Darling Magazine

 by Geena Ling On Saturday, North East-based music agency Generator took over Newcastle's Boiler Shop to host their brand new festival, Generator Live. After a week of fringe events scattered across the city, the all-day festival was a true showstopper. The Boiler Shop was a great choice of venue given its status as one of the most iconic buildings in Newcastle; it really did justice to the vast array of talented musicians who took to the stage. Crowds began to gather from the moment the doors opened in the early afternoon, and continued to pour in throughout the day. With live DJs and pints flowing, it made for a warm, summery atmosphere - exactly what festival season is about! The event perfectly encapsulated the wonderful diversity of our local music scene, with performances from nine of the region's best rising stars (sadly Venus Grrrls were unable to perform on the day). Opening up were four-piece Lovely Assistant with bluesy, American-inspired beats. Then came John Dole, ...

 by Emily Duff Kinsale Drake (Diné) is a multi-skilled creative with professions ranging from Poet to Playwright. Her endeavours have landed her spots in a range of publications from TIME to the Yale Literary Magazine and recognition such as the J.Edgar Meeker Prize, the Academy of American Poets Prize, and the Young Native Playwrights Award. Currently, Kinsale edits Changing Wxmen Collective, after having gained experience serving as a National Student Poet.  Kinsale founded Changing Wxman Collective to create a digital publishing platform and creative space that highlights BIPOC voices and narratives.  Said to be “here to empower our own narratives and create space”, Changing Wxmen Collective is a digital arts magazine by and for BIPOC people of marginalized genders. Their publication includes art, poetry, prose, op-eds, interviews, zine making workshops and more using a community force in order to make waves with their mission to empower each other’s work, spotlight th...

 by Katie Wheatley As we approach the end of the third week of Love Island series eight, it’s become apparent just how quickly things can change in reality television – and how drastically our perceptions of those we watch on our screens can switch up. But let’s not forget we only see an hour of each day in the villa, and how easily narratives can be scripted by Love Island’s talented production team. We’ve now seen a total of five contestants leave the show – Liam left on his own accord, and Afia, Remi, Ikenna and Amber were all voted out by the public. This year, I’ve been closely watching how they’ve acted since returning to their ‘normal’ lives and how they’ve used their newly-gained following, particularly on social media. Most interesting is the interviews Remi has done, where – to stir the pot – interviewers have been quick to ask if there’s anyone he disliked or didn’t get along with during his time on the island. It has come to public attention that Remi and Jacques didn’t...

love letter to the Peak District Summer Green   Finally, my olde lover, we reunite suburbia doesn’t have the same bite that it used to  and how I’ve missed you your wild winds that I try to grasp onto almost twisting my aching ankles  on the rocks below in doing so your glitteringly cold, yet sunny embrace licks the side of my emblazoned face and I’ll edge my cheek up to the trees stretching for more, howling at the hanging leaves eventually I’ll leave, the last bus leaves soon but I’ll never leave you, or you’ll never leave me though I’ll soon lay under another city’s tree.

 by Emily Fletcher TW: SA, Animal Abuse, Transphobia Photo Credit: @ meiko_akiz uki Recently, an  Instagram account  has been created to provide a  ‘space to safely give a voice to those who want to speak out about the behaviour of one, Sheffield based tattoo artist’. A  total of 40+ posts have been made by the above social media account regarding  one of Sheffield's most popular tattoo artists .  Thankfully, all posts are prefaced with a Content Warning prior to sharing screenshots of the messages that have been sent anonymously to the page. The majority of Content Warnings refer to sexual behaviour, abuse, and sexual assault. It is clear that there is a reoccurring theme within each submission, as many clients appear to have had the same experiences with the tattoo artist. Women, mostly, are being made to feel uncomfortable while being tattooed. One of the most vulnerable positions anyone can be in, tattoo artists should make their clients feel ...

 by Geena Ling An exciting new music festival from Byker-based non-profit, Generator, is set to make its debut at Newcastle's Boiler Shop on June  25th . Generator Live aims to showcase the abundance of fantastic new talent bursting onto the North East music scene. The entirely local line-up features huge up-and-coming artists such as Bigfatbig, Straight Girl and Venus Grrrls, who will all take to the stage for the one-day event. As if that's not enough, Generator will also be hosting a series of fringe events in the week leading up to the festival. These will take place all across the city at iconic venues including Little Buildings, Zerox and The Cluny. Headlining throughout the week will be Komparrison, Ten Eighty Trees and Pave the Jungle, to name just a few. Best of all, the six gigs are all free to attend for those with a ticket to the main event! To top it off, the festival will be taking over legendary underground nightclub World Headquarters to throw an official after...

day of the red Summer Green The day of reckoning is upon us – en garde! two women in love both pouring with blood because ‘we’ve sank up’ like you said a swimmer does though I must sorely disagree sorely being the key word ‘a swimmer sinks down ! ’ and just like that, reader I bit the first bite of the night completely unnecessary and downright stupid but it was the hormones talking, we avoided shouting, ended up laughing and eventually showering vulnerable and  hugging my ear on the cusp of your rib cage warm  rain embracing our shoulders,  but we’re not male directors – thank god and so we stand, intertwined your head on mine,  while  uteruses empathise tampon strings hanging out and the water never runs cold. .

by Emily Duff I know Shakespeare adaptations are very ‘been there, done that’, but one that I will always love is Baz Luhrmann’s ‘Romeo + Juliet’. The movie is opinion-splitting, a bit cheesy and cares more for aesthetics than anything else, but it is a comfort film of mine and these are the reasons why: - Soundtrack  The classic guitar riff of ‘Talk Show Host’ can be heard repeated constantly throughout the film from beginning to end, giving coverage to the best underrated Radiohead song. Not only this, but ‘Exit (for a Movie) is actually used for the “exit” (end credits) of the movie. Then we have the gorgeous Des’ree singing ‘I’m Kissing You’ during the costume party scene - a tune that leaves me humming it (less eloquently than Des’ree) for the next few months. Lastly, honourable mention to Prince’s ‘Doves Cry’ which is sung by a young church choir. Any Prince addition to a soundtrack is going to be a winner, need I say more? - Retained Shakespearian Language Lines like, “Did m...

by Jemma Chawla Steamrolled daily by your emerging talents  Since birth, it’s been my job to coach you One day you’ll play lead Your very own life production Unconsciously in rehearsal No need to audition Acts played out in front of me Motherhood matinee Casting your own cast You’re growing up too fast Momentarily slide into my private box You’re in crisp sharp focus Spot light is soft The auditorium snaps me back with roars of ferocious approval I also applaud you, always Can I extend the intermission and be delighted by your immaturity a little longer? I know this confirms your growth Dependency being swapped for independent stage direction Could the stage momentarily please stand still I’ll be lovingly waiting for what’s to come in your encore

by Emma Baykey-Melendez When modern art meets mode.  I am a self-proclaimed artist. Attending one life drawing class makes me feel entitled to make sweeping statements about the art industry with little formal education aside from a very small Taschen book collection! Admittedly, I may have started this collection to make my room feel more sophisticated than my primary school-esque postcard display would warrant.  For once I am writing something a little different! I never know how to write about things that aren’t super personal to me. It seems I can spill my heart over the shitty dates I have had or over my disdain at living back home but get me to write an impassioned piece on why I hate the commercialisation of art and I go mute. It’s not a case of me not trusting my ability to properly articulate myself, on the contrary, art is for everyone- a philosophy that artists like Keith Haring adopted till the very end. Such a belief should empower individuals to engage in convers...

 by Katie Wheatley Leading on from last week’s column, I’m pleased to see the collaboration between Love Island and eBay was given some appreciation when the islanders were thrown a party in Wednesday night’s episode. As far as I’m aware, the contestants were either wearing clothing from eBay, or items they already owned and had bought into the villa with them. © thred.co The issue is, however, I wouldn’t have known this if it wasn’t for social media and, even then, the official Love Island Instagram page wasn’t shouting about it. Thankfully. eBay UK’s page is doing a good job of showing off the pre-loved looks, but with a difference of over three million followers between their and Love Island’s Instagram, it isn’t being shown to a wide enough audience – they’re missing out on great opportunities to make this collaboration a success, but unfortunately it’s still falling short for me. If, like me, you’re intrigued about the second hand clothing that’s been sent into the villa, Bret...