During the summer months many people go on holiday or caravan getaways, but music lovers alike spend their sunny days listening and admiring their favourite bands at festivals. So why does everyone seem to flock to other countries to indulge in festival goodness when you could actually stay right here in Northern Ireland? Yes England has ‘Park life’ and America has ‘Warped tour’, but don’t brush past local festivals on your own doorstep or you could very well be missing out.
Recently Northern Irish music is setting a trend and taking the spotlight. With numerous festivals kicking off this summer, it seems things can only get bigger. One festival that is immensely popular for local bands is of course – Glasgowbury. At ChordBlossom, we are not strangers to this fine festival, but if you are, let me fill you in:
Glasgowbury is a huge music event that takes place every year near Draperstown, Northern Ireland. Showcasing amazing Irish/ local bands and DJ’s, it is no surprise that the festival has won many awards. This year’s line-up consists of ‘Fighting with Wire’, ‘LaFaro’, ‘Intermission’, ‘RunawayGO’ and the hugely popular ‘Japanese Popstars’. Glasgowbury takes place on the 21st July. For more information head on over to http://www.glasgowbury.com for the full line up and ticket info.
Satisfying all musical tastes, ‘Belsonic’ is back bigger than ever this year. The festival has been running at Belfast’s Custom House Square since 2008 with this year’s festival running for 10 days. Belsonic will be hosting huge global acts such as ‘Skrillex’, ‘Emeli Sande’, ‘Thin Lizzy’, ‘The Enemy’, ‘Two Door Cinema Club’ and ‘Paramore’ to name but a few! The event will be kicking off on the 15th August in Belfast. For more information visit http://www.belsonic.com.
If you are thirsty for more local talent, ‘Linkfest’ is where you should be heading. This festival kicks off in Londonderry from 13th – 15th July where you can witness some of the finest home grown acts such as Wyldyling, Triggerman, Making Monsters, Cradle Rock and many more. Festivals like these are really worth checking out to see the amazing talent this country has to offer. You can find out more on the official Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/linkfest for the full lineup and venues involved with this un-missable festival.
Some other popular festivals on offer this summer are ‘Sunflower Fest’, ‘Stendhal Festival’ and a festival we have already seen come and go this year; ‘Pigstock’.
Local festivals have been criticised for having the same repetitive line-ups; I myself feel that after taking a look at what is offered to us we can’t really go wrong. All musical tastes seem to be covered. Although the same bands are playing in a few line-ups in various venues, it can only be a good thing to help acts in our local areas gets the publicity and opportunity that they truly deserve. With so much variety it is sometimes nice to see the same familiar faces and bands.
Overall we are not a country to be overlooked this summer having great DJ’s, bands and solo acts performing just outside our front gardens. So start saving or selling your dearest possessions (family included) because this is the summer of sound and these are the events that you won’t want to miss. If you want to get involved, get down to your local music store or head over to Ticketmaster and show support to local music and festivals.
