome to get in touch and we’ll do our best to help.”

Luke and his five-piece band will support Jake on his dates in Newcastle, Leeds, Hull, Manchester, Sheffield, Edinburgh, Glasgow and London during March and April this year.

--

Keep up to date with all the latest news on our website, or follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

You can also follow our dedicated Darlington Facebook page for all the latest in the area by clicking here.

For all the top news updates from right across the region straight to your inbox, sign up to our newsletter here.

Have you got a story for us? Contact our newsdesk on newsdesk@nne.co.uk or contact 01325 505054