The Promoting Local concert at the Dundas Shopping Centre in Middlesbrough took place on Saturday and aimed to showcase the talents of the region’s artists.
Dundas Indoor Market Manager David Harris said: “I think people might have been surprised by the really high standard of all of the performers.
“They really deserve the sort of exposure we’re trying to give them.”
One in 10 of all the tracks played at the shopping centre during shopping hours are by local bands and singers.
Six of these musicians took to the stage and provided more than four hours of entertainment.
The audience included 17-year-old Northern School of Art fashion student Ella-Rose.
She said: “It’s really good because it’s able to attract people who might not be interested in the music, but hear this stuff and decide they actually quite like this.
“I hope they do it again.”
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Neil, a 45-year-old live music fan from Coulby Newham, said: “After lockdown a lot of musicians struggled to put on live events because places have closed and there’s not many venues around, so promoting new music is only a good thing.”
Afraid to Sleep was the first band to perform.
Laura Craig, the wife of the band’s bass player, said: “When he told me about it, I was surprised because I thought the acoustics in a shopping centre were going to be terrible.
“But they sounded great.”
The event was organised by Jake Diaz and Mr Hargreaves, who co-present the Promoting Local show on Teesside’s The Red radio station.
Mr Hargreaves said: “The management and staff here couldn’t be more supportive.
“In many ways, we’re doing the same thing: I’m supporting local artists and they’re supporting local traders.
“It’s great that we can bring this all together.”