Aaron CunninghamArriving on Friday to the sounds of Son of the Hound wafting over the campsite, I’m in time to witness Joel Harkin‘s first set of the weekend on Quiet Arch’s Air Stage. As always the juxtaposition of cheery banter with sad,…
Swimming Tapes debut album, ‘Morningside’, opens with the dreamy ‘Passing Ships’. The track envelopes the spirit of lazy summer love, filled with warm tones and a solid beat that allows room to catch the drift of the poetic lyrics. Catchy…
Amidst the buzz of the Stendhal’s and Electric Picnics of the world, one of Ireland’s better loved one day festivals returned for its second iteration. Coaster, a celebration of Northern music and the intrinsic link between the North Coast and…
Pop punk is a funny old genre. It’s been bastardised by so many awful bands that it’s easy to forget just how invigorating it was first time around. The best bands of the genre write (or wrote) songs that were…
The highlight of a day-long songwriting workshop run by Panarts, Ronan McSorley launched his first EP I Am Not Free, and what a piece of work it is. I had the chance to hear the EP a couple of days…
In the height of Derry’s Rewire festival, which had the town bustling full of people, music and events on every corner, No Collusion were launching their EP ‘Sticking Sets’ in Bennigans bar. No Collusion are the next big Derry band…
Charity Shop Vinyl, a 5-piece indie rock band, have been on a constant rise throughout the year. They are facing their third sold-out headliner show of the year, launching their EP ‘Waking up the Neighbours’ and bringing a promising line-up…
The MAC: Belfast’s premier venue for everything weird, wonderful and left-of-field, from music to theatre and miles further beyond. Enter Ryan Vail and Eoin O’Callaghan aka Elma Orkestra’s turbulent electronic exploration of Irish identity and modern politics ‘Borders’ – the euphoric, reverent live…
Limavady hardcore merchants Axecatcher make a bold, defiant musical statement with their fourth EP release ‘Second Hand Grief’. Appearances at high-profile festivals such as Stendhal and Monsters of Rot are small reminders of how hard this band works to make…
In 2015 Ryan McGroarty and Cheylene Murphy formed Beauty Sleep, joining up with Aimee Williamson and releasing first single ‘The Dark’ the following year. A reworked version of that very first single opens up their own debut album Be Kind….
The wet smack of my boots against the concrete stained cobbles belies the mood of my evening so far. I make my way inside tonights venue, The Green Room beckoning for my attendance. I accept its rustic invitation, planting myself…
The date is Sunday 9th of June. The year 2019. I am standing before the doors of Limelight 2. And it is PISSING down (of course it is. Limelight seems to exist in a state of perpetual downpour). Nevertheless, the night…
As festival season swings around for its annual stop in our collective minds, tonight saw the inaugural performances of one of Belfast’s more beloved gatherings. Women’s Work, which doubles as a celebration of women in arts and music, as well…
SOAK and Pillow Queens finish their European tour with a date in the headliner’s hometown. The culmination of the tour in The Glassworks as part of the ‘Grim Town’ release seems fitting. SOAK (Bridie Monds-Watson), a Derry native, last played…
Belfast has no shortage of collectives these days. From the underground DIYness of ZOOL Records, to the forward thinking boundary pushing of Creating A Space, it seems as if there is an appetite for creation in nearly every sector of…