Now in its sixth year, the Big North Tattoo Show will bring up to 300 artists from around the country for a two-day event filled with tattoos, alternative clothing and competitions!

The 2023 edition will be based in the Utilita Arena in Newcastle from 29-30th April, with the pre-show party taking place on the 28th at the nearby Hard Rock Café.

A selection of our sponsored tattoo artists will be in attendance - swing by Phillip Wilkinson’s booth for neo-traditional excellence, Tiggy’s for vibrant pop art, and Joshua Beatson for some sick horror realism. Shaun and Chavez Pattinson will be visiting from Borderline Tattoo Collective, or find Claire Hamill or Helen Warren for black and grey realism.

Awards will be handed out on Saturday for ‘Best Small Black & Grey’, ‘Best Small Colour’, ‘Best Traditional/Neo-traditional’, ‘Best Ornamental’, ‘Best Realism’ and ‘Best of Day’. On the Sunday, they’ll be going big with ‘Best Large Black & Grey’, ‘Best Large Colour’, ‘Best Avant-Garde’ and the all-important ‘Best of Show’.

Expect entertainment from The Fuel Girls, plus gaming arcades, alternative clothing and custom furniture! Everyone with a ticket gets free entry to the Saturday afterparty at Lane 7, as well as the Sunday afterparty at No 28, where those sporting a Big North wristband get 20% off drinks.

Kids go free, and you can get advanced tickets to the Big North Tattoo Show for £20 a day, or £35 for the weekend benefiting from early entry with kick-off at 10:30am. Or buy on the door, paying £25 for a day or £45 for the weekend, with entry from 11:45am. That extra hour might well make a real difference when it comes to booking in with an artist!