The Sound of Belfast festival returns for its fourth year aimed at showcasing the great local talent on offer in Northern Ireland. The programme for 2017 shows that we have an abundance of musical talent on our shores, that deserves…
Today the Northern Ireland Music Prize announced the twelve album shortlist for the 2017 award. The winner will be announced at the Mandela Hall on 11th November. More than 70 judges from the music industry and media had a say…
Forestside Shopping Centre have launched a Young Singer Songwriter Competition with a grand prize of £500, a studio recording session and the chance to have your song played on Cool FM. The competition is looking for songwriters who pen, perform…
Returning for its fifth year, Spectrum Music Festival have achieved what many thought was unthinkable, tempting A Plastic Rose out of retirement. The four piece alt rock outfit were always a favourite of the live scene in Belfast and it…
In one of the most surprising pieces of news to come out of Northern Ireland this year, R51 have confirmed they will be setting out on a headline tour of Russia. An ambitious move by the alt rockers but one…
We are travelling into uncharted waters with our latest gig as we welcome Berlin based rockers Party Fears to Belfast as part of their UK and Ireland tour. The front woman and driving force behind them, Maggie Devlin is a…
Stendhal were already on their way to a killer line-up when they confirmed that local legends Ash would be headlining the 2017 edition of their festival. The festival have now released details of the second wave of bands on the…
Belfast’s Plague Artists know how to pack a punch with their finely crafted grunge rock winning them both plaudits and fans. Their debut EP, What Floats Like Flies, had some killer tunes, in particular the opening powerhouse of ‘Go’. We…
Based on the North Coast, the Atlantic Sessions have been running for a good number of years now with repeated success. The festival will return again later this year, but before that they have just announced Midsummer Sessions. Midsummer Sessions will…
Those raucous lads from Middletown, Co Armagh put on a feast of live music last summer in the Speakeasy Bar in Belfast. After the success of the first year, it was inevitable that the BBQ would return again. It is…
Boutique creative brand and label, Old Fang have been working for the last three years to promote a variety of musicians from across Northern Ireland. The organisation has hosted events and released music for the likes of More Than Conquerors, Little…
Our Back Yard first appeared in 2014, took a break in 2015 but re-appeared in 2016 stronger than ever. Thankfully the (admittedly small) pattern of breaks has been broken as the organisers announced that the open air event will return in 2017 with…
Belfast country rockers The Rising have had a tumultuous time of late. First came a change in their sound with Chantelle McAteer taking over lead vocals, before guitarist Chris Logan was involved in a serious road traffic accident. It is safe to…
After a successful debut event in 2016, Moira Calling returns for its sophomore offering with not one but two days of live music across Friday 7th and Saturday 8th September 2017. The organisers have unveiled a bill of fourteen acts…
Downpatrick’s most famous sons, Ash have been confirmed as the Friday night headliners of Stendhal Festival for 2017. Recent years have seen the festival go from strength to strength as more and this move to bring in one of Northern…