Franz Ferdinand and Adele Sandé to open music year
Carry On PRChart-topping indie rockers Franz Ferdinand and acclaimed singer-songwriter Adele Sandé are to kick off a year-long major celebration of music.
The two acts, both BRIT Award winners, will launch the Sunderland Year of Music 2025-2026 in June.
It will mark Franz Ferdinand's return to Wearside for the first time in more than a decade, while Sunderland-born Sandé - formerly known as Emeli - will be making her stage debut under her real name.
The gigs will kickstart a week of special live events across the city.
Like Sandé, Franz Ferdinand frontman Alex Kapranos spent his early years in Sunderland before moving to Scotland.
However, the last time his band played in the city was in March 2014.
Their self-titled debut album won the 2004 Mercury Prize and their sixth, entitled The Human Fear, was released in January this year.
They are due to play the Glastonbury Festival a few days after their Sunderland show.
Victoria WaiSandé's musical breakthrough came in 2011 with the release of her debut album Our Version of Events.
It topped the UK Albums Chart and become the best-selling album of 2012 in this country with more than a million sales.
That success led to her performing at both the opening and closing ceremonies of the 2012 Olympics in London, as well as earning her the Critics' Choice Award at the 2012 BRIT Awards and Best British Female Solo Artist in 2013.
In 2017 she received an MBE for services to music.
Both gigs mark what is set to be a busy year of live music as Sunderland celebrates its new status as an official Music City.
More than 500 events are planned from June 2025 to June 2026, spotlighting the city's vibrant music scene.
Adele Sandé will play play The Fire Station on 21 June, followed by Franz Ferdinand on 25 June.