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 Stendhal Festival takes place in August 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 a little bit of 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.
Dance music has always been a mainstay of the long-running Belsonic festival. Since 2017 dance music has had a festival of its own with the AVA Festival, already 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.
