Music Events

The home of Ash, Snow Patrol, Two Door Cinema Club, Bicep and, of course, Van Morrison, Northern Ireland is renowned the world over for its music and song.
In the late 1970s, it introduced the world to Teenage Kicks. In more recent years, Northern Ireland has become a place where music fans and festival goers can enjoy a wealth of talent and mix of musical cultures and there is something for every music taste. Not quite a gig guide, more the highlights from a music scene that gets better, and bigger, with every passing year.

Kick off the year and kick up those feet in Derry-Londonderry

If you’re looking to get warmed up in January and February, IMBOLC International Traditional Arts Festival in Derry-Londonderry is one festival that will get you tapping your toes and jigging your feet.

Over ten days, lovers of traditional Irish and world music flock to the city from all over Ireland and the UK. Expect lots of music as well as poetry, art, special screenings and intimate chats with surprise guests.

During each May Bank Holiday weekend, the Walled City reverberates to the distinctive jazz rhythms of The City of Derry Jazz and Big Band Festival. Northern Ireland’s biggest and best jazz festival sees jazz echoing through local theatres, bars, shopping centres, restaurants and even the city streets. The annual celebration of jazz and big bands features artists from all over the world and welcomes more than 60,000 revelers each year.

The summertime Stendhal Festival on Ballymully Cottage Farm near Limavady. Since it started in 2010, it has made quite the impact on Northern Ireland’s cultural map and has racked up a stack of awards. The festival mixes music genres with comedy, politics and fine food and has become the go-to festival for the music cognoscenti in Northern Ireland.

Wave after wave of pulsing music in Portrush

The Atlantic Sessions come to Portrush in November. You can catch dozens of Northern Ireland’s finest musicians performing in small and intimate venues over four days. Base yourself here for the festival, explore the Causeway Coastal Route by day and at night wind down with the best in Northern Irish musical talent.

Beat a path to Belfast for Belsonic and more

It’s big, it’s booming and it can be heard right across the city. When Belsonic takes place in high summer, everyone knows. Stormzy, Hozier and George Ezra are just some of the big acts that have taken to the Ormeau Park stage in recent years and wowed the crowds. Slap on the factor fifty and make a beeline for this city centre music festival like no other.

Since 2017 dance music has had a festival of its own with the AVA Festival, one of Ireland's leading dance music festivals. As well as showcasing the best homegrown talent, organisers always manage to entice top acts into the tent. Located just outside Belfast in Boucher Road Fields, this weekend at the end of May is colourful, funky and lots of fun.

The city’s Cathedral Quarter has long been home to music bars, shops, studios and places for music fans to hang out. The Cathedral Quarter Arts Festival was started in 2000 and since then has become a major player on Northern Ireland’s arts and music calendar. Expect the likes of Patti Smith, Johnny Marr, John Grant, Rufus Wainwright or Billy Bragg to pop up on the list of performers.

Belfast International Arts Festival is a premier arts festival featuring great musicians since the late 1960s when Jimi Hendrix, Led Zeppelin and Ravi Shankar played in its formative years. You can expect an exciting, world-class programme of theatre, dance, classical and roots music, visual arts, film and digital arts, talks and literature accompanied by outreach and educational events. This festival always throws up live acts and performances which enter musical folklore and are remembered for many years after.

Celebrate the Bard of Armagh – in Armagh of course

If you’ve ever worn an Aran Sweater, it’s probably because of Tommy Makem. The Armagh-born singer and banjo-player famously played alongside The Clancy Brothers and he and the rest of the group were superstars in 1960s USA. The group had a huge influence on the likes of Bob Dylan and Joan Baez and are arguably responsible for the popularisation of Irish ballads abroad. This festival celebrates The Bard of Armagh and is a low-key but lovely event in this beautiful cathedral city.

Blue water and bluegrass in Co. Tyrone

This is a stonkin’ great weekend of music and fun in the very suitable setting of the Ulster-American Folk Park. Since starting in 1990, Bluegrass Omagh has won global acclaim as one of the biggest and best international festivals of its kind and attracts a wealth of talent from the USA and Europe. Keep your diary clear for the end of August y’all.

Music is everywhere in Northern Ireland and besides these great festivals, you’re likely to find some of the best of it in the most unexpected places. So keep your eyes, and especially your ears, open.

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Belfast St Patrick's Music Festival

Belfast

Address

Belfast, County Antrim, BT1 1FF

Telephone
+44 (0) 28 9031 4981

info@belfasttradfest.com

Type

Type:

Festival

Belfast TradFest will be delivering St Patrick's Music Weekend, as part of Belfast City Council's overall St Patrick's Celebrations, from Friday 14th - Monday 17th March.

Dates

From:

14 Mar 2025to17 Mar 2025Various Opening Times

More Info
St Patrick's Shindig at the Home of St Patrick Festival

Armagh

Address

Market Square, Armagh, County Armagh, BT61 7BW

Telephone
0300 0300 900

stpatricksfestival@armaghbanbridgecraigavon.gov.uk

Price
Price £10.00 Per Ticket

Type

Type:

Concert

Armagh is set to rock on St Patrick's weekend, with a superb and totally live open-air concert featuring an electrifying line-up.

Dates

From:
14 Mar 2025Open 18:30 -

Price
Price £10.00 Per Ticket

More Info
SYSTIR in Concert at St Patrick's Church of Ireland Cathedral

Armagh

Address

St Patrick's Church of Ireland Cathedral, Cathedral Close, Armagh, County Armagh, BT61 7DY

Telephone
0300 0300 900

stpatricksfestival@armaghbanbridgecraigavon.gov.uk

Price
Price £20.00 Per Ticket

Type

Type:

Concert

The amazing SYSTIR, featuring daughters of the celebrated Irish composer, Michael McGlynn, perform inside the historic Church of Ireland Cathedral and blend modern vocal and instrumental techniques with ancient vocal performance practices to create…

Related

St Patrick's Church of Ireland Cathedral, Armagh

Dates

From:
15 Mar 2025Open 19:30 -

Price
Price £20.00 Per Ticket

More Info
Facilities

Parking & Transport
- On site parking
The Rapparees @ Theatre at the Mill

Newtownabbey

Address

Theatre at The Mill, Carnmoney Road North, Newtownabbey, County Antrim, BT36 5QA

Telephone
0300 123 7788

culture@antrimandnewtownabbey.gov.uk

Price
Price £14.00 Per Ticket

Type

Type:

St Patrick's Day

This St Patrick's Day join us at Theatre at The Mill for a special performance from The Rapparees.

Related

Theatre At The Mill, Newtownabbey

Dates

From:
17 Mar 2025Open 19:00 - 22:00

Price
Price £14.00 Per Ticket

More Info
Facilities

Parking & Transport
- On site parking
City of Derry Jazz & Big Band Festival

Derry~Londonderry

Address

Various venues across the city, Derry~Londonderry, County Londonderry, BT48 6RG

Telephone
+44 (0) 28 7137 7577

info@visitderry.com

Type

Type:

Festival

The longer days are fast approaching, and that can only mean one thing, it’s almost time for the City of Derry Jazz and Big Band Festival, which this year runs from May 1st - 5th.

Dates

From:

1 May 2025to5 May 2025

More Info
Cathedral Quarter Arts Festival

Belfast

Address

Unit 8, 3 Bridge Street, Belfast, County Antrim, BT1 1LU

Telephone
+44 (0)759 9798 472

info@cqaf.com

Type

Type:

Festival

The 25th Cathedral Quarter Arts Festival, Belfast runs from 1-11 May 2025 across the city's historic quarter and beyond. Over 100 events in dozens of venues over 11 days.

Dates

From:

1 May 2025to11 May 2025

More Info
Bluegrass Omagh

Omagh

Address

Ulster American Folk Park, 2 Mellon Road, Omagh, County Tyrone, BT78 5QU

Telephone
+44 (0) 28 8224 3292

info@nationalmuseumsni.org

Type

Type:

Festival

Bluegrass Omagh Music Festival returns to Ulster American Folk Park, Omagh on the May Bank Holiday weekend, 24th & 25th May. Come along to this unforgettable weekend of foot-stompin' rhythms and toe-tappin' tunes from world-class musicians.

Related

Ulster American Folk Park, Omagh

Dates

From:

24 May 2025to25 May 2025

More Info
Facilities

Parking & Transport
- On site parking
Belsonic

Belfast

Address

Ormeau Park, Ormeau Embankment, Belfast, County Antrim, BT6 8LT

Telephone
+44 (0)28 9032 7007

info@belsonic.com

Type

Type:

Concert

Belsonic returns to the idyllic setting of Ormeau Park in Belfast. The popular music festival will bring a host of international headline acts to the heart of Belfast city centre across the month of June 2025.

Related

Ormeau Park, Belfast

Dates

From:

5 June 2025to30 June 2025Various Opening Times

More Info
Stendhal Festival

Limavady

Address

Ballymully Cottage Farm, 61 Ballyavelin Road, Limavady, County Londonderry, BT49 0NQ

Telephone
+44 (0)7936 783 420

info@stendhalfestival.com

Type

Type:

Festival

Stendhal Festival is Northern Ireland's leading independent festival, celebrating all aspects of the arts. The event combines the best talents from the UK & Ireland with international performers in one of Northern Ireland's most scenic settings.

Dates

From:

4 July 2025to6 July 2025

More Info
Facilities

Parking & Transport
- On site parking
Belfast TradFest

Belfast

Address

Various locations across Belfast, Belfast, County Antrim, BT15 1ED

Telephone
028 9031 4981

info@belfasttradfest.com

Type

Type:

Festival

Belfast TradFest, the pinnacle of world-class traditional music concerts, fiery pub sessions and Ireland's fastest growing summer school of traditional music, is set to celebrate its 7th edition this 27 July - 3 August across Belfast UNESCO City of…

Dates

From:

27 July 2025to3 Aug 2025

More Info
City of Derry International Choir Festival 2025

Derry~Londonderry

Address

Holywell Trust Building, 10-14 Bishop Street, Derry~Londonderry, County Derry~Londonderry, BT48 6PW

info@derrychoirfest.com

Type

Type:

Festival

The City of Derry International Choir Festival returns in October 2025 with a tidal wave of magical choral music!

Dates

From:

22 Oct 2025to26 Oct 2025

More Info
Atlantic Sessions

Portrush & Portstewart

Address

Various Locations, Portrush & Portstewart, County Antrim, BT56 8JE

Telephone
+44 (0) 28 7776 0650

music@atlanticsessions.com

Type

Type:

Live Music

A feast of musical talent, showcasing over 40 artists throughout four days at various venues, including bars, coffee shops, hotels and town halls across Portrush and Portstewart. Most gigs are admission free, in addition to the headline ticketed…

Dates

From:

13 Nov 2025to16 Nov 2025

More Info