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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Number of results: 13

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Scarva Summer Band Concerts

Scarva

Address

Scarva Bandstand, Main Street, Scarva, County Down, BT63 6LS

Telephone
+44 (0) 28 3752 9600

info@visitarmagh.com

Price
Free

Type

Type:

Concert

Enjoy the free band concerts each Sunday until 29th September at Scarva Bandstand. Visit the award-winning floral Scarva village and enjoy a varied programme of summer band concerts adjacent to the Victorian style band stand.

Dates

From:

7 Apr 2024to29 Sept 2024Various Opening Times

Price
Free

More Info
Lux et Umbra

Belfast

Address

Fisherwick Presbyterian Church, 2 Chlorine Gardens, Belfast, County Antrim, BT9 5DJ

Telephone
+445555555555

info@sestinamusic.com

Price
Price £15.00 Per Ticket

Type

Type:

Concert

Sestina Music's season launch takes place this Autumn, with Lux et Umbra. Exploring various settings of the Leçons de Ténèbres by Charpentier, we will bring rarely-heard music to audiences in Northern Ireland.

Dates

From:
19 Sept 2024Open 19:00 - 21:00

Price
Price £15.00 Per Ticket

More Info
Eugene Onégin

Belfast

Address

The Grand Opera House, 2-4 Great Victoria Street, Belfast, County Antrim, BT2 7HR

Telephone
+44 (0) 28 9024 1919

info@niopera.com

Price
Price £17.50 Per Ticket

Type

Type:

Classical Music

A fully staged performance of Tchaikovsky's opera 'Eugene Onégin' produced by Northern Ireland Opera in the Grand Opera House, Belfast,

Related

Grand Opera House, Belfast

Dates

From:
19 Sept 2024Open 19:30 - 22:15
From:
21 Sept 2024Open 19:30 - 22:15

Price
Price £17.50 Per Ticket

More Info
Autumn Equinox: Film Screening with Live Score from Róis

Holywood

Address

Ulster Folk Museum, 153 Bangor Rd, Cultra, Holywood, County Down, BT18 0EU

Telephone
+44 (0)28 9042 8428

info@nationalmuseumsni.org

Price
Price £12.00 Per Ticket

Type

Type:

Cinema / Film

Celebrate the Autumn Equinox with an evening screening of a specially commissioned archive film alongside a live score from Róis on Saturday 21st September.

Related

Ulster Folk Museum, Holywood

Dates

From:
21 Sept 2024Open 19:00 - 21:30

Price
Price £12.00 Per Ticket

More Info
An Evening with Brockmans Gin

Ballymena

Address

136 Fenaghy Road, Ballymena, County Antrim, BT42 1EA

Telephone
+44 (0) 28 2588 1001

dining@galgorm.com

Price
Price £65.00 Per Ticket

Type

Type:

Food & Drink

Immerse yourself in an extraordinary experience at An Evening with Brockmans Gin
£65 per person | Four Tailored Drink Pairings | Four Course Meal | Guest Speaker | Live Entertainment | 7pm - Late

Related

The Conservatory at Galgorm, Cullybackey

Dates

From:
24 Sept 2024Open 19:00 - 22:00

Price
Price £65.00 Per Ticket

More Info
Facilities

Parking & Transport
- On site parking
Oktoberfest Belfast

Belfast

Address

Custom House Square, 1 Ulster street, Belfast, County Antrim, BT1 3ES

Telephone
01665570160

oktoberfestbelfast@hotmail.co.uk

Price
Price £8.50 to £10.00 Per Ticket

Type

Type:

Food & Drink

Oktoberfest Belfast - Back Bigger Than Ever

Dates

From:

26 Sept 2024to26 Oct 2024Various Opening Times

Price
Price £8.50 to £10.00 Per Ticket

More Info
Lough Erne Heritage Festival

Address

Various Venues, Fermanagh, BT74 7HL

info@fermanaghlakelands.com

Type

Type:

Culture & Heritage

The Lough Erne Landscape Partnership (LELP) is delighted to announce the launch of the Lough Erne Heritage Festival, taking place from 28th September to 5th October 2024. The festival will showcase the rich tapestry of the cultural, natural and…

Dates

From:

28 Sept 2024to5 Oct 2024

More Info
A Joyful Noise

Belfast

Address

Assembly Buildings Conference Centre, 2-10 Fisherwick Place, Belfast, County Antrim, BT6 9EY

Telephone
+44 (0) 28 9070 1122

coleen@goli.org.uk

Price
Price £12.50 Per Ticket

Type

Type:

Concert

The Grand Orange Lodge of Ireland presents 'A Joyful Noise', an evening of hymns and praise and special guest soloists.

Dates

From:
28 Sept 2024Open 19:45 - 22:15

Price
Price £12.50 Per Ticket

More Info
Belfast International Arts Festival

Belfast

Address

Various locations, Belfast, County Antrim, BT1 1FF

Telephone
+44 (0) 28 9033 2261

enquiries@belfastinternationalartsfestival.com

Type

Type:

Festival

Northern Ireland's largest contemporary arts festival promises a compelling programme of drama and dance, topical talks with the authors behind the latest literary releases, classical music, toe-tapping folk and roots, independent film and…

Dates

From:

16 Oct 2024to23 Nov 2024

More Info
City of Derry International Choir Festival

Derry~Londonderry

Address

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

Telephone
+44 7754 750646

info@derrychoirfest.com

Type

Type:

Festival

Tickets are on sale for the City of Derry International Choir Festival 2024

Dates

From:

23 Oct 2024to27 Oct 2024

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:

14 Nov 2024to17 Nov 2024

More Info
Here's to the Craic 'n' Ceol

Belfast

Address

The Dark Horse, 30 Hill Street, Belfast, County Antrim, BT1 2LB

Telephone
07713891165

bookings@pureblarney.com

Price
Price £25.00 Per Ticket

Type

Type:

Entertainment

Here's to the Craic 'n' Ceol, a true Belfast pub experience packed with music, song and dance.

Related

The Dark Horse, Belfast

Dates

From:
8 Dec 2024Open 17:00 - 20:00

Price
Price £25.00 Per Ticket

More Info
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 July across Belfast UNESCO City of Music.

Dates

From:

27 July 2025to3 Aug 2025

More Info