Across Matt Hegarty’s first three LPs, and the four stripped back EPs that preceded and followed them, he has traversed a range of musical territories from classic acoustic folk, to dramatic synth-laden electronica, and urgent guitar led alt-rock.
The common thread in his Matthew and the Atlas project has been a songwriting style that marries a subtle melodic sensibility with lyrics full of natural imagery and dark emotional heft – all delivered in his striking and distinctive vocal. In the process Hegarty has quietly built a major cult following in Europe and and the US.
‘[Morning Dancer] weaves an emotional tapestry around you as you listen.’ (Thank Folk For That)
With dance floors all over the world set alight with the contagious joy and expression in their music, the Sledge sisters became a household name and a symbol of unity with their 1979 world-wide hit and iconic album We Are Family.
The multi-lead vocal group are responsible for some of the biggest dance albums of all time. Lost in Music, He’s the Greatest Dancer and Thinking of You are universally cherished songs bring people together in love, life and soulful groove.
The group have amassed a string of Gold and Platinum hits and GRAMMY nominations and played Carnegie Hall, the Royal Albert Hall, Glastonbury and before Popes and Presidents.
Specialising in BRINGING THE PARTY with the family’s classic hits, Debbie Sledge, Camille Sledge, Tanya Thiet, Thaddeus Sledge and David Sledge make one funky family affair.
Sister Sledge continues to deliver the ‘Sledgendary’ message: ‘Nothing is Greater than LOVE’, honouring sister Joni Sledge’s memory, the gift of family and spreading joy and togetherness that uplifts and celebrates life through love and music.
Thirty years of playing together, and with a brand new album release lined up for 2023, the creativity of brothers, Brendan and Declan Murphy, shows no sign of abating.
The pair have forged a unique musical identity, producing original and award-winning recordings and building a loyal fan base along the way.
With an enviable catalogue of timeless songs including Mary, Washington Down, She Hits Me, Sunlight and Sugar Island, expect some beautiful songs, stunning interplay and great stories from the road.
We think it’s safe to say, this one will sell out.
Doors 1.30pm | Unreserved seating
‘Never before have I been to a gig where the atmosphere has been so electric’ –THE IRISH NEWS
From the North Coast of Ireland, ferna tells the stories that otherwise get lost in the noise.
On a mission to amplify quiet sentiments and shift focus to hidden characters, ferna delivers a remarkable sound that merges the organic and the electronic, filled with conflicting emotions, fragile beauty and powerful hooks.
The musical alias of composer & singer-songwriterHannah McPhillimy, ferna has performed alongside the likes of Foy Vance and The Gloaming, and more recently took home the NI Music Prize for Single of the Year for her first official single Wasting.
To celebrate the release of her debut album Understudy, ferna will perform a rare full-band show in the iconic setting of the Belfast Empire.
Kate Rusby, hailed as the ‘First Lady of Folk’ and a Mercury Music accolade to her name, has forged an impressive 30-year, headlining career.
A folk singer at heart, she’s taken the genre to new heights appealing way beyond the folk scene and her Yorkshire roots, headlining in the UK and internationally, performing with other big names in music across genres.
She has a number of TV, radio and film credits to her name as well as her own record company and a festival, Underneath the Stars.
2023 brings to a close a year of celebrating 30 years in the business with a new album ’30 : Happy Returns’ featuring guests: Richard Hawley, KT Tunstall and Ladysmith Black Mambazo to name a few.
This follows the success of her 2020 Top 10 charting covers album Hand Me Down. Kate will be joined on stage by her band, each a virtuoso in their own right including her husband and producer Damien O’ Kane.
Tim Key (Alan Partridge, The Witchfinder,Tim Key’s Late Night Poetry Programme) is back with an all-new show. Ruminations about the great indoors with a bit of stamping around. Velour tracksuit, continental lagers, some “poetry”.
‘The greatest stand-up response to Lockdown so far’★★★★★The TimesKey’s new book,Here We Go Round The Mulberry Bush, is available to buy at all good bookshops and at www.utterandpress.co.uk
Presented by The MAC and Plosive Live in association with PBJ Management
Tim Key (Alan Partridge, The Witchfinder,Tim Key’s Late Night Poetry Programme) is back with an all-new show. Ruminations about the great indoors with a bit of stamping around. Velour tracksuit, continental lagers, some “poetry”.
‘The greatest stand-up response to Lockdown so far’★★★★★The TimesKey’s new book,Here We Go Round The Mulberry Bush, is available to buy at all good bookshops and at www.utterandpress.co.uk
Presented by The MAC and Plosive Live in association with PBJ Management
The Cathedral Quarter Arts Festival is delighted to present this special evening in the company of one of Canada’s greatest songwriters as he marks the release of new album The Vivian Line.
The Vivian Line is the 17th album entry in Ron Sexsmith’s compelling discography, one matched by very few contemporary singer/songwriters.
His catalogue has earned him immense peer respect and a loyal international following, and this new release (February 2023) captures Ron at the top of his creative game.
These new songs all flowed from Sexsmith’s fertile musical and lyrical imagination in a short period of 2021 during covid. “The songs came out of nowhere,” Ron explains. “I wasn’t really writing after the [2020] release of my previous album, Hermitage. The older I get, the more I think ‘maybe this is it,’ but then I find myself with new ideas again and got excited.”
Otoboke Beaver are a punk-rock-garage quartet from Kyoto, Japan. Formed at Kyoto University’s music club, the band consists of Accorinrin (Lead Vocal & Guitar), Yoyoyoshie (Guitar & Vocals), Hirochan (Bass & Vocals) and Kahokiss (Drums & Vocals).
Acco’s off-kilter, self-taught, compositional and confrontational performance skills, together with the band’s incredible musicianship make for a thrilling and unmissable live act.
Damnably Records released the compilation Okoshiyasu!! in March 2016, which was championed by Gideon Coe and Tom Ravenscroft on BBC6Music and John Kennedy on XFM.
2017 was a breakthrough year for the band, with attention from Pitchfork, NPR, i-D and The Fader and more, acclaimed debuts at SXSW and FujiRock Festival, a sold-out show in London’s legendary 100 Club, and their Love Is Short 7” charted in the UK for 4 weeks.
In 2018 the band’s ‘ATTYUUMA’ tour saw them travel over 24,000 miles in a week on a brief UK tour that was bookmarked by slots at Coachella Music Festival. Recent converts include Tadanobu Asano,Aidan Moffat and The Cribs, the latter describing them as “PUNK AS F*CK”.
After kicking things off at the SXSW 2019 music opening party and a run of wild showcases, the band released new album ITEKOMA HITS in April on Damnably, receiving widespread acclaim from the likes of Pitchfork, Stereogum, NYLON, BrooklynVegan and many more.
They made their European debut at Lowlands Festival in The Netherlands, appeared as part of the line up at Koyabu Sonic Festival in Japan, and composed the opening theme song for Japanese comedy series Susumu Inomata & 8 Mojo.
In 2020 the band were about to embark on a world tour. They completed a two week tour in Europe and were getting ready to start their first US tour when the world locked down due to the pandemic.
With touring no longer possible during that time, the band worked on new music. In preparation for the release of their new album, the band are looking forward picking up where they left off and will finally be on their way to world domination in 2023.
Since his arrival in the UK Reginald’s searingly honest observations both onstage and on TV have garnered him a cross-generational fan base.
His TV appearances have included Have I Got News For You?, and two series of the BBC2’s hugely popular Reginald D Hunter’s Songs Of The South & Songs of The Border, documenting Reginald’s epic road trip through 150 years of American popular song.
Reginald has been performing comedy in the UK for over 20 years. During that time he has become one of the Comedy industry’s best-known performers for his distinctive take on the most diverse range of subjects.
His work can be brutally honest and is often considered to be controversial but it is always meticulously thought out and he has never been afraid to face challenging issues head on even when the focus is on his own principles or beliefs.
Doors 3.30pm | Unreserved Seating
‘ Reginald D Hunter joins the top rank of stand-up working today…a comedian going for broke, flying in the face of received opinion in a way that is simply exhilarating…this is comedy of a rare scope.’THE TIMES
‘Compelling onstage charisman. He remains a towering presence in absolute control.’EVENING STANDARD
Since his arrival in the UK Reginald’s searingly honest observations both onstage and on TV have garnered him a cross-generational fan base.
His TV appearances have included Have I Got News For You?, and two series of the BBC2’s hugely popular Reginald D Hunter’s Songs Of The South & Songs of The Border, documenting Reginald’s epic road trip through 150 years of American popular song.
Reginald has been performing comedy in the UK for over 20 years. During that time he has become one of the Comedy industry’s best-known performers for his distinctive take on the most diverse range of subjects.
His work can be brutally honest and is often considered to be controversial but it is always meticulously thought out and he has never been afraid to face challenging issues head on even when the focus is on his own principles or beliefs.
Doors 7.30pm | Unreserved Seating
‘ Reginald D Hunter joins the top rank of stand-up working today…a comedian going for broke, flying in the face of received opinion in a way that is simply exhilarating…this is comedy of a rare scope.’THE TIMES
‘Compelling onstage charisman. He remains a towering presence in absolute control.’EVENING STANDARD
Dirs. Anne Cutaia, Sophie Peyrard / France / 2022 / 54 mins
Landing in New York upon the ashes of post-hippie culture, twenty-year-old Patti Smith, will upset all the existing codes: cliché rock’n’roll, the overly prosaic poetry, the perpetually elitist culture, and the restrictive idea of gender.
During her fifty-year career, with only one commercial hit, she achieved the feat of becoming a living legend without ever leaving the fringes of society. A punk at heart, she positions art as a political force and freedom as a necessity.
Miki Berenyi is a singer, songwriter and guitarist, best known as a member of the indie band Lush and currently a member of Piroshka.
Described as “an extraordinary life story” by MOJO Magazine, her critically acclaimed autobiography, Fingers Crossed: How Music Saved Me from Success tracks the trials and tribulations of being a female singer-songwriter rising to fame in the 90’s.
The book begins with her childhood of extremes. From the bohemian lifestyle of her father’s social circle to the glamour of her mother’s acting career, Miki’s young life was a blur of travel, celebrities and private schooling.
But frequent relocation, parental neglect and the dark presence of her abusive grandmother resulted in crippling shyness, mental health issues and a vulnerability to exploitation. The route out of this hole was music – a passion shared by schoolmate Emma Anderson. The teenagers began attending gigs together and would eventually go on to form Lush.
Peppered with anecdotes involving a cast of hundreds (including Blur, Sean Connery, Tracey Emin, Pearl Jam and the Red Hot Chili Peppers), this uncompromising autobiography documents Lush’s thrilling rise, dispiriting fall and subsequent bounce back, reliving the tours, recording sessions and problematic managers they experienced along the way.
At the heart of the book are Miki’s own battles: the conflict between her mouthy public persona and her thin-skinned private identity; the trials of being a woman in an infuriatingly male world; the struggle to find a middle ground between safe indie obscurity and sell-out international success.
The memoir also explores Miki’s complex relationship with Emma – one that has fluctuated between camaraderie and rivalry over the years – and addresses the most devastating tragedy of all: the suicide of her soulmate, Lush drummer Chris Acland.
Told through frank confession, wry humour and emotional honesty, this is the incredible tale of a trailblazing woman and a seminal band.
Belfast songwriterAndy White’snew album This Garden is only Temporary is out now on vinyl release and we’re delighted he’s coming to Out to Lunch for its launch and his first Belfast show since before the pandemic.
Touring Canada, Andy met LA producer Steve Dierkens. They hit it off and these songs came together in Calgary, Melbourne, and Belfast. They feature Andy’s long-time collaborator Rod McVeyon keys and Kent McRae on drums. This Garden is only Temporary was released during lockdown to rave reviews and is available on vinyl in time for the tour.
Andy first arrived as a punk poet with an acoustic guitar and debut album Rave on Andy White, recently reissued in a deluxe vinyl edition. Since then he has toured the world many times over, recording with Sinead O’Connor and Billy Bragg, writing with the likes of Peter Gabriel, Allison Russell and Neil and Tim Finn.
Political, literary, wearing his influences proudly on his sleeve, Andy has been compared with Bob Dylan, Billy Bragg and Lloyd Cole. A man of his time and place, reflecting the chaos and beauty of the world we live in. Twenty albums in, things are getting interesting.
‘One of the finest songwriters of his generation’ –R2 MAGAZINE
‘The heart is open and the words are a tumble of sentiment’–BELFAST TELEGRAPH
There is a growing resolve in the classical music world to shine a light on composers and performers who have been unjustifiably neglected or, worse still, deliberately written out of that genre’s history. Works by female composers and composers of colour are being given a new prominence and celebrated as they always should have been.
The work of Louise Farrenc has featured in recent Ulster Orchestra Seasons and her colourful, dramatic writing is a welcome addition to the UO’s repertoire.
Piano teacher extraordinaire, composer, equal pay campaigner, Farrenc was a force of nature to be reckoned with in the musical circles of 19th Century Paris and we’re passionate about making sure our audiences get to know more about this inspirational woman.
Her Nonet was one of her most celebrated pieces in its day, with the premiere involving the star violinist of the time, Joseph Joachim. It’s a warm and upbeat work, full of imaginative writing for an unusual combination of instruments. We look forward to introducing you to this remarkable woman and her wonderful music!
Alongside the Farrenc will be some other hidden gems of the chamber repertoire, performed by some of the Orchestra’s versatile and talented players.
Ever since she can remember, Isy has been searching for ways to make her life more exciting: ouija boards, exploring derelict houses and jumping off things for a bet. She often meets others who share the same love of pushing the boundaries: the Welsh taxi driver who found a mischievous way of brightening up his day, and a neighbour who created a network of tunnels beneath his house just for the fun of it.
Now, things have changed: she’s got children of her own and a partner who detests surprises. In her return to live stand-up, she asks whether it’s enough to try and find that buzz on mums’ weekends away or on family walks in the woods, and quite why she continues to hunt for it at all costs.
As seen as Dobby in Channel 4’s Peep Show, Esther in Shameless, Ally in Man Down, on Would I Lie To You, 8 Out of 10 Cats,Hypothetical, Q.I. and much more, Isy has been nominated for three British Comedy Awards, and won a gold Sony Award for her BBC Radio 4 series Isy Suttie’s Love Letters. The paperback of her second book, Jane Is Trying, was released in spring 2022.
‘Suttie’s eye for revealing detail yields plenty of laughs’ – The Guardian
‘The perfect concoction of warmth and grit’ – The Independent
It’s been a remarkable few years for Holywood-born author Louise Kennedy. Her debut collection of short stories, The End of the World is a Cul de Sac was described by The Guardian as ‘A dazzling, heartbreaking debut collection’ while the Sunday Times said ‘Kennedy’s voice, and her unforgiving gaze, are electric.
Louise Kennedy’s recent novel Trespasses, is a stunning and devastating love story set against the backdrop of The Troubles. She has written for the Guardian, the Irish Times, and BBC Radio 4. Before becoming a writer, she worked as a chef for almost thirty years.
‘These stories sing, haunt and inspire laughter … One of the best collections I’ve read in years’ Sinead Gleeson
Fresh from the success of her sell-out Edinburgh Fringe run, Julie Jay brings Oops, This Is Toxic to the Out to Lunch Festival.
This dark-comedy love letter to Britney Spears is a nostalgia-fest for anyone who has ever dropped to that ‘Hit Me Baby One More Time’ beat and for anyone who came of age against the pernicious backdrop of 90s/00s misogyny. Expect post-Caesarean twerking! Jared Leto! Felony Arson! Dizzying double-standards! More Jared Leto! Snakes! (not just the Timberlake kind).
Oops, This Is Toxic is a celebration of surviving sexism and toxic situations. But most of all, it is a celebration of Britney. Warning: this show contains references to 00s fashion which some people may find offensive.
“One of Ireland’s leading comedians” – The Journal
“A joy to watch” – Joanne Mc Nally
“The funniest thing I’ve seen in a long, long time” – Tommy Tiernan
Award-winning singers Michelle Baird, Ceara Grehan and Lynne McAllister have brought their rich voices, unique harmonies and versatility to the stage as The Leading Ladies for twenty years.
One of the first vocal harmony groups of the time, they have won much acclaim with multiple performances in venues including NEC Birmingham, Royal Horseguards London, Dublin’s National Concert Hall and Waterfront Hall.
They also achieved a sell-out concert with the Galway Tenors at the Ulster Hall, shared the stage with the Three Tenors Ireland at Dublin’s National Concert Hall, performed at Belfast’s Opera in the Gardens, Derry Jazz Festival and have made numerous appearances on television, radio and online.
Join The Leading Ladies for a special lunchtime treat that offers something for everyone! From classical crossover and musical theatre, to 40s/50s swing, Celtic and chart hits – all performed in their own inimitable vocal arrangements and close harmony style!
Fresh from his multi-award-winning BBC Radio 4 series Rob Newman On Air, the comedian’s epic new stand-up show goes from cave paintings to car-free cities, by way of Homo Erectus dance steps,Julius Caesar’s traffic ban, rewilding and Rapper’s Remorses.
‘Refreshingly intelligent and hugely entertaining!’ -The Guardian
Harry Bradley and Dónal O’Connor first met in the late 1990’s on the vibrant Belfast traditional music session scene. A common grá for the music of South Ulster and North Connaught was the thread on which they shared interests. However, they ventured on their own unique musical journeys thereafter.
Since Harry’s recent return to Belfast, they have rekindled a musical friendship and are mining the rich repository of northern music which has been left by the likes of Andy Dixon, Cathal McConnell, Ciaran Carson, Desi Wilkinson, Tara Bingham, Johnny & Seán Maguire, Gary Hastings and many more. Today’s performance is a new musical coming together with one of Ireland’s finest young musical accompanists Libby McCrohan.
Harry Bradley was born in South Belfast. The vibrant recording heritage from the 1920s and 30s has had a huge influence on his flute-playing style. Noted for his unique tone and driving rhythm, Harry has come to be recognized as one of the most distinctive flute players in Ireland today. In 2014 he was the recipient of the TG4 Gradam Cheoil Traditional Musician of the Year Award.
Dónal O’Connor has inherited a musical legacy of five generations of fiddle playing. His style is heavily influenced by his family, the Oriel tradition and the great northern fiddle masters such as Seán Maguire, Bríd Harper and Tommy Peoples. Having toured the world and recorded critically acclaimed albums with groups such as Lá Lugh, At First Light and more recently Ulaid, he has since established himself as one of Ireland’s leading television and music producers. He has composed music for theatre, television and film and has presented and produced music programmes for RTÉ, BBC ALBA, BBC NI, TG4, BBC Radio Ulster and Raidio Na Gaeltachta.
Libby McCrohan is a bouzouki player from Dublin. She plays an original round back Greek bouzouki. Her approach to accompaniment is sensitive, subtle, and rhythmical, taking inspiration from the regulator playing of uilleann pipers. Libby has performed all over Ireland and abroad and has featured on two albums to date – the critically acclaimed Heard a Long Gone Song by Lisa O’Neill and Not Before Time… 39 Years in the Making by Páraic Mac Donnchadha.
A young married woman begins an intense affair with an older man as a way of escaping her manipulative mother. But she comes to realise that her lover is a mirror image of her mother – just as seductive, just as demanding, and ultimately just as dangerous.
Set in modern-day Ireland, this unsettling novel from Belfast journalist Fionola Meredith charts the course of a deeply dysfunctional ‘age-gap’ relationship to its inevitable conclusion.
Disturbing yet entertaining, forensic but somehow compassionate, this compelling debut unflinchingly reveals what lies at the heart of the male fear of intimacy, and the hidden impulses which can drive our most fatal attractions.
Fionola Meredith is a writer, broadcaster and commentator, based in Belfast. A former academic, with a PhD in Philosophy, she is a long-established contributor to the Irish Times, BBC Northern Ireland, and writes a weekly opinion column in the Belfast Telegraph. The Stamp of Beauty is Fionola’s debut novel.
‘At last we have the opportunity to jump head first into the warped, seductive and darkly humorous mind of Fionola Meredith.’ – DAVID HOLMES
‘Fionola Meredith creates a visceral story of mistaken love that both manages to disturb and entertain.’ – DAVID PARK
“Bless me father for I have sinned. And I’m about to sin again…”
Vicor Blackley/ Michael Flatley – Blackbird
We invite you to strap on your fedora, bowtie and big man girdle for one last job and join us for this very special Out to Lunch screening.
Blackbird, the feature directorial debut of famed, flame-footed Lord of the Dance and Riverdance legend Michael Flatley. is “a spy thriller of the classic genre,”. It’s also a movie what he wrote, produced, self-financed and – you’ve guessed it – stars in.
Victor Blackley (geddit?) is “a troubled secret agent” whose life of retirement running a “luxurious nightclub in the Caribbean” is turned upside down when “an old flame arrives and reignites love in his life, but she brings danger with her”.
Have a drink every time someone tips their hat. Throw your own hat in the ring for our ‘moody-turning-to-face-the-camera-wearing-a-fedora’ competition. Enjoy a specially made Blackbird cocktail (shaken and stirred) and celebrate all things Blackley in this very special screening. Because Flatley my dear, we DO give a damn.
“The acting and writing are like the non-sexy bits that come between the sexy bits in a porn film made in 1985”The Guardian
Swordfishtrombones was first released in 1983 on Island Records. It had been previously rejected by Asylum Records as too weird for the masses and not enough ‘Martha’.
All the songs were written during a two-week trip to Ireland and produced by Tom Waits. The record is bursting with unusual and sparse instrumentation, at times heartfelt and haunting.
It peaked at no 164 in the Billboard Pop Album Charts but was lauded by NME, Spin and Pitchfork as one of the best albums of all time from one of the best American pop songwriters of all time.
We have invited a varied section of the musician community here to offer their spin on this cult classic album. Kyron Bourke, Duke Special, Clara Tracey and Mike Mormecha will all offer their versions onstage as part of this Out to Lunch special presented in association with the Oh Yeah Centre.
Doors 7.30pm | Unreserved seating
‘A kaleidoscopic swirl of urban life in motion.’ – FAR OUT MAGAZINE
‘…weirdness, heartfelt lyrics and haunting instrumentals adds up to a superior LP…’– ROLLING STONE
After years of parties in Belfast, Superfly Funk and Soul Club are joining forces with Deptford Northern Soul Club with support from DJ Sarge.
Deptford Northern Soul Club are childhood friends, Will Foot and Lewis Henderson, whose early love of soul developed after discovering Lewis’ Dad’s record collection. After finally bringing their musical heritage to the forefront with their debut DJ set at Deptfords Bunker Club 4 years ago, they have since taken their unique club night around the UK, performing at the likes of Glastonbury festival and Green Man, alongside a residency at Manchester’s YES, their beloved Bunker Club and London’s Moth Club.
Whether behind a turntable, dancing out front or in discussion, their sheer love and passion for soul is infectious, as is the spark of friendship and mutual musical appreciation between the two of them. 27-years-old but with old heads on their young shoulders, they have emerged as the new face of Northern Soul, bringing the movement back into the conversation of modern dance music.
Superfly Funk and Soul began as just another regular soul night in the city but has fast become an established brand, combining a popular online radio show with a website packed with interesting content, a range of merchandise and a high energy club night.
The club nights have proven to be one of the best nights out in Belfast and have continued to grow in both stature and in popularity featuring quality acts such as The Allergies, Smoove and Turrell and Crowd Company. Local bands such as The Organauts,Freedom 35s and Supertonic Sound Club have all played, helping to play their part in some brilliant nights.
Emer Maguire flawlessly blends laugh out loud musical comedy, science, and Northern Irish charm.
Her debut solo show Emer Maguire: Hilarious Humans enjoyed a sell-out run at the 2019 Edinburgh Fringe Festival. Hilarious Humans takes an uproariously funny (and sometimes scientific) look at the oddities of human behaviour through Emer’s ingenious musical comedy.
Her most recent shows In Her Element and Up to High Dohhave sold out the Ulster Hall and the MAC respectively so this is a rare opportunity to experience Emer in the intimate venue where her comedy career first began.
Doors 2.00pm | Unreserved seating
‘Emer Maguire is one of the most unique comic prospects in the country.’– BELFAST TELEGRAPH
‘A person so relatable, daft and plain old funny – there’s no need for fake wigs or silly voices. Just Emer, unfiltered – a truly Hilarious Human.’ - DAILY MIRROR
Nine Below Zero are one of Britain’s most respected R&B bands, famous for their no-frills, punchy and direct approach.
Forty years since Nine Below Zero first offered a rhythm & blues alternative to the punk-pop of the mainstream, the south Londoners make a welcome return to Out to Lunch with their Are We There Yet? tour.
Formed in 1979 and named after the famous Sonny Boy Williamson song, in 1980 they signed to A&M Records and released the seminal Live at the Marquee album. By the end of that year, they had moved from selling out the Marquee to selling out the Hammersmith Odeon.
With a reputation as “one of the best blues bands around today” for their scintillating live performances, this show will not disappoint – expect a fearsome, supercharged set from start to finish.
Nine Below Zero are one of Britain’s most respected R&B bands, famous for their no-frills, punchy and direct approach.
Forty years since Nine Below Zero first offered a rhythm & blues alternative to the punk-pop of the mainstream, the south Londoners make a welcome return to Out to Lunch with their Are We There Yet? tour.
Formed in 1979 and named after the famous Sonny Boy Williamson song, in 1980 they signed to A&M Records and released the seminal Live at the Marquee album. By the end of that year, they had moved from selling out the Marquee to selling out the Hammersmith Odeon.
With a reputation as “one of the best blues bands around today” for their scintillating live performances, this show will not disappoint – expect a fearsome, supercharged set from start to finish.
Swordfishtrombones was first released in 1983 on Island Records. It had been previously rejected by Asylum Records as too weird for the masses and not enough ‘Martha’.
All the songs were written during a two-week trip to Ireland and produced by Tom Waits. The record is bursting with unusual and sparse instrumentation, at times heartfelt and haunting.
It peaked at no 164 in the Billboard Pop Album Charts but was lauded by NME, Spin and Pitchfork as one of the best albums of all time from one of the best American pop songwriters of all time.
We have invited a varied section of the musician community here to offer their spin on this cult classic album. Kyron Bourke, Duke Special, Clara Tracey and Mike Mormecha will all offer their versions onstage as part of this Out to Lunch special presented in association with the Oh Yeah Centre.
Doors 7.30pm | Unreserved seating
‘A kaleidoscopic swirl of urban life in motion.’ – FAR OUT MAGAZINE
‘…weirdness, heartfelt lyrics and haunting instrumentals adds up to a superior LP…’– ROLLING STONE
The formation of Dark Tropics was inevitable. Drawn together by a bond that stretched from Ireland to Morocco, musicians Rio McGuinness and Gerard Sands found common ground in the form of Radiohead, Aretha Franklin and The Velvet Underground.
Armed with the influences of Somerset Maugham, Paul Auster and John Cooper-Clarke, the pair formed a partnership – one that relies equally on instinct and guile.
Their creative vision has borne fruit with timeless, cinematic pop-noir. Powered by analogue instruments and retro recording techniques the music sways and breathes naturally.
Their themes are everywhere – the burning highs of lust, the fragility of heartache, the sting of betrayal and defiance in the face of hurt. A meld of contemporary and classic, individual and universal, the scope of Dark Tropics is limited only by how far down the rabbit hole you wish to follow.
Dark Tropics released debut album Ink in late 2021 to widespread critical praise and are currently working on its follow-up.
Doors 7.30pm | Limited Unreserved Seating
‘Lovely, cinematic, understated pop’ -STEVE LAMACQ, BBC 6MUSIC
‘This sounds beautiful’ – JO WILEY, BBC RADIO 2
‘Atmospheric, moody and complex with a maturity that goes beyond the realms of a debut release.’ – HOT PRESS
Andy Irvine has enjoyed a long and hugely successful career as a traditional Irish musician. He has travelled the world as a solo artist and as a member of legendary Irish groups such as Planxty and Patrick Street and more recently Mozaik.
Throughout his extensive career he has maintained and developed the qualities in his music, which endear him to his audience and fellow musicians alike.After his introduction to the world of touring with Sweeney’s Men in 1965, he continued to travel the world, leaving the band in 1968 to pursue his wanderlust. He travelled through Bulgaria, Romania and Yugoslavia, studying the music traditions and styles of these nations.
On his return to Ireland, Andy formed Planxty with fellow musicians Christy Moore, Donal Lunny and Liam O’ Flynn. Planxty went on to achieve huge success and legendary status, reigniting traditional music as a popular genre. While Planxty took a break in 1967, Andy took the time to record another piece of work with Paul Brady. The two recorded a classic album together, simply entitled Andy Irvine & Paul Brady.
As a member of Irelands first traditional “super group” Patrick Street with Kevin Burke, JackieDaly and Arty McGlynn, Andy toured the world and released 8 incredible albums.In 2002, Andy finally formed his dream band, Mozaik, with Donal Lunny, Dutch guitarist Rens van der Zalm, Hungarian bagpiper Nikola Parov and American fiddler Bruce Molsky. The group have completed tours of Australia, Europe and America and have released two highly acclaimed albums
Andy continues to tour the world with Mozaik as well as Patrick Street. He has also completed a series of reunion concerts with Planxty and Paul Brady in the last few years. His constant touring is testament to the fact that he is still as passionate about his music as when he began.
As a musician and a living icon, Andy Irvine will remain in the Irish music scene for a long time to come.
Doors 1.30pm | Unreserved seating
‘Andy Irvine’s live solo performance was informative, witty, intense, full of a love for the music, which he transmitted to the audience with an honesty that only the truly committed can attain.’ – AUKLAND FESTIVAL
‘His forte, his genius is playing his mandolin, mandola and bouzouki.I have never heard such clarity of sound, such perfect and precise rhythmic variations or such brilliant melodic figures from this family of instruments.’ – SAN FRANCISCO EXAMINER
The Noam Chomsky of Irish Balladry chisels out a new motherlode of sung literature….
A thriller, a hilarious comic satire about an archetypal village police force, a surrealistic vision of eternity, the story of a tender, brief, unrequited love affair between a man and his bicycle, and a chilling fable of unending guilt, ‘The Third Policeman’ is comparable only to Alice in Wonderland as an allegory of the absurd.
Distinguished by its endless comic invention and a delicate balancing of logic and fantasy, The Third Policeman is unique in the English language and is described as a masterpiece of black humour.
Presented here for musical ensemble and narrator, this production has been hailed as “An exceptional event” by BBC Radio Ulster
After a fully sold out run with extra shows added at Edinburgh Fringe 2022, Vittorio brings his debut stand-up show to Belfast.
Irish-Italian comedian Vittorio Angelone went to see Brian Friel’s Translations’ at the National Theatre in London. He loved the play, still does, but was deeply disturbed (read: pissed off) by the reaction of the English audience. Join him as he tackles being Irish in England, identity, and the sad comedy shows that seem to win awards.
“Outstanding”
★★★★★ – The Student
“Just wow.”
★★★★½ – Chortle
“Come for the caustic wit, stay for a poignancy that never strays into shameless pandering.” – Rolling Stone Magazine
“So much better than he has any right to be at this stage of his career” – Adam Rowe
“British stand-up’s new wonderkid. Emphasis on the British please. Underlined.” – Fin Taylor
As seen on: BBC One, Channel 4, Have a Word podcast
Tour support for: Adam Rowe, Jason Manford, Dan Nightingale and Shane Todd
BBC New Comedy Award Regional Finalist
British Comedian of the Year Semi-Finalist
NOMINEE: Dave’s Best Newcomer at Edinburgh Fringe 2022
Join us for an hour of glamour and sparkle, taking you back into the worlds of Kurt Weill, Jaques Brel, Noel Coward, Cole Porter, Edith Piaf and Marlene Dietrich.
Join us as part of the Cathedral Quarter Arts Festival’s ‘Out To Lunch’ programme, with captivating performances featuring cabaret classics staged by Northern Ireland’s award-winning national opera company.
Out to Lunch presents the Northern Irish Premiere of this incendiary film about one of the most incendiary bands of the last decade.
Moonbathing in February is described by Lias Saoudi of the unapologetically anarchic South Londoners Fat White Family as “a no-budget DIY film about the ‘throwing shit at the wall until something sticks’ stage of the album-making process”.
He adds that it “also serves as a portrait of just how hard it is to get your rocks off at the bitter end of a winter lockdown and what, if anything, it means to be in a band at this abysmal juncture in music history”.
A short, sharp blast of undiluted creative mayhem.
Footage and Film of Fat White Family before the main feature. 25mins.
Tenx9 is teaming up with Out to Lunch Festival and as it’s our first event of 2023 our theme is Fresh Start. Get in touch with your true stories at tenx9.com/submissions and join us in the Black Box on January 18 2023.
Tenx9 is a storytelling evening where nine people have up to ten minutes each to tell a true story from their own life. It was created in 2011 by Pádraig Ó Tuama & Paul Doran in the Black Box in Belfast. It aims to strip away the barriers that prevent people from sharing their experiences. It is always free of charge.
Medusa is one of the most recognisable figures in Greek Myth: her face has stared out at us for millennia, from Agamemnon’s shield in the Iliad to Versace’s logo now.
Gorgons and gorgon heads were an enormously popular feature on ancient statues and temples. So was Medusa always the terrifying monster we have made her?
Natalie Haynes takes you on a fast-paced tour through the history of Medusa, who she was and why we still see her all around us today. From the author of Pandora’s Jar and the new Medusa novel, Stone Blind, Natalie Haynes shows you how to survive contact with someone who can turn you to stone with a glance.
Poet Damian Gorman is also an acclaimed playwright, and a noted encourager of writing in others.
His selected poems and memoir As If I Cared: Poems and Other Parts of a Life (“beautiful, heartfelt, true…”, BBC) was launched at the Seamus Heaney Homeplace in October 2021.
His rendering of his brother Gerard’s life story, So Young: The Taking of My Life by the Catholic Church was published in May 2022. (“Courageous, unflinching, dignified – words cannot do Gorman justice”, The IRISH TIMES; “This book is an inspiration”, STEPHEN REA.)
Gorman is renowned for his readings, in Ireland and much further afield. He is a Fellow of the Oxford Initiative for Global Ethics and Human Rights and is currently working on the book and lyrics for Beyond Belief, a stage version of the life of John Hume for production in Derry’s Guildhall at the end of March.
The Skallions are a Belfast based 8-piece Ska, Reggae powerhouse, bringing bags of energy and stacks of attitude.
Bursting onto the Belfast music scene in late 2017 opening for New York rocksteady legends, The Slackers, The Skallions have wasted no time bringing their unique brand of perfectly balanced fun and mayhem to audiences across Ireland.
Since that incendiary debut there have been major shows with Jaya the cat, David Rodigan, King Kong Company and The Specials.
Released during the pandemic, debut album Skallion Battalion has caught the attention of ska fans from all over the world. The band has achieved all this with the old punk ethos of DIY, supporting themselves through hard work and determination.
Ross Wilson aka Blue Rose Code writes songs straight from – and to – the heart. They address universal themes of love, loss, travel, home, accepting the past and embracing the future in a deeply personal way.
His music seamlessly blends folk, Americana, jazz, soul and pop influences into something truly unique. A magnetic performer who loves to connect with his audience, Ross and Blue Rose Code are now firmly established as one of UK’s most uplifting and powerful live acts.
Carol Hodge is a seven-fingered, piano-pounding, Yorkshire-dwelling Singer-Songwriter. Think Regina Spektor meets Billy Bragg, but with fewer digits and a continuous existential crisis, sandwiched between bitter irony and relentless optimism.
Active as a solo artist since 2016, Carol’s third studio album The Crippling Space Between was released in 2021. Produced by Dave Draper ( The Wildhearts, The Professionals, Dodgy, Terrorvision), The Crippling Space Between is an unashamed exploration of the emotional rollercoaster that was 2020.
Carol flits between musical styles, bridging the gaps with her astute lyricism. A fierce believer in remaining independent, the album was released on Carol’s own label Midnight Stamp. Lead single Moan Of A Thousand Years was named Track Of The Week by Classic Rock magazine readers in October 2021.
Previous albums Savage Purge (2020) and Hold On To That Flame (2018) featured on several Top Album end-of-year lists, and 2020 single Stopped Believing In You received signifiant indie and online radio play, including from BBC Manchester and BBC Bristol.
Carol has collaborated continuously with other artists over the past ten years, and is perhaps best known for her work with Crass founder Steve Ignorant. She took lead vocals on the Last Supper tour in 2011, singing the songs of Crass all over the world, a role which is being reprised in 2021/22.
Carol is the pianist in Steve Ignorant’s Slice Of Life and has performed across the UK and Europe since 2012. When not dabbling in anarcho-punk, Carol provides live keys and BVs for Texan country-rock star Ryan Hamilton and makes occasional guest appearances on keys with The Membranes and The Ginger Wildheart Band.
With awe-inspiring four-part harmonies, low-bowed double bass, flutes, trumpet, banjo and more, Wookalily create a masterful and sweeping sonic tapestry that will leave audiences rapt with wonder, and wanting more.
This is an ambitious folk music. Daring to dissolve musical and generic boundaries. Irreverently intertwining the disciplines of blues, rock, punk and more to create a unique and singular musical menagerie that must be witnessed to be truly experienced. Audiences are left spinning with transcendent melodies and floating on ethereal vocals.
Wookalily have performed in session for the BBC, UTV, RTE and Sky. Notable live performances include support for Martha Wainwright at Soma, IBMA Songwriter’s Showcase in Nashville and more recently at Electric Picnic County Laois.
Mungo’s love soundsystem culture to the core – from its Jamaican roots to raves, club and festivals.
When performing as DJs, playing on their heavyweight soundsystem, producing music, collaborating with vocalists and releasing artists on their label, Scotch Bonnet, they create a uniquely uplifting experience.
Dougie No Pain, Craigy Wonder, Breezak Bass and Tommy Danger are the Scottish collective known as Mungo’s Hi Fi.
Explosion Soundsystem are Northern Ireland’s original heavyweight Soundsystem, dedicated to promoting Jamaican music and soundsystem culture since 2012.
Out to Lunch presents a special festival edition of Coven, a monthly comedy show dedicated to foregrounding women and LGBT+ performers. Adam Laughlin hosts a stellar lineup of new and established acts including David Doherty-Jebb, Rachel McPeake, Laura Conlon, Sarah Firby and Pete Giffen.
Out to Lunch is delighted to present the Northern Irish premiere of this powerful film about one of music’s great forces of nature – the ever-enigmatic Damo Suzuki.
Energy is an existential journey through the power of healing with the former lead singer of krautrock legends CAN.
The film follows Suzuki over five years of his life in Germany and the UK as he confronts cancer and attempts to continue a never-ending global tour.
Critically acclaimed directorMichelle Heighwayhas been working with the mercurial Japanese-born musician since 2014, culminating in the fascinating insights of this incredible documentary.
It’s Neil Young day at Out to Lunch. Ahead of the (sold out) show by Harvest later this evening, we are screening this immersive, fly-on-the-wall portrait of one of the world’s great artists at the peak of their creative powers.
Created between January and September 1971, this docu-film takes us on an intimate journey to Young’s farm in Northern California for the ‘Harvest Barn’ sessions, to London for an iconic performance with the London Symphony Orchestra and to Nashville where the then 20 something Neil Young worked on various tracks of this signature album.
The feature is a fan piece that has never been seen before. Performance and rehearsal content is intertwined into creative storytelling and includes most of the tracks from album Harvest (released in 1972) including Heart of Gold, A Man Needs A Maid, Alabama and Old Man. Get a drink, sit back, and enjoy.
Harvest are an 8-piece band who have been thrilling audiences and fans of Neil Young for 14 years.
Formed in 2009, the band have played sell-out shows all over Ireland, including a performance of arguably Young’s greatest album Harvest in full at Vicar Street in Dublin in 2018. The band have also played numerous festivals including Electric Picnic and appeared on national TV and radio.
The band embrace the mercurial Canadian’s multiple genres and styles, from the gentlest acoustic country/folk workouts to the noisiest ‘Crazy Horse’ rock epics, and everything in between.
A rare chance to celebrate Youngless peerless legacy through beautiful renditions of the timeless classics Heart of Gold, The Needle and the Damage Done, Old Man, Helpless and many others.
Singer and songwriter Siobhan Brown aka Manuhunney was born in London of Jamaican heritage and has lived most of her life in Bangor, Northern Ireland.
Her band Manukahunney have been lighting up dance floors across Northern Ireland since 2012 and Siobhan’s shows are legendary for her unique infectious performances which always touch your soul.
As a recent awardee of the prestigious MOBO Help Musician Fund, Manukahunney will soon release an exciting 2nd EP later in 2023 which represents her re-emergence as an independent artist following a quiet spell over the last few years of lockdown.
A precursor to her EP Release Manukahunney’s single and music video launch party for her stomping tune Overcomer will be a night to celebrate. Overcomer is an upbeat feel-good single with leanings towards classic 90’s Dance soul.
The song is an anthem that celebrates our resilience and the desire and strength of our communities to acknowledge and lift each other up, no matter our differences and to overcome the challenges we face together. We are Overcomers!
This is music inspired by a wide range of artists such as Rachelle Farelle, Anita Baker, Sharon Jones, Angelique Kidjo , Jill Scott, Erykah Badu, Aretha Franklin and Gregory Porter.
As well as sold out festival appearances across Northern Ireland, Siobhan also has her our soul show on BBC Radio Ulster – The Siobhan Brown Soul Show now in its 4th series and currently airing on Sundays at 4pm.
Tonight’s event will be supported by Manukahunney Soul DJ – DJ Dee, playing his infamous selection of soul classics to get your feet tapping and your body moving.
Father Earth is the true story of one man’s attempt to help save the planet, by converting a derelict church on the Orkney Isles into an eco-friendly recording studio.
It’s also a fascinating study of a psychological power struggle between a character comedian – Graham Fellows, and his long-standing creation – John Shuttleworth.
Father Earth is also about family relationships – specifically between fathers and sons – and it explores the paradox: how in the battle against extinction we are often distracted by personal and family issues, as they appear more important and pressing than the future of the planet.
Funny yet moving, and filmed mainly in the Orkney Isles over a 10-year period, Father Earth is Graham Fellows’ most thoughtful and accomplished movie to date. Previous work includes It’s Nice Up North filmed by Martin Parr (2004) and Southern Softies (2008).
Father Earth features guest appearances from Sooty and Sweep, and a virtuoso performance from Graham’s mathematically driven elderly father Derek.
This 83 minute documentary will be followed by a Q&A with performer/director Graham Fellows.
A collection for solo traditional musicians and computer with Paddy Glackin (fiddle), Saileog Ní Cheannabháin (piano), Tiarnán Ó Duinnchinn (uilleann pipes), Pauline Scanlon (voice), Jack Talty (concertina).
‘Aonaracht I is a collection of six pieces for solo traditional musician and computer. Each piece is a unique combination of the traditional musician, their instrument, and electronics.
Traditional music is often thought of and enjoyed in group contexts. I wanted to think of the traditional instrument as it is to the player – first and foremost a private relationship between one person and their instrument.
What might it be like if something of that relationship was heard alongside the acoustic instrument? Can technology be used to sound the world of traditional music beyond the tunes?
Each piece has a different theme, exploring Irish traditional music and improvisation, poetry, artificial intelligence, feminism, instrumentation and community . Each features a custom made relationship with the computer, involving fixed media, electroacoustic sound, field recordings, improvisation and live electronics. I worked on this collection with specific players in mind, and shaped the coding and sound for each.’ – Úna Monaghan
This event will feature tracks performed live by Paddy Glackin, Pauline Scanlon, Úna Monaghan and Jack Talty. Singer Síle Denvir will host a discussion with the artists on the making of the album, and combining traditional music with technology.
On the back of their Edinburgh Festival run, double British Podcast Award nominations, and tour, Drunk Women Solving Crime come to Ireland for the first time when they appear as part of the Out To Lunch Festival.
Each episode sees the boozed-up panel of writer/comedian hosts Hannah George, Catie Wilkins and Taylor Glenn test out their drunk detective skills and solve true crime cases, along with a star-studded roster of guests, who have included Katherine Ryan, Ricki Lake, Deborah Frances -White, Sara Pascoe, and Shazia Mirza among many others.
Plus, the audience gets the chance to have any unresolved crimes against them solved by our sloshed sleuths….whatever happens, they won’t make things worse.
On the back of their Edinburgh Festival run, double British Podcast Award nominations, and tour, Drunk Women Solving Crime come to Ireland for the first time when they appear as part of the Out To Lunch Festival.
Each episode sees the boozed-up panel of writer/comedian hosts Hannah George, Catie Wilkins and Taylor Glenn test out their drunk detective skills and solve true crime cases, along with a star-studded roster of guests, who have included Katherine Ryan, Ricki Lake, Deborah Frances -White, Sara Pascoe, and Shazia Mirza among many others.
Plus, the audience gets the chance to have any unresolved crimes against them solved by our sloshed sleuths….whatever happens, they won’t make things worse.
Have you ever wondered where Steven Seagal gets his ideas from?
What does it take to write a book goodly?
Join us on this evening of spoken word readings from some of the finest fantastically written works of literature from the likes of Morrissey, Nadine Dorries and Naomi Campbell…
A group of professional readers will guide us through the process as we tackle the tricky, thorny task of writing using alliteration. The fine art of belles-lettres for the bedroom and the how of how to write action sequences like Proust…
Come on down and explore this catechism of cliche.
“Eliza’s breasts barrel-rolled across Ezra’s howling mouth and the pained frenzy of his bulbous salutation extenuating his excitement as it smacked its way into every muscle of Eliza’s body except for the otherwise central zone.” Morrissey. The List of the Lost.
“One of our own has been murdered in a graveyard, had his dick hacked off and fed to a cat. We have no idea who did it”. Nadine Dorries. Shadows In Heaven.
‘When Kitty sings, music stops to listen’ – Jazz in Europe Magazine
London based singer Kitty La Roar makes her Belfast debut at Out to Lunch – singing, scatting and free-styling at the drums.
Originally inspired by Ella Fitzgerald and Sarah Vaughan, stylish UK-based singer Kitty La Roar’s unique talents are not just as silky voiced songstress, scat-singer and drummer: she has an spellbinding ability to freestyle lyrics to melody on the spot, telling stories that are not only relevant to the song she is singing, but often weaving in references to life, love, nature, politics, current events, and even to people in the audience.
She performs highly original songs by Kitty and her pianist Nick Shankland and although the genre is clearly jazz, this unpredictable and eclectic music entrances and engages the audience.
The band will be showcasing original compositions from the album Valentine’s Eve, as well as original lyrics to the music of Monk, Ellington, Strayhorn and Sonny Rollins.
Kitty La Roar – vocals / drums
Nick Shankland – piano vocals / bass keys
Doors 12.30pm | Unreserved seating
“A force of nature” – Michael Feinstein
“Simply mesmerising!” – Rye Jazz Festival
“Chic chanteuse” – The Independent
“Fantastic!” – OK Magazine
“Seductive.. world class vocals” – Penthouse Magazine
Presented by Out To Lunch, Queen’s Film Theatre and the Seamus Heaney Centre at Queen’s
Paul Muldoon and Director Alan Gilsenan will take part in a Q and A following the screening.
A feature-length documentary on the Armagh-born poet Paul Muldoon in which key moments in his creative life, which began with him writing poems in Irish as a schoolboy, is explored by many of the musicians Paul has worked with over the years.
The film creatively composes the story of his life through poems and special performances. Directed by renowned Irish documentarian Alan Gilsenan, Muldoon himself narrates this unique Irish language film, which is an expression of his deep love of song lyrics and poetry. Featuring Liam Neeson, Paul Simon and PJ Harvey, amongst others, and using Muldoon’s own words to explore key moments in his creative life, the film is an imaginative and innovative tribute to a great literary mind.
A BelowTheRadarTV Production for BBC Gaelige, TG4, NIScreen and BAI
The Special Consensus is a bluegrass band that has achieved a contemporary sound in over four decades of performing, making their music a modern classic. Band members include leader Greg Cahill (banjo), Dan Eubanks (bass), Greg Blake (guitar) and Michael Prewitt (mandolin).
Special Consensus has released 20 band recordings and received six awards from the International Bluegrass Music Association (IBMA) and two Grammy nominations. Greg has also received the prestigious IBMA Distinguished Achievement Award.
Chicago Barn Dance, released by Compass Records in 2020, is the 20th Special C recording that celebrates both the 45th band anniversary and the long-standing connection of country and bluegrass music with Chicago from the time of the WLS “National Barn Dance” that was a precursor to the Grand Ole Opry.
The title song Chicago Barn Dance received the 2020 IBMA Song of the Year award. A band who are at the absolute top of their game.
October 2022 marked 60 years since The Beatles first record, Love Me Do. It hit the chart in week 1 and they’ve never really left them since.
Now, in the wake of Peter Jackson’s jaw-dropping Get Back trilogy and Sir Paul McCartney’s 80th birthday celebrations, world leading Beatles author Mark Lewisohn will present a new format show, screening curated riches from his incomparable archive to speed-deliver 62 fascinating history bites about one year.
EVOLVER:62 is 62 sharp vivid moments that add up. It’s Beatles on the launchpad and detonation time for our huge cultural shift. Lovingly sharing items from his filing cabinets, Lewisohn will guide audiences through a galaxy of real-life moments, letting authentic archival gems transport you back where they once belonged, to see and feel how it all was before it was.
People can expect to be well informed after a single two-hour show, tugged by 62 fast-moving stories of lives, loves, laughs, drama, death, beauty and music, one incredible engaging episode after another.
The bottom line? Whether you’re new to the Beatles or think you’ve seen it all, come and love it a whole lot more … and be completely enthralled. The deeper you go, the higher you fly.
Mark Lewisohn is the acknowledged world authority on the Beatles. His books include Tune In (which is the first volume in his historical trilogy The Beatles: All These Years) as well as the bestselling and influential Recording Sessions, The Complete Beatles Chronicleand (as co-author) The Beatles’ London.
He was consultant and researcher for all aspects – TV, DVDs, CDs and book – of The Beatles Anthology. A photographer in the little spare time he allows, his work appears in the photo book An Englishman In Mons.
Produced by Kabosh with support fromUniteThe Union
When our only dedicated women’s hostel is threatened with closure, six determined workers rise together to fight against a failing system and an uncaring establishment. For 12 weeks they live, work, and breathe resistance.
Standing up to a management structure refusing to find solutions.
Standing up for the women they protect.
Standing up for essential services.
Standing up to shout: NOT ON OUR WATCH
Followed by a post-show discussion.
Doors 7.30pm | Unreserved seating
Please Note: The Bar is open before the show but not during.
Teresa Livingstone is a classy lady, at least she tries to be despite everything being a 40-something Northern Irish woman throws at her.
She spent her thirties being delighted by the success of others and her ever-fluctuating weight but her forties are here and there’s no time like the present to rewrite the rules.
One of Northern Ireland’s top comedy acts, Teresa is bringing her unique blend of stand up, songs, gin and ‘going out’ leggings to The Black Box for one afternoon only!
As seen on BBC’s The Blame Game, Soft Border Patrol and Late Licence.
‘One of the few Belfast acts moving away from traditional stand up’ – THE GUARDIAN
‘With hilarious songs like “Cake and Wine” and “Nice Ladies”, no one escapes Teresa’s commentary.’ – BELFAST LIVE
A unique performance celebrating these wonderful artists collectively and individually.
In the height of lockdown ’21, a small window opened for four incredible musical artists to meet up. It was not known what would come out of the writing retreat, but the results were astonishing.
Their first collective release was called True Love. Written by all four members of CEITHRE CINN, it was recorded live moments later. The song became one of the most played songs on BBC Radio Ulster and RTE Radio 1 that year, having been playlisted on both.
Ciaran Lavery is an NI Music Prize winner for Best Album. Suzanne Savage is a virtuosic vocalist and first call for Paul Brady, the RTE Concert Orchestra and many more. Finnian is one of Ireland’s fastest rising musical stars. Matt McGinn is an award winning and prolific songwriter from the Mourne Mountains. Together they are Ceithre Cinn.
‘After defeat, re-enchantment is necessary’, said Lola Olufemi. This thought inspires Josie Long’s brand-new show of stand-up infused with humanity, compassion and some brief political rants.
The triple Edinburgh Comedy Award nominee, underdog Fringe hero and delirious new mother (the first person to have two babies) returns with a show about the changes wrought by time, passion, moving to Scotland, and loving the world under – let’s face it – difficult circumstances.
Doors 7.30pm | Unreserved seating
Pay What You Can 10% of our tickets for Josie’s show will be released on a Pay What You Can basis
Support from The Brigideens, an experimental-folk duo comprising Catriona Gribben and Aoife O’Reilly, will present a performance of stories and songs exploring the ancient Celtic calendar celebration of Imbolc.
This new record from Myles McCormack comprises 10 carefully crafted songs which are characteristically philosophical, playful, introspective and moving.
It features re-worked versions of previously released singles Comfort Zone and The River Rises, as well as the particularly expressive One Day.
New songs Thing Of The Earth and Every Time explore romantic themes with maturity and lyrical precision, while tracks such as Julie and Back To The Stream are great examples of Myles’ unusual guitar styles.
Although rarely flashy, there is some unique and intricate playing on both acoustic and electrics across the record. Sparing use of piano and organ parts add colour and depth while percussion varies from intimate brushes and claps to bodhráns and full drum kits.
Rough edges are laid bare and soft touches are favoured over soaring solos. While far from today’s pop sounds, the songs are subtly catchy with delightful earworm moments which will reward repeat listens.
If you are an arts student, please contact arts.culture@ulster.ac.uk with your student number to reserve a free ticket.
The ‘Rembrandt of the housing estate’ found lyricism in Tile Hill, capturing a changing Britain. In this informal illustrated Q and A, George Shaw talks about his work and influences.
Shaw, who was nominated for The Turner Prize in 2011, is known for his highly detailed approach and suburban subject matter.
His favoured medium is Humbrol enamel paints, more usually used to paint model trains and aeroplanes. This gives his work a unique appearance.
Shaw will talk about his work and influences, not just visual artists but music and culture that were formative experiences. From the music of The Fall, The Specials and Joy Division to Ladybird books and badge design.
While the landscape is his subject, he focuses on the suburban surroundings of his childhood rather than the countryside. His paintings and drawings depict bus stops, phone boxes, pubs and graffiti against a backdrop of semidetached homes, blocks of flats and expanses of grey sky.
This view of England is not always flattering, but it offers a detailed study of the changing nature of social housing; these unconsidered or neglected landscapes are suddenly elevated by the poignancy of personal memory.
Rising star Early James has just released his second album,Strange Time To Be Alive to even more positive reviews than his brilliant debut, Singing For My Supper.
With the charmed eccentricity of a true poet, the Alabama-bred singer/songwriter takes in the endless absurdity he sees around him, then alchemizes his unease into a glorious patchwork of musical idioms: forsaken blues and contemplative folk songs, brooding murder ballads and lovestruck piano tunes.
The lyrical wordsmith conjures the ghosts of great southern gothic writers from Eudora Welty toWilliam Faulkner, while channeling the haunted spirits of Tom Waitsand Townes Van Zandt.
Produced by Dan Auerbach, the album evokes a timeless amalgam of forsaken blues, wistful folk and Tin Pan Alley crooning, anchored by the singer’s unmistakable voice that sways from gravel-filled shouts to a pained, forlorn whisper.
‘No one can do what Early James does…taps into Easy Eye Sound’s signature greasy soul and his own brand of warm, elastic blues.’– NO DEPRESSION
‘James’ eclectic approach is brilliantly idiosyncratic. No one sounds like him. Or even comes close.’ – American Songwriter
LIZZIE NO
New York singer-songwriter, harpist and guitarist Lizzie No is one of the most exciting new voices in contemporary Americana music. Her 2017 debut album Hard Won was hailed as “simultaneously understated and fervent” by Billboard Magazine.
No’s 2019 album Vanity was a hit at college radio stations across the country, cracking the NACC Top Adds Chart. Rolling Stone called the first single Narcissus a “crisp alt-rock gem” and a “Song You Need To Know.” After dropping a surprise home-studio-made EP in 2020, Lizzie is currently working on her third album due for release in 2023.
Lizzie has toured with Iron & Wine, Adia Victoria, Sarah Shook and the Disarmers, and has showcased at festivals like Newport Folk Fest, AmericanaFest, South by Southwest, and the Mile Of Music Festival.
‘Lizzie No has been quietly making superb records largely on her own over the past several years.’– ROLLING STONE
‘Lizzie No has picked up the musical baton of greats like Linda Thompson and Sandy Denny, spread it thick with a shadowy relevance born of her New York background, and unleashed what amounts to a new sub-genre of folk with a country tinge.’– AMERICANA UK
Arco String Quartet is one of the country’s leading professional and dynamic string quartets, having gained a fine reputation in Ireland both North and South for excellence and creativity. Recent collaborations have included Foy Vance, Villagers, Soak and The Darkling Air.
The Quartet continue to push the boundaries of its art, specialising in the arrangement and performance of all music genres, particularly rock and pop.
All the players are graduates of major music conservatories in England and Ireland, and have performed all over the world, as far afield as China, USA, Malaysia and South Africa, with orchestras including The Ulster Orchestra, The RTE National Symphony Orchestra, Camerata Ireland, The Irish Chamber Orchestra, The Halle Orchestra, The Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, English National Opera, Scottish Opera, Northern Ballet and Manchester Camerata.
Arco String Quartet, before moving home to Northern Ireland, also appeared at Covent Garden and held a residency in the famous Claridges Hotel in London.
Out to Lunch is delighted to welcome multi-platinum selling artist Mick Flannery to Belfast for this rare and intimate show.
To date, Mick has released eight studio albums, three of which reached No. 1. His latest full length In The Game, a collaboration with Susan O’Neill, was the biggest independent selling record in Ireland in 2021.
Mick has been described by Clash magazine as ‘a complete master of his craft’ whilst The Sunday Times says of his songwriting that he ‘conjures up exquisite story-telling’. Mick is often cited as one of Ireland’s most gifted songwriters to date.
Mick is currently recording his 9th studio record due out later in 2023.
This new walking tour uncovers the history of the city’s emergent Cultural Quarter. Your guide will help you to see and appreciate more of what is in plain sight on our streets – if we only look up, or down.
Starting from The Black Box, the group will stroll down narrow entries, cross open squares, view historic and landmark buildings, public artworks and lively music venues – thoroughly exploring the Cathedral Quarter.
The tour will take in Writer’s Square, The Common Market, the Oh Yeah Music Centre, The MAC and Exchange Place.This entertaining and insightful ‘Cathedral Quarter Arts Trail’ will:
Point out some of the exciting and colourful pieces of street art and public sculptures, identifying the artists.
Show you features of the area associated with Belfast writers and poets. – Visit a music exhibition and consider Belfast as a UNESCO City of Music.
Help you to see the city’s historic ‘Entries’ in a new light.Please arrive outside The Black Box five minutes before the start time. Come prepared for all weather and to walk up to 1.5 miles, including on several cobbled streets.
Tickets £12.00
PRACTICAL DETAILS
Saturday 28 January, 1-2.30pm
Tour starts from and returns to: The Black Box, Hill Street
An Out to Lunch Festival debut for a band starting to make a serious waves on the Irish Blues scene following the release of their incredible 2021 album Revelator.
The 2:19 are influenced by everything blues; from the crossroads of the Delta through the 60s Blues Boom to Stevie Ray Vaughan and beyond.
Today’s show will feature songs from Revelator and brand new songs from their forthcoming 2nd album. A treat is in store for the Blues convert or just fans of great music.
Doors 1.30 | Unreserved seating
‘The musicianship is top-notch, the songs are all strong, and the arrangements just work. Go buy this album.’DOWN AT THE CROSSROADS
Hosted by Belfast Comedy stalwarts Alan Irwin (Chortle Student Comedian of the Year Runner-Up) and Ronan Linskey (Bulmer’s Irish Comedian of the Year 2015)
Kill Your Darlings has been running for the last 6 years in the Black Box, and it has become one of Belfast’s most loved comedy clubs. It features new and established comedians doing all new never heard before material. Previous acts include Colin Murphy, Shane Todd, Colin Geddis, Theresa Livingstone.
Hailed by Hotpress Magazine as ‘One of Northern Ireland’s most exciting bands to emerge in recent times’, No Oil Paintings are a vivacious, dynamic, alternative-folk band from Belfast.
Their mix of folk instrumentation, four-part harmonies and high energy live shows serves to create their own brand of genre-bending roots music. The band switch and share lead vocals with each member delivering their own style to the songs they bring to the table.
During their career they have had many notable successes, some of which include headlining stages at Stendhal Festival, Sunflower Festival, and Open House Festival. Other live accomplishments include supporting The Dead South at a sold-out show in The Limelight – Belfast, and being chosen by Hannah Peel to partake in the Mix the City project joining 95 musicians and curators in 12 locations to create a creative platform representing Belfast.
Their proudest creative achievement to date has been collaborating with Grammy award winner Joss Stone during her world tour. The band were chosen to be accompanied by Joss on one of their original songs God Only Knows. The collaboration was recorded and videoed live and has received over 300,000 views online.
‘One of Ireland’s finest, most forward-pushing alternative folk outfits.’ – THE THIN AIR
‘The band are at home on a live stage, particularly when the audience can give it back like they do tonight.’– BBC (Across the Line)
With heart-wrenching songwriting and luscious harmonies combined with the natural storytelling of folk, the rhythms of Americana and catchy pop hooks, Madison Violet have been captivating audiences and critics alike for two decades.
Brenley MacEachern and Lisa MacIsaac met in Toronto in 1999, only to discover that their fathers sat next to each other in high school nearly 2000km away in Cape Breton. That longstanding, deep-rooted history is what ties the duo’s harmonies so tight, and lies at the core of their unparalleled musical connection and enthralling live show.
Following the release of their most recent record, Eleven, Madison Violet received a hat-trick of nominations in the 2023 Canadian Folk Music Awards, adding to their impressive list of accolades that includes a Juno nomination, a Canadian Folk Music Award for Best Vocal Group Album, a Critic’s Choice Award from Country Music People’s Magazine, and the John Lennon Songwriting Grand Prize.
Madison Violet’s songs have featured in influential music magazine MOJO’s Top 10 playlist, as well as CBC Radio 2’s Top 20, and received a mass of international acclaim from outlets such as the BBC, Maverick Magazine, NPR and Germany’s WDR, where the duo feature on the station’s list of ‘Best Bands of All Time’.
In a brief sojourn from their signature roots-based sound, their 2014 single These Ships was remixed and released on one of the largest US dance labels, Ultra Records, garnering over 1.2 million plays on Spotify (for that track alone), and counting.
Doors 7.30pm | Unreserved Seating
‘Heartaching harmonies and tunes make Madison Violet a must-see act.’ – THE INDEPENDENT
‘Madison Violet are a joy to experience… there are few other acts that can provide such a strong statement of quality musicianship coupled with songs of the highest caliber.’– LONESOME HIGHWAY
Social media sensation and Chortle Award winner Rosie Holt tours her hour of character comedy based on her hit satirical videos.
A right-wing “opinionist” distorting the news, an MP desperately defending a failing government, a left-winger wanting to say the right thing but scared of getting it wrong.
‘The Thick of It levels of writing and performance applied to a very 2022 flavour of political bullshit.’-THE TIMES
‘A wonderful showcase for the woman that the pandemic turned into a sensation with her hilarious but also chilling realistic takes on a dissembling rising Tory star.’ -THE NEW EUROPEAN
‘If she can stay in character long enough, she’ll have a Telegraph column and a seat on Question Time by teatime’ – JAMES O’BRIEN, LBC
★★★★ Time Out ★★★★ Broadway Baby ★★★★ The Arts Desk ★★★★★ Lost in Theatreland
Stuart Braithwaite will participate in a Q and A about his new book and his work with Mogwai.
Born the son of Scotland’s last telescope-maker, Stuart Braithwaite was perhaps always destined for a life of psychedelic adventuring on the furthest frontiers of noise in MOGWAI, one of the best-loved and most ground-breaking post-rock bands of the past three decades.
Modestly delinquent at school, Stuart developed an early appetite for ‘alternative’ music in what might arguably be described as its halcyon days, the late ’80s. Discovering bands like Sonic Youth, My Bloody Valentine, and Jesus and Mary Chain, and attending seminal gigs (often incongruously incognito as a young girl with long hair to compensate for his babyface features) by The Cure and Nirvana, Stuart compensated for his indifference to school work with a dedication to rock and roll . . . and of course the fledgling hedonism that comes with it.
Spaceships Over Glasgow is a love song to live rock and roll; to the passionate abandon, we’ve all felt in the crowd (and some of us, if lucky enough, from the stage) at a truly incendiary gig. It is also the story of a life lived on the edge; of the high times and hazardous pit-stops of international touring with a band of misfits and miscreants.
Let Us Be Seen is a rally cry demanding that people in Belfast who campaign tirelessly for change are finally seen and heard.
It is a splash of colour, showcasing the creative ways individuals provide an alternative to the binary politics in Belfast, dealing with the myriad issues affecting feminists in the North of Ireland.
Documenting how activists, artists and educators join forces to make change, this film contains art and music from many talented local individuals including bands:Gender Chores, Problem Patterns, Strange New Places and Sister Ghost.
Join for a special screening followed by an intimate gig from feminist punk trio Gender Chores.
Director Elspeth Vischer will be around to discuss where things are at over three years on from the decriminalisation of abortion and legalisation of same-sex marriage via Westminster ruling on 21st October 2019 and answer any questions.
Having built their reputation as one of Ireland’s top entertainment acts, the pandemic forced Anna’s Number back to their humble busking roots. Now, having sold out two of Belfast’s most iconic venues over the past year, we’re delighted to have them close the Out To Lunch Festival.
Bringing the ‘showband’ into the Instagram generation, Anna’s Number are renowned for their expansive, inventive setlist – from 60s rock ‘n’ roll and 70s funk/soul classics to noughties Clubland bangers and viral TikTok hits.
With Anna’s Number you just don’t get their chemistry, you get the whole periodic table!
This will be another live gig to remember with the bunsen burner turned all the way up to eleven!
Check out Anna’s Number at: https://www.annasnumber.com
If you would like to share the pleasure of OTL and CQAF events with family or a friend, simply buy a gift voucher here and the recipient will be sent a voucher code to enter when purchasing show tickets from our website.
It couldn’t be simpler, will bring much enjoyment and will contribute to the ongoing sustainability of the festival.
Jane Butler’s research-led practice focuses on the experience of trauma and the relationship of body and mind to external environments. Her architectural interventions, installations and photography-based works are informed by elusive memories and neurological effects.
‘I remember how it made me feel’ is an accumulation of her work during two years on the Freelands Artists Programme. This exhibition serves as a meditative place to sit and reflect.
Jane Butler is an artist and organiser specialising in public and site-specific projects. Butler received a BA Fine Art (Sculpture) from Ulster University in 2009. She has produced projects in partnership with Belfast City Council, PLACE and TULCA Visual Arts Festival, Galway. Butler was a Co-Director and chair of Catalyst Arts (2012-2015). She is currently a Co-Director of Household, who work collaboratively with artists, writers, curators and the public to develop thought provoking projects in the public realm. She is also an active member of Array Collective; a group of Belfast-based artists who create collaborative actions in response to issues affecting Northern Ireland, who recently won the Turner Prize 2021 in the Herbert Coventry Museum, with their installation The Druthaibs Ball, 2021.
Belfast International Arts Festival in association with CQAF presents Between Tiny Cities រវាងទីក្រុងតូច by Nick Power as part of its extended 60th season.
Experience dancers Erak Mith, from Phnom Penh, Cambodia and Aaron Lim, from Darwin, Australia use the rituals, movement styles and language of their shared hip-hop culture. Between Tiny Cities រវាងទីក្រុងតូច reveals the dramatically different worlds that surround them and the choreographic links that unite them.
Choreographed by internationally-renowned Australian hip-hop dance artist Nick Power and accompanied by the beats and sound design of Jack Prest, the work blends the raw, wild energy of b*boy battles with skilful improvisation and choreography, offering a cross-cultural perspective on style, culture and locality.
The project is the result of a four-year dance exchange between Darwin’s D*City Rockers and Cambodia’s Tiny Toones youth program. The two crews have travelled, trained, battled and performed together, and Between Tiny Cities រវាងទីក្រុងតូច, is the culmination of that exchange.
Get up close and personal to the action! The performance takes place inside a 10m diameter circular space and the audience is invited to stand around the edge.
Post-show discussion on Friday 6 May.
Between Tiny Cities is presented as part of the UK/Australia Season 2021-22, a major programme of cultural exchange taking place across the two nations.
Concession rates apply on selected events to those aged 16 and under, over 60s, students, the unemployed, and disabled persons. Proof of status may be required.
We’re delighted to introduce Winnie Ama as this year’s Artist in Residence. Winnie is part of a new breed of electronic artists blending conscious lyrics, soulful alternative RnB vocals with dance, house and pop rhythms.
You can also catch Winnie in support of Altered Images, Sarah McQuaid, Michael Janisch and Dani Larkin.
The Belfast-born-and-raised Northern-Irish-Ghanaian artist has had success with multiple MusicWeek UK Club Chart top 10’s and support from BBC Introducing and BBC Radio Ulster referencing her fresh writing style and distinctive voice.
Winnie Ama’s writing style is inspired by Ella Fitzgerald, Stevie Wonder, Nina Simone and Amy Winehouse. She switched from writing poetry and stories to writing music.
Winnie studied jazz vocals before making her commercial music debut in 2019 writing 3 songs in collaboration with Francis Groove that made the top 10 in MusicWeek’s UK Urban/Black Club Chart – Can’t Wait #1, I Swear #7 and Born to Win #6.
She also appeared in Photo Vogue in 2019. Her solo debut What Are We was in MusicWeek’s Black Club Chart for 6 weeks, peaking at number 11.
Winnie Ama is also a lead data analyst for the Why Not Her? movement which campaigns for gender equality in the music industry and mentors other artists.
In 2022 she has a series of singles starting with electronic pop track Here I Go produced with Simon Le Saint on 25 February and a pop house collaborative track with two New York Producers Genpop and Pommy – Awe of You out on 25 March.
Winnie’s full schedule of CQAF shows will be released in the coming weeks.
Arthur Jeffes much loved collective – Penguin Cafe – are back in 2022 performing their eclectic array of genre-defying evocative pieces mixing Arthur’s beautiful compositions with some iconic PCO classics.
Originally brought together by Arthur to keep alive the music of his late father, Simon Jeffes of the iconic Penguin Cafe Orchestra,
Penguin Cafe have gone on to release four original and critically acclaimed albums; A Matter of Life… in 2011, The Red Book in 2014, The Imperfect Sea 2017 and Handfuls of Night in 2019, the latter two on Erased Tapes Records.
This year sees the Penguins touring extensively in the UK, beginning with a much-awaited show at London’s Barbican, and the special anniversary re-release of their first Penguin Cafe album, A Matter of Life….
We’re delighted that Erased Tapes labelmate Peter Broderick will join Penguin Cafe for this special Festival show.
Doors 7.30pm | Unreserved Seating
We are grateful to the Arts Council of Northern Ireland for the loan of the Steinway D Piano, for the purpose of this event.
Jesse Dayton’sBeaumonster is filled with song interpretations that are part-greaser, a whole lotta twang, and quintessentially outlaw country badass. Beaumonster encapsulates a life filled with adventure and lore featuring some of the greatest musicians this world has ever known.
Now a successful independent act, in the last handful of years Dayton has played guitar on Guns N’ Roses bassist Duff McKagan’s latest solo album, launched his own weekly radio show, Dayton’s Badass Country Show, on Gimme Country and licensed more than 50 songs for film and television…not to mention playing over 150 live dates per year throughout Europe and North America while also releasing five albums for Blue Élan Records.
After sneaking into nightclubs to play gigs in his youth, 18-year-old Dayton and his trio began packing clubs and theaters across Houston, Dallas, and Austin. His first solo record—featuring great luminaries like Doug Sahm, Flaco Jimenez, and Johnny Gimble—hit #1 on the Americana Radio Charts, and then he was off to the races, touring the world as an opener for punk legends Social Distortion, The Supersuckers, and X.
While doing press in Nashville, he caught the attention of Waylon Jennings and was whisked off to Woodland Studios, where he was greeted by none other than Johnny Cash, who tells Dayton: “We’ve been waiting for you.”
Beaumonster finds Dayton performing songs written by the many talented musicians and songwriters featured throughout his memoir of the same name. The album zigs and zags from Waylon Jennings to Social Distortion and Townes Van Zandt to Willie Nelson — all who shared a connection with the storied Beaumont guitar slinger.
While on tour with the Supersuckersin 1994 Dayton found himself “…prayin’ the Devil didn’t steal [his] soul, and that [his] mama wouldn’t find out about [his] evil ways.” On his cover of “Born with a Tail,” Dayton starts off with a driving intro then adds a Spaghetti Western flair and somehow even more slide guitar that does justice to the Supersuckers own, the late Rontrose Heathman.
Story of My Life, a classic Social Distortion song was an easy pick for Dayton, “This song pretty much explains why [Mike Ness’] working class fans love him so much… he’s one of them.” Dayton’s punkabilly drawl cuts through a mix of organ and background vocals to give an entirely new feel to the group’s most iconic song.
Working with Waylon Jennings was a dream come true for Dayton, “[Waylon] put a dangerous cool factor into country music when it really needed it, and playing with him was mind blowin’.” Dayton’s cover of Just to Satisfy You is a tender interpretation of the heartbreak song and showcases a softer side to Dayton’s vocal abilities.
Myles McCormack is a multi-instrumentalist from Belfast who writes powerful songs with a delicate touch. In 2019 he released his debut solo album with a sold-out show in Belfast’s Duncairn Arts Centre.
It’s a sublime and carefully crafted debut from an artist who effortlessly bridges the gap between ruminative and blissful.
This past year has seen Myles work on a batch of new songs at home. By Demons, the first of this new material to be released, is a great example of his unique song-writing style and atmospheric sound and has been receiving praise across Irish and UK radio.
Myles will be supporting artist for a host of shows across the Out to Lunch festival, details of which will be released in the coming weeks.
“It’s a gossamer and quietly emphatic first gambit from an artist who continues to set himself apart” – THE THIN AIR
“You couldn’t bring yourself to turn away even if you wanted to” – CHORDBLOSSUM
“He carries within his work an effervescent tenure to unravel mysteries and turmoil” – FOLK&LORE
All the games you have ever played trapped in your living room with the entire extended family at Christmas.
Travel the board, play the square and hinder the opposing team. Shit Show Shambles is an interactive, hosted board game living through your worst dreams and best nightmares. Join your host Emily and Rule master Ashton for a gameshow extravaganza.
Fishamble: The New Play Company in association with Sunday’s Child presents ‘Mustard’.
When E meets the man of her dreams, a professional cyclist, love hits her in the pubic bone like a train. But when it ends she plummets into a black hole of heartbreak at the speed of a doped up team on the Tour de France. A one-woman show about heartbreak, madness and how condiments are the ultimate coping mechanism, by award-winning playwright & performer Eva O’Connor.
WINNER Scotsman Fringe First Award 2019
WINNER Lustrum Award, Edinburgh 2019
NOMINATED Scottish Mental Health Awards 2019
‘skilful writing elevates this above novelty into a breathless, intense show’ ★★★★★ Ed Fest Mag
‘so scarring and funny, so laden with jealousy and hate and wickedness’★★★★ Scotsman
‘The writing is appealingly spicy and has real poetic momentum’ The Stage
Claire Barclay is a visual artist recognised for producing large-scale sculptural installations created in response to specific contexts. Her works are immersive sensory experiences that explore our interactions with materials and functionality, by combining formal elements that evoke thinking around the “psychological relationships between human beings and the objects that we live with and produce.”
In this exhibition Barclay includes a series of tactile sculptural environments, where large-scale forms, made predominantly from fabrics and metals, “suggest textile narratives and explore our complex relationships with cloth.”
Historical connections between the West of Scotland and Northern Ireland have become a focus while evolving the artworks. More specifically, interactions and migrations of people due to work, trade, religion and colonisation, and how these relationships relate to textile production. In particular, Ayrshire ‘whitework’ embroidery, linen cloth production, and indigenous dress have informed some of the formal and material choices within the sculptures.
Domestic, industrial and agricultural references are interwoven into ambiguous sculptural forms that explore the nature of human engagement in ‘making’ practices and our cultural and symbolic relationships with materials.
Taking inspiration from a range of reference points, including historical artefacts, museum collections, craft practices, methods and places of production, and anthropological perspectives, the work plays with upsetting conventional hierarchies and assumptions in relation to value and meaning of materials and forms. Often the works indirectly question present day romanticisation and commodification of craft and heritage and provoke us to question our own relationship to these.
Skull is an ongoing live event that has been running monthly since 2016. The Black Box website describes Skull as, “a night of recorded music and live drawing” and, “an escape” from what is termed, “…the relentless agora.”* “DJs Stuart Watson, Ryan Fitzsimmons, Jeff Doherty and guests develop an aural envelope each evening, whilst illustrator Duncan Ross strives to capture the consciousness of the moment through the inky medium of illustration. Adventurous punters may submit suggestions to Ross for realisation on the eve or, if feeling particularly exploratory, can contribute with the fruits of their own ductus (materials provided).”
For this installation, Ross is presenting two hundred A1 drawings improvised during Skull alongside a new, large scale print work. In conversation with the images, Skull DJs have prepared a variety of sonic interventions that will take place throughout the exhibition, retaining the Geist of Skull as an ephemeral multi-sensory event.
Join us for a CQAF Skull on 28th April at the Black Box. Escape the relentless agora in a nite of recorded music and live drawing. DJs Jeff Doherty and Ryan Fitzsimmons develop an aural envelope each evening, whilst illustrator Duncan Ross strives to capture the consciousness of the moment through the inky medium of illustration. Adventurous clientèle may submit suggestions to Ross for realisation on the eve or, if feeling particularly exploratory, can contribute with the fruits of their own ductus (materials provided).
The University of Atypical is delighted to invite you to SWADDLE, a thought provoking new exhibition by Dominic McKeown. Dominic received the University of Atypical’s Graduate Award 2020, with this support Dominic has received mentoring from artists Maud Cotter and Dr Colin Darke in the preparation for his first solo exhibition.
McKeown’s work stems from years of exploration into the relationship between the body, materials and structures that envelop us. SWADDLE explores our physical contact and psychological relationship with materials from our past and present experiences, our public and private spaces.
SWADDLE invites us to consider the material value of not only the architectural space of the gallery, but relationship between the viewer and the sculptural work within it. Devised to activate a self-awareness of our own presence within space and the intimacy of scale.
When we’re born, we are swaddled in cotton wool; protected from the beginning. The combination of concrete paired with woollen textiles creates tension between the materials and what we expect or understand their function to be. This contrast encourages the viewer to reflect on personal security, confront self-awareness and the conditioning of identity. Using found textile materials, the sculptures aim to embody our knowledge of architectural spaces incorporating items associated with protection, feeling safe or sheltered and personal identity expressed through dress.
We understand concrete as a vigorous material, by wrapping it in wool its hard exterior is cushioned protecting its exposed and vulnerable surface. A mask can provide confidence, security and soften external strains.
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Dominic McKeown (b.1995, Belfast) studied Textile Design, Art and Fashion at Ulster University graduating in 2014. He has based his research and practice within his hometown of Belfast, completing a Masters in Fine Art at Ulster University in 2020. He is a member of Flax Art Studios and is an active worker within the art community within Belfast. He is a Co-Director of Catalyst Arts alongside working as freelance art technician.
For more information – d.mck.art (instagram)
Private View: Thursday 28th April, 6pm – 9pm
Exhibition Dates: 28th April – 5th May, 1pm – 6pm
Flax Project Space, 7 North St, BT1 1NH, Belfast.
‘Becoming’ is a group exhibition featuring artists whose work explores how our artistic practices transition and transform over time.
The exhibition offers a range of enquiries into the idea of ‘becoming’, including reflections on how, considering Covid-19, many artists are now emerging from a form of hibernation, their work changed by a sustained period of not being able to share it. Years spent feeding their practices in the dark, to see only now what they have become. Curated by artist and researcher Hattie Godfrey, ‘Becoming’ presents the artist’s practice as a being that holds the possibility of change, a being that is always becoming.
Flax Art Studios Emerging Artist Programme is a satellite project of 34 recent graduate and emerging artists occupying 7 North St, Belfast. To coincide with this programme Flax opened a project space on the ground floor, providing opportunities for the artists involved to curate and programme their own exhibitions and events.
Bedroom Pop is a colourful installation by Dreambean that explores childhood memories, identity and celebrates queer joy. Dreambean aims to create an inclusive space for everyone, they want the viewers to be curious and explore art through their immersive use of colour and humour.
For the Cathedral Arts Festival Dreambean is hosting a ‘dress up drink and draw’ at Catalyst Arts. The general public will be encouraged to queer the streets of Belfast, dress up as someone or in something that sparks joy, or simply dust off an old halloween costume.
The aim of this ‘dress up drink and draw’ is to allow the participants to become apart of Bedroom Pop and take on the role of the Artist by exploring the gallery space through a different identity.
Dreambean believes that we have missed enough parties over the last few years and wants to take this opportunity to bring the community together through art and celebration!
The Swing Gals are Northern Ireland’s original and leading vocal harmony trio. The girls have been performing together for over 12 years and are renowned for their innovative vocal arrangements of swing, jazz and a variety of popular modern genres.
They are delighted to return to the Out to Lunch Festival after their successful sell out performance in 2018. The Gals perform with their own band and appearances with the superb 16 piece Indigo Big Band have delighted their audiences.
Today’s line up consists of Ruth Jennings, Clare Galway and Karen Kirby, accompanied by Kathy McKeagney. They will perform a varied programme of their sophisticated arrangements of songs from the iconic Andrews Sisters, ABBA, Diana Krall and the Sugababes.
Experience Mary Ann McCracken’s Belfast, as you walk in the footsteps of this remarkable abolitionist, philanthropist and social reformer. Mary Ann McCracken, who was born over 250 years ago, is intrinsically linked to the city of Belfast. She lived her fearless life championing causes, moving from place to place, always on a mission to make life better for those less fortunate than herself.
Hear too about her more radical nature. Her role in the work of the United Irishmen, the 1798 rebellion and beyond. How she was devoted to her older brother Henry Joy – hanged for his leading role in the rebellion.
This walking tour takes in the locations linked to her life, her endeavours and that of her family. You will be led by an experienced guide through the same streets she walked over 200 years before. This new walking tour starts at Clifton House, where Mary Ann’s thirst for philanthropic causes first began, and where her impact can still be seen today, and finishes near Belfast City Hall.
Planning your visit:
• Walking tour lasts approx. 2 ½ hours
• Please arrive 10 minutes in advance of the tour start time
• Tickets are £12.50pp*, and include a complimentary tea and coffee
• Walking tour commences at Clifton House and finishes in Donegall Square
• Booking in advance is essential due to limited spaces
• Belfast Visitor Pass and Concession rates are £11.25. Please present your Visitor Pass on arrival. For further information on the Belfast Visitor Pass, visit: visitbelfast.com
About the Mary Ann McCracken Foundation
The Foundation was officially launch in 2021 to promote the life and times of this remarkable woman and to explore her legacy and relevance in the 21st century. The Foundation have, to date, republished Mary McNeill’s biography on Mary Ann McCracken, produced an historical map of Belfast, and recently award bursaries to Ulster University Masters Students.
Original Language: Hindi Director: Farhan Akhtar 3h 3m
Aamir Khan, Saif Ali Khan and Akshaye Khanna play loyal friends that overcome various obstacles of life in a film that captures college life and the transition into adulthood like no film before it.
Three friends, Akash (Aamir Khan), Sameer (Saif Ali Khan) and Siddharth (Akshaye Khanna), discover that post-collegiate life will test their tight-knit bond. As sweet Sameer falls for Pooja (Sonali Kulkarni), an unavailable beauty, Siddharth risks everything to pursue an older divorcée named Tara (Dimple Kapadia) whom his friends and family find unworthy of him. Meanwhile, brash Akash travels to Australia, where he reconnects with Shalini (Preity Zinta), a girl he’d previously wronged.
‘The voice that rings loudest and clearest is Farhan Akthar’s, fearlessly answering the call to forward Bollywood cinema into a bright, hopeful future’ – THEMOVIEREPORT.COM
To celebrate the legacy of Thomas McCabe, the man who successfully opposed the formation of the Belfast Slave Ship Company, Arborist will play a special show with a full band in the unique setting of First Presbyterian Church which McCabe attended.
Arborist came to the attention of critics with their debut single, the Americana tinged, Twisted Arrow, that features an astonishing duet with Kim Deal of The Breeders.
Their debut album Home Burial (2016) and the follow-up A Northern View both received glowing praise from the likes of The Guardian (“instant classic. ★★★★” ) MOJO (“…devastatingly bleak…upliftingly beautiful. ★★★★”) and Uncut 8/10.
Arborist has gained BBC 6music play from Cerys Matthews, Cillian Murphy, Gideon Coe and Steve Lamacq who called single Taxi, “one of those records that makes you immediately stop what you’re doing.”
Prior to the concert, historian Raymond O’Regan will give a brief overview of the times in which McCabe lived and actor/writer Cillian Lenaghan will perform an excerpt from his forthcoming play, Sugar based on McCabe’s life.
All proceeds from the concert will be donated to help modern day victims of trafficking and slavery.
Supported by Experience Belfast Group and Walking Tours
Lily We Need To Talk Now is a record Lily Konigsberg has been slowly chipping away at since 2016, revising and re-recording the songs over the years.
The eleven-track collection is her first proper full length, following her anthology of EPs and unreleased tracks, The Best of Lily Konigsberg Right Now, released in 2021 by Wharf Cat Records.
The new record is catchy the whole way through, like much of her poppy and plainspoken indie rock output that’s made her a fixture of the NYC underground in recent years.
Her voice twists and turns and dashes around her clever wordplay in new ways; there are hints of power-pop, pop-punk, and downtempo introspection, all dotted with Easter eggs of winking humour.
True to its title, this collection of songs is like a check in with herself. On That’s The Way I Like It, with backing vocals from longtime collaborator Paco Cathcart, she reflects on the feeling of “struggling with someone you love, and how you can get all evil about it, like a brat, like a baby.”
On Proud Home, she sings one of the records boldest earworm hooks (“You’ve got a lot of fucking things to be proud of!”) and tries to comfort a friend who has a crush on her mom.
“I really cracked myself up with the lyrics,” she says. “It’s kind of a Stacey’s Mom riff. I decided it’s a dedication to Adam Schlesinger [of Fountains of Wayne].”
Roses, Again is a new take on a familiar Lily tune (originally on Good Time Now) re-recorded at the request of her current live band, who have evolved the song on the road.
Currently receiving rave reviews from the likes of Pitchfork and NME, this will be Lily’s debut performance in Belfast.
Tipped by RTE Radio 1, BBC Radio 2, Double J (Australia) and Folk Radio UK as a rising star on the Irish folk and alternative scene, 2021 has been the breakthrough year for this emerging alt-folk artist Dani Larkin, with the release of her debut album ‘Notes For A Maiden Warrior’.
Nominated for ‘Best Album’ at Northern Ireland Music Prize(2021), and ‘Best Emerging Artist’ at RTE Folk Awards (2021), Dani Larkin has been an artist picking up speed with each release, and one that has been marking her mark on the industry, in her own way. With appearances last year at The Great Escape, Doolin Folk fest, Folk Alliance, and selected to open for Snow Patrol to sold-out venues of London’s Palladium Theatre and Belfast’s Waterfront Hall, as well as a special home show for Hot House Flowers – she is a live act not to be missed.
To mark the release of her debut album, she joined forces with the Irish Arts Centre, New York, for a special once off live show, and the album was picked up on several big folk editorial Spotify playlists.
She’s caught the attention of certain media too, including appearing as a guest on BBC Radio 4’s Woman’s Hour, as well as special guest on Panti Bliss’ podcast ‘The Panti Personals’ ahead of her embarking on her debut English headline album headline tour to close out a hugely successful year.
An artist renowned for her unforgettable live performances, her vocal takes centre stage, accompanied always by her impressive guitar and banjo playing. Larkin has the ability to blend the old and new perfectly through her songwriting, delicately weaving themes of Celtic folklore with the more modern day landscape of her own experiences.
“Brilliant songwriter, very much blending that love of place, family, time – and I always find her music enchanting. It just draws you in. She’s definitely an exciting artist to keep an eye on” Eve Blair – BBC Radio Ulster
“A fantastic album” RTE Arena
“Steadily emerging as a rising star on the Irish contemporary and alt folk scene.” The Irish Times
“Dani Larkin’s songs are mesmeric and tied to the old Gaelic world.” Stuart Bailie // Belfast Telegraph
“This is an examination of madness and loss,” says Brian Christinzio, the inimitable force behind BC Camplight. “I hope it starts a long overdue conversation.”
Fired by his ongoing battle with mental illness, Shortly After Takeoff is the final, and finest, chapter of what Christinzio calls his “Manchester Trilogy”, following 2015’s How To Die In The North and 2018’s Deportation Blues.
All three albums were created after the native Philadelphian had moved to Manchester. Like Deportation Blues, Shortly After Takeoff spans singer-songwriter classicism, gnarly synth-pop and ‘50s rock’n’roll, with Christinzio’s similarly distinctive, flexible vocal carrying a fearless approach to lyrical introspection, but the new album is a major leap forward in songwriting sophistication and lyrical communication.
The album has alreadfy been revered by critics, become a stalwart on the BBC Radio 6 Music playlist, and put BC Camplight back on the stage where he belongs. With a slew of tours and festivals on the horizon Christinzio, a remarkably relentless entertainer, will bring his immense new live show to the UK and Europe.
“It’s no fun giving an audience a standard show that they can get elsewhere” explains Christinzio. “Sometimes it’s intense, sometimes it’s emotional, sometimes it’s basically a fucking stand-up routine. I always like to involve the audience and make it memorable for everyone involved. I think we are one of the best live bands in the world and it’s an odd feeling finally getting an opportunity to get in front of loads of ears and eyes. In a perfect world I’d be able to organise a concert on the roof of the Home Office one day”.
Seolfaidh Inni-K an t-albam nua s’aici, Iníon, agus seolfaidh Éanna Ó Cróinín an t-albam úr s’aige, Píobaireacht na Mí.
Inni-K
Named by RTÉ.ie as “one of ten fierce women defining Irish culture”, Inni-K’s music draws on her extensive background in folk and traditional Irish music, as she ventures into new musical territories. Her songwriting career combines her unique approach to her craft with deft musicianship, evocative lyrics and ethereal vocals.
Inni-K’s new album of arranged sean-nós song Iníon sets out to create a re-hearing, in a way, of something dear, something essential, and in doing so, she has – with fellow collaborators – created a bold, new and contemporary experience of sean-nós song for her listener.
‘One of Ireland’s most exciting artists” Irish Times
Éanna Ó Cróinín
Tógadh Éanna Ó Cróinín i gceartlár na Gaeltachta, i Ráth Chairn, Co. na Mí. D’fhás sé aníos le cultúr gaelach, sheimhir na háite siúd, i measc amhránaithe agus damhsoirí sean-nóis, scéalaithe agus ceoltóirí na Gaeltachta. Thosnaigh sé ag foghlaim an cheol ar an fheadóg stáin ag aois an-óg, agus thóg sé dúshlán an phíb uillinn ar féin ag aois deich mbliana. D’fhoghlaim sé ceird an phíb i gclub na bpíobairí uillinn, NPU, i mBaile Átha Cliath, faoi choimirce Nollaig Mac Cárthaigh, Mic O’Brien, Seán óg Potts, Robbie Hannon agus go leor eile.
(2nd floor concert hall, no lift access, bring your own)
The Belfast Whiskey Experience leaves from Friend at Hand Whiskey Shop, 35-43 Hill St.
Belfast was once the home of Whiskey, producing at one stage 3 million gallons a year, 60% of the Irish market. Its heritage and home as being one of the world’s most important whiskey cities has returned once again.
Belfast Whiskey Experience is an adventure into finding out the secret history of the city’s most lucrative industry. Hear the stories behind legendary brands such as Dunville’s, Cowan’s, McConnells and Jury whiskey. We work with local historians and tradespeople to give our guests the ultimate experience.
This bespoke tour will include a stop at Irelands only 100% Irish whiskey shop, tastings of reborn Belfast whiskeys and finish with a Belfast Boilermaker (Guinness and whiskey chaser) or a classic Irish Coffee.
The walking tour element of the experience uses wireless MIC system to ensure extra safety for our guests.
Kicking off Out to Lunch in January in some style will beThe Dodge Brothers bringing their exuberant hybrid of country blues, rockabilly and jugband and we couldn’t be happier.
The Dodge Brothers bring to them a freshness that has feet stomping and hands clapping from California to Cropredy, from the Mississippi to the New Forest. Their songs feature vocal virtuosity and heartfelt harmonies underpinned by joyous guitars, thumping double bass and rattlin’ snare and washboard.
The Dodge Brothers features Mike Hammond(lead guitar, lead vocals, banjo), Mark Kermode (bass, harmonica, vocals), Aly Hirji(rhythm guitar, mandolin, vocals) and Alex Hammond(washboard, snare drum, percussion).
Their music has an authentically American tang – lead guitarist/vocalist Mike Hammond was raised in Alabama and his youthful musical travels took him all over the southern and western USA – but with a strong British perspective from Culture Show presenter and film critic Mark Kermode.
One of the most influential British bands in modern history, Echo & The Bunnymen, return to the CQAF Marquee to celebrate the songs that have brought the group twenty top 20 hits and nine top 20 albums so far during their incredible 40-year career.
The band’s seminal albums ‘Crocodiles’, ‘Heaven Up Here’, ‘Porcupine’ and ‘Ocean Rain’ have been a major influence for acts such as Coldplay, The Killers and The Flaming Lips, whilst later albums ‘Evergreen’ and ‘What Are You Going To Do With Your Life?’ and ‘Siberia & Meteorites’ demonstrate what an amazing body of work the band have. Their latest album ‘The Stars & The Oceans & The Moon’ was released in Autumn 2018 with Q Magazine calling it “Magical”.
The Bunnymen are still revered in popular culture with the highly acclaimed and culturally phenomenal Netflix series ‘Stranger Things’, using their song ‘Nocturnal Me’ whilst the equally comparable ’13 Reasons Why’ has used ‘The Killing Moon’ and ‘My Kingdom’.
Stephen delivers his poetry to a backdrop of graphic artistry created on the fly by the amazing graphic artist Steve Simpson and accompanied by a musical soundscape from Aidan Murphy.
This is a truly new kind of show.
Every single show is truly unique – the art is drawn in real-time on an iPad whilst Stephen delivers his big poetry to a live and inspiring soundscape – beautiful stuff!
Stephen James Smith is a Dublin poet and playwright central to the rise of the vibrant spoken word scene in Ireland today. His poetry videos have amassed over 2.5 million views.
In 2017 he was commissioned by St. Patrick’s festival to write a new poem as a “Celebratory Narrative” of Ireland. The resultant piece ‘My Ireland’ is accompanied by a short film which has been viewed over 300,000 times and was screened at the London film festival.
In 2018 he was commissioned by Dublin stadium sponsor Aviva to write a poem to highlight the recent rugby final between England & Ireland on Paddy’s day. The poem entitled “Bring it Home” chalked up over 750,000 views across the weekend – and Ireland won!
Stephen has performed at high profile events & venues such as Electric Picnic, other voices, The National Concert Hall in Dublin, The Barbican in London, Vicar Street & the London Palladium (alongside Oscar winner Glen Hansard); The Oscar Wilde Awards in Los Angeles, Glastonbury Festival and many more.
One of Northern Ireland’s best loved folk artists Ciara O’Neill launches her new EP La Lune as part of Out to Lunch.
Written during a creative period whilst working frontline in the NHS throughout the pandemic La Lune takes you on a journey through the moonlit streets of Paris to the sunny shores of Saint-Tropez.
A stunning successor to her previous albums, the haunting and ethereal The Ebony Trail (2016) and the beautiful Arrow (2018), Ciara has honed her craft with regular songwriting trips to Nashville where she has written with Grammy winning songwriters, performances at the prestigious ‘Bluebird Cafe’ and also to a US TV audience of 60 million for Music City Roots.
‘A must listen for folk fans’Hotpress Magazine
‘Timeless, noirish and understated folk’Dancing About Architecture
“Mesmerising, it takes you away like all good music should”Ralph McLean BBC Radio Ulster
“Ciara and her songs carry everything with such conviction, it makes her almost transparent.” Folk Radio UK
Ai Messiah (live) Seaplanes (live) Deadman’s Ghost (A/V Screening) Timmy Stewart (Ambient DJ set)
All Points is an audio-visual project showcasing emerging talent in venues of historical and cultural significance, blending the rich architectural heritage of Belfast with some of the finest new voices in Northern Irish music.
Ai Messiah’ssci-fi inspired debut LP ‘Sentience & Sapience’ was hailed as “an undulating tapestry of rousing strings, glimmering synths and cutting edge sound design.”(If Only UK) In a live setting, the album’s ambient soundscapes are reconfigured into dynamic and energetic arrangements, with FX-laden guitar & synth textures augmented by propulsive, jazz-inflected drumming.
Seaplanes is brothers Graham & David Ginty. The pair started to send musical ideas back and forth during lockdown, with nothing to do but run samples through a rake of guitar pedals to see what would happen. The sound they’ve created draws from electronica, post-rock and drone, with fierce crescendos and lulling ambience regularly appearing side by side in the same track.
Deadman’s Ghost presents re-scores for two experimental short films, exploring the worlds of isolated characters seeking to free themselves from repressive forces. Gothic chants, ominous synth drones and clattering percussion enliven the decayed visuals, implying narratives not originally intended by their directors.
Timmy Stewart is one of the resident DJs & promoters at the Night Institute in Belfast. He’s also one half of crate-digging DJ and production duo Black Bones, signed to Touch Sensitive records. He’ll be leaving the kick drums to the side for the evening and playing a set of atmospheric electronics curated especially for the occasion.
Amidst the exaggerated swagger of Lad-Rock and the self-conscious Brit-Pop excesses of the mid-nineteen nineties, the NME Reader’s ‘Best Live Act’ awards, placed an Acid Jazz combo, Corduroy, amongst its top five…not bad for a band of who’s stage set largely consisted of instrumentals.
Formed in December 1991 and signed to Acid Jazz Records in January 1992, the south-London four-piece’s live performance was energetic and infectious; rubber-band bass runs, buzz-saw guitar lines, creative funky drumming and a relentless soundscape of Hammond organ and melodic electric piano, combined into an adrenaline rush that was exciting, filmic and cartoonish.
The ‘fabric four’ became an instant hit on the international live circuit, their shows a frenetic celebration of grooviness and fun. 2018 brought a new era of the Corduroy story; re-signing to Acid Jazz Records with a new album The Return Of The Fabric Four.
We at the Arboria Institute welcome you to our state-of-the-art research facility at The Freemasons Hall at Arthur Square, where our dream is your happiness™.
Our head of research, Dr Barry Nyle, using therapeutic and physical tools, will submerge himself into the crevices of your mind and activate the pathways towards true inner peace.
Please don’t be alarmed by the appearance of our Sentionaut healers; they are merely here to guide you down a path towards complete and utter annihilation, and we can assure you that any rumours you may have heard of malpractice, psychic interference, mind-wiping or neurological black holes are entirely unsubstantiated.
This will be an experience like no other.
A DIFFERENT WAY TO THINK
A NEW WAY TO LIVE
A PERFECT WAY TO BELIEVE
Ghouls on Film is a feminist horror film club, showing films that challenge the representations of women within the genre. Expect cult classics, independent releases and rare lesser-known films that explore how women can find agency in the world of horror. We are proud to be connected with our partner organisation, The Black Box.
This event is open to all genders and strives to be inclusive in its film screenings.
Please be aware, this film features scenes with strobe lighting and may be disruptive to those with photosensitivity, as well as sequences of a graphic nature – viewer discretion is advised.
Golden Thread Gallery, Belfast and Highlanes Gallery, Drogheda announce a collaborative exhibition partnership presenting WE ARE HERE, Artists’ Moving Image from the British Council Collection and LUX.
Exploring themes of marginality and its representation, community, storytelling, world-building and critically reframing histories, these linked exhibitions present films from SONGS OF A FORGOTTEN PAST, one of five artists’ film programmes curated by Tendai John Mutambu for the British Council, the UK’s international organisation for cultural relations and educational opportunities, and LUX, an international arts agency that supports and promotes artists’ moving image practices.
The two exhibitions and programme of events at Golden Thread Gallery and Highlanes Gallery are separate but in conversation with each other; different interpretations from different places, with visits from each side of the border to the other gallery offering a chance to see the films from each other’s ‘here’.
HOW DID WE GET TO: WE ARE HERE? At the Golden Thread Gallery
The artists’ films being shown across both our main galleries explore possibilities for new ways of seeing the world from the point of view of those who are marginalised and excluded from dominant cultural narratives and images; those which reflect an accepted, assumed meaning of ‘being from here’ and ‘belonging’. Reframing the question of how we all came to be here offers a prompt to disrupt, to play with and perhaps even to move beyond old ideas.
Northern Ireland, overwhelmingly white for centuries, is now experiencing unprecedented levels of migration. What is it like for new arrivals here to have to navigate the complexities and nuance of Northern Ireland’s identity politics? Sectarianism has been a poisonously fertile ground for racism in some areas. The shifting territories of Brexit and Covid create fear and uncertainty, easily turned upon those who ‘don’t belong’. Yet there has also been significant solidarity, genuine welcome and a recognition among NI citizens that those who come ‘from outside’ can represent an opportunity to move beyond long-calcified beliefs about ‘them’ and ‘us’.
On this island, at this time, with changing populations and ever-shifting senses of identity, engaging with a different way of exploring relationships to home, place, nationality and representation may perhaps lead to many ‘heres’ that are unexpected.
Seedhead Arts with support from Hennessy NI, is gearing up once more to bring Ireland’s biggest street art festival to Belfast, alongside the returning Festival of Fools and Belfast’s best arts festival, the CQAF.
As ‘Hit the North’ Street Arts Festival enters its tenth year, we’re delighted to be back to the May Day weekend with our legendary street art jam taking place on Sunday 1st May!
Unlike most festivals, we continued to celebrate Hit the North in 2020 and 2021, and this year we look forward to being a truly international event again with artists visiting from across Europe.
Join us and watch over 50 renowned international and local street artists create a breath-taking array of modern murals in Kent Street, Union Street and beyond. On Sunday spectators can expect entertainment, food trucks and refreshments as they watch murals come to life.
Inspired by the life of Nina Simone, Black Is The Color Of My Voice follows a successful jazz singer and civil rights activist seeking redemption after the untimely death of her father. She reflects on the journey that took her from a young piano prodigy destined for a life in the service of the church, to a renowned jazz vocalist at the forefront of the Civil Rights Movement.
Written and directed by Apphia Campbell. Fringe First award-winner Apphia Campbell’s acclaimed production heads on an extensive national tour, after sell-out seasons in Shanghai, New York, Edinburgh, and in the West End of London.
Running time 70 minutes
Written and directed by Apphia Campbell
Performed by Florence Odumosu
Ages 12+, references to violence and racism
“Moving portrayal of determination and survival.” ★★★★ The Times
“Nothing short of sensational… will make you cheer for her, smile with her and then sting your eyes with tears.” ★★★★★ Broadway Baby
‘A compelling and heartbreaking story, punctuated with bursts of song.’ ★★★★ Edinburgh Festivals Magazine
Starring real-life friends Annie Clark (a.k.a. Grammy-winning artist St. Vincent) and Carrie Brownstein (Portlandia, Sleater-Kinney), this is a mischievous, metafictional and frequently laugh-out-loud funny account of banding together to make a documentary about St. Vincent’s music, touring life and on-stage persona.
But they quickly discover unpredictable forces lurking within the subject and the filmmaker that threaten to derail the friendship, the project, and the duo’s creative lives.
From first-time filmmaker Bill Benz (Portlandia, At Home With Amy Sedaris) comes a densely woven and increasingly fractured commentary on reality, identity and authenticity.
A music documentary like no other, this is the story of two close friends who attempt to wrestle the truth out of a complex subject before the hall of mirrors that is their artistic lives devours.
Doors 1.45pm | Unreserved Seating
Supported by Film Hub NI, part of the BFI Film Audience Network, awarding funds from National
Lottery.
Dir. Philipp Reichenheim, Germany/U.S.A, 2021, 82 mins.
FEATURING: J Mascis, Lou Barlow, Kim Gordon, Henry Rollins, Bob Mould, Thurston Moore and many others.
Freakscene: The Story of Dinosaur Jr is a feature documentary homage to one of the most influential bands on the American East Coast, which greatly inspired the burgeoning alternative rock scene – including Nirvana and Sonic Youth – in the 1990s.
Their unique style and unmistakable sound, later referred to as Grunge, laid the foundation for the entire “Slacker” culture of Generation X. It’s also the story of the eloquent and eccentric guitarist and bandleader J. Mascis, the bassist Lou Barlow and drummer Murph and a band that funnily does not talk to each other.
Communication takes place exclusively through music. Director Philipp Reichenheim nevertheless skilfully encourages the three introverted and shy icons to shoot the breeze and unpack their fascinating story.
The film offers exclusive rare insights into the crazy everyday life of the band across three decades, and illuminates the inner workings of a cult band from its embryonic beginnings in the 1980s and 90s to the present day subculture icons.
Doors 7.30pm | Unreserved Seating
Supported by Film Hub NI, part of the BFI Film Audience Network, awarding funds from National Lottery.
Peter Jackson’s highly acclaimed recent film, Get Back, offers a rare insight into the creative process of the Beatles as they finished recording the album Let it Be.
Much of the album was written in the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi’s ashram in Rishikesh in the foothills off the Himalayas in northern India where the band sought spiritual solace and an escape from the trappings of fame. The ashram, while still open to the public has now fallen into decay and is a ruin slowly being swallowed up by the surrounding forest.
The photographer, Michael Donald, visited the site in 2020 to make a record of the place before it disappears back into the mountains. The ghosts of the band are ever present in the crumbling paint of the bungalow where they lived for much of 1968 writing what would become, Let it Be.
Michael Janisch is a US-native who has lived in London for 17 years and in that time has established himself as a first-call electric & double bassist to the stars, a MOBO-Award nominated solo artist, an in-demand producer, and founder of Whirlwind Recordings, one of the premiere indie labels in jazz and related music.
His latest release Worlds Collide is an electro-acoustic joyride of original material recorded at Abbey Road Studios, combining contemporary jazz alongside free improvisations and soaring melodies over multi – metered grooves and swing.
Paying homage to artists as diverse as Ornette Coleman, Fela Kuti & Afro-Beat to the electronic music pioneer Aphex Twin, the album has been a hit on streaming sites with well over 1,000,000 global plays to date as well as one of the year’s most talked about and covered releases.
Janisch has performed with everyone from Joe Lovano to Claire Martin OBE to Kurt Rosenwinkel to Shirley Horn and Wynton Marsalis, not to mention the “who’s who” players of his generation ranging from Walter Smith III to Melissa Aldana and Soweto Kinch.
Joining Janisch (on basses) for this date to play new music, selections from Worlds Collide and a few gems from his last five albums is Slovenian artist Jure Pukl on tenor saxophone (Greg Hutchinson, Esperanza Spalding), Nathaniel Face on alto sax (Empirical, Gary Crosby), Rick Simpson on piano/keys (Christian Scott, Leo Richardson), and Shane Forbes on drums (Emperical, Jean Toussaint).
Rory Nellis launches his brand new album, Written & Underlined, with a full band show at McHughs in Belfast.
Rory is a singer-songwriter and guitarist based in Belfast. Producing a mix of folk-pop and indie-rock stemming from musings on life, death, relationships and politics he is a natural fit for fans of Wilco, Villagers and Duke Special.
Rory has been writing and performing since he was a teenager, gaining support from the likes of BBC Radio Ulster, RTE 2FM and Hot Press Magazine. Rory has toured all around Ireland and beyond – playing festivals and venues such as The Limelight, The Atlantic Sessions, Other Voices (Dingle), Whelan’s (Dublin) and The Bluebird Cafe (Nashville).
Nellis’s second album, There Are Enough Songs in the World, was widely acclaimed, seeing him being heralded as “One of Ireland’s most naturally gifted songsmiths” by The Thin Air. As Snow Patrol’s Gary Lightbody put it at the time: “the music is sweeping. There’s magic in it”.
Margo Cilker is a woman who drinks deeply of life, and her debut record Pohorylle, out now on Loose, is brimming with it. For the last seven years, the Eastern Oregon songwriter has split her time between the road and various outposts across the world forging a path that is at once deeply rooted and ever-changing.
As Pohorylle traverses through the geography of Cilker’s memories—a touring musician’s tapestry of dive bars and breathtaking natural beauty—love is apparent, as is its inevitable partner: loss. After all, what bigger heartbreak is there than to be a fervent lover who must always keep moving? Cilker seems keenly aware of the precarious footing upon which love stands, and at many turns, the record circles a fire that is staggeringly beautiful and slipping away.
The record, which carries gentle nods to Lucinda Williams, Townes Van Zandt, and Gillian Welch, shines under the instincts of producer Sera Cahoone. Cahoone quickly got to work assembling a first-rate band: Jenny Conlee (The Decemberists) on keys, Jason Kardong (Son Volt) on pedal steel, Rebecca Young (Lindsey Fuller, Jesse Sykes) on bass, Mirabai Peart (Joanna Newsom) on strings, Kelly Pratt (Beirut) on horns, and the album’s engineer John Morgan Askew (Neko Case, Laura Gibson) on an array of other instruments.
The record also prominently features effortless harmonies from Sarah Cilker, Margo Cilker’s sister and frequent touring partner.
Over the last six years, Margo Cilker has toured extensively across the US and internationally, and is a staple in the independent festival circuit. She looks forward to returning to the road in full swing in 2022.
As a sci-fi obsessed woman living in near isolation, Beverly Glenn-Copeland wrote and self-released Keyboard Fantasies, seven tracks of years-ahead-of-its-time curious folk-electronica hybrid.
Three decades on, the musician – now Glenn Copeland – began to receive emails from people across the world, thanking him for the music they’d recently discovered.
Keyboard Fantasies is a beautiful coming of age story; a timely lullaby to soothe those souls struggling to make sense of the world.
Doors 7.45 | Unreserved Seating
Supported by Film Hub NI, part of the BFI Film Audience Network, awarding funds from National Lottery.
Joep Beving makes minimalist piano music, which he describes as ‘accessible music for complex emotions’.
Beving, a sensation of the contemporary classical streaming world, returns to his solo piano roots with Hermetism, his fourth album for Deutsche Grammophon which will be released globally on 8 April 2022. Inspired by ancient philosophy, Beving’s latest project is an album in search of universal ideas.
Written during the dark days of the pandemic, in an age of fear and polarisation, Hermetism blends poignant melancholy with an offer of hope, spanning twelve new tracks recorded on Beving’s cherished Schimmel piano.
Beving has used music to explore some of life’s big philosophical questions in three hugely successful albums – Solipsism, Prehension and Henosis.
For his latest project, he draws on Hermetism, a spiritual philosophy which stems from ancient writings attributed to the legendary Greek author Hermes Trismegistus.
These concepts – such as the principle of cause and effect and the principle of rhythm – are all about finding a continuous balance in life and existence.
After self-releasing his debut album Solipsism in 2015, Beving became a viral streaming sensation. His music has since been streamed over half a billion times, and he has performed sold-out shows around the globe.
Ultimately, he hopes that Hermetism will resonate on a deep level with his listeners. “In all the madness of recent times, this album has been the thing I’ve kept coming back to,” he explains. “In that sense Hermetism has been my own medicine for the pandemic.”
Since emerging with her debut EP Wolf in 2018, UK artist Katherine Priddy has quickly become one of the most exciting names on the British singer songwriter scene.
Declared ‘The Best Thing I’ve Heard All Year’ by Richard Thompson, who later invited her to join him on his UK tour in 2021, Priddy’s haunting vocals and distinctive finger-picking guitar style have seen her sell out a headline tour, support world class artists including The Chieftains, John Smith and Vashti Bunyan and earn spots at prestigious festivals such as Cambridge Folk, Towersey and Beautiful Days.
Her much anticipated debut album, The Eternal Rocks Beneath, was released in June 2021 on Navigator Records to great acclaim. The album singles have received 200+ plays across national radio including BBC Radio 6 Music and BBC Radio 2, and upon release, the album received a 5 star review in Songlines, a 4 star review in the Observer, reached No. 1 in the Official UK Folk Charts and No. 5 in the Americana charts.
Folk Radio UK made Priddy ‘Artist of the Month’ and said of the debut LP: “Foundations rarely come stronger than this. A debut of true substance, it’s like searching for a simple shelter and stumbling upon a diamond mine.”The album was later chosen as Album of the Week on RTE Radio 1 in Ireland, and made the list of Top 10 2021 Folk Albums in Mojo Magazine as national radio plays continued months after the release.
With exciting plans already lined up for 2022, including an appearance at the Folk Alliance International Showcase in Kansas in February, it seems Priddy’s momentum is showing no signs of slowing anytime soon.
Her live performances are engaging, moving and amusing by turn, delivering original songs with emotional maturity, depth and a tenderness that still carries a darker edge.
5/5 – Songlines
‘Not to be missed.’
‘An accomplished set of original songs delivered in a breathtaking voice’ 4/5 – The Observer
‘Sumptuous songs that define the impressive qualities of this most erudite of songwriters’ 4/5 – RNR
‘Beautiful and poised’– Tom Robinson, BBC 6 Music
‘This is so amazing.’ – Guy Garvey, BBC 6 Music
‘KP is pure. Beautiful in every way. Her music gives me that wonderful feeling when you know that something is so special.’– Janice Long
A documentary about the uncommon life of the late storyteller, explorer and chef, Anthony Bourdain, who exploded onto the scene in 2000 with the publication of his restaurant memoir Kitchen Confidential.
From there it was an unstoppable rise to episodic fame, first with No Reservations, followed by Parts Unknown.
Bourdain’s passion for food, travel, and culture tapped into a deeper humanity that resonated with viewers who felt that they knew him. And to those who did know him, “Tony” was an uncommonly sensitive and insightful soul whose friendship left a lasting impact.
Kae Tempest is one of the most multifaceted artists on stages today, juggling multiple art forms with ease. At this count they are part performance poet, playwright, musician and author. A Ted Hughes Award winner for their poetry, they’ve also been nominated for the Mercury Prize for two albums: Everybody Down (2014) and Let Them Eat Chaos (2017). Their third, The Book of Traps and Lessons (2019) was shortlisted for an Ivor Novello, Best Album. Their writing continually urges audiences to look for connection, intimacy and depth against a quiet everydayness.
The Line is a Curve (2022) is released 8 April and continues their long term collaboration with producer Dan Carey. It draws more openly on existing themes of identity and selfhood in their work, further stoked by their coming out as an openly trans/non- binary performer. Kae began as a spoken word artist in Lewisham, comfortably straddling the nuance between rap and poetry slams. It is these roots of collaboration with a myriad of performers that make a reappearance in their new album. Kae features old friends like Kwake Bass, Confucious MC and newer links such as Fontaines DC frontman Grian Chatten and Leanne Le Havaas.
In their own words: ‘The Line Is A Curve is about letting go. Of shame, anxiety, isolation and falling instead into surrender. Embracing the cyclical nature of time, growth, love. This letting go can hopefully be felt across the record. In the musicality, the instrumentation, the lyricism, the delivery, the cover art. In the way it ends where it begins and begins where it ends’
Harmony is a wellness guru on a mission to save the world through the power of love. Let’s face it – the world is sick, so why not be part of the cure? Join Harmony’s revolution to save humanity by using her transforming programme to rid yourself of your prejudices and become truly enlightened. Let her guide, embrace and transform you so that you too can love everyone, even the dicks.
And if you think that sounds too hard, don’t worry! Harmony knows the difficulty of ridding yourself from prejudice because she was once as hate-filled and bitter as you are.
This is a show about how we really feel about the people around us, about our divided society, and how we talk to each other as we establish equality. Harmony Saves the World is all about laughing through some uncomfortable truths and hopefully, maybe, being a bit kinder to each other.
Runs 50mins max. Includes audience participation and some swearing. Suitable for 16yrs+
About Amadan Ensemble
Amadan are husband & wife team Jude Quinn & Gemma Mae Halligan, who have been creating edgy & physical theatre since 2014. Using the styles of clown & bouffon Amadan want to engage with their audience in a visceral, entertaining, relevant & at times confrontational way. Amadan takes risks to make the world braver. We are Amadan.
Compass Presents an expanded screening of cult comedy film ‘Monty Python & The Holy Grail’ with audience-participation live foley.
Grab your coconuts and go on a quest for the Holy Grail.. (or Foley Grail, if you will!) Upon your arrival, you will be handed a package of foley-delights. Follow your cue-master to add live sound effects – en masse – and make one of the most laugh-out-loud films of all time even funnier!
Released in 1975, Monty Python’s Holy Grail is a comedy masterpiece and cult classic. King Arthur, King of the Britons, faces a multitude of obstacles including the tenacious Knights of Ni, a rude Frenchman and a killer rabbit on his quest to find the Grail.
This is a silly screening for silly people. We encourage you to dress for the occasion, shout out your favourite lines and arrive at upon your invisible horse.
Occupying the space between cinema curation, art, event production and interactive theatre Compass Presents has been creating mixed-artform events and shows since 2006. Inspired by the immersive power of cinema and the spine-tingle of live performance, we reimagine cult treasures and offer them to audiences afresh, mixing film with live elements, and to be experienced in strange locations.
Allergy Warning: The foley kit contains food items. Please inform Compass Presents if you have a food allergy beforehand by contacting: hello@compasspresents.com
Supported by Film Hub NI, part of the BFI Film Audience Network, awarding funds from National
Lottery.
The Night With… Juice Vocal Ensemble features the première of Matthew Whiteside’s And This Too Shall Pass along with a new work by Royal Conservatoire of Scotland student Amy Stewart and music from Juice’s Voices of Venus programme.
Juice Ensemble
Citing everything from The Boswell Sisters, Bjork and Meredith Monk as influences, their purely vocal music takes all manner of unpredictable directions, drawing on classical, world music, jazz, folk, pop, improvisation and theatre.
They have featured on BBC Radio 4, BBC Radio 3 and Classic FM and have performed at London’s Wigmore Hall, the South Bank, King’s Place and the Roundhouse as well as outside the UK, including concerts in Denmark, Germany, France, Italy, Finland, New York and at SXSW Festival Austin, Texas.
John Francis Flynn is a singer and multi-instrumentalist whose work centres around traditional and folk material from Ireland. He is a founding member of the band, Skipper’s Alley, with whom he has toured extensively throughout Europe and America.
While supporting Lankum on their 2019 UK tour he caught the eye of Geoff Travis and Jeanette Lee who quickly signed John to Rough Trade imprint label, River Lea.
John’s debut album I Would Not Live Always in Spring 2021 was released through River Lea in Spring 2021. Produced by highly regarded producer, Brendan Jenkinson. This release further highlighted the enormous talent hidden away in the corners of Ireland’s folk scene.
I Would Not Live Always featured in Mojo’s top ten folk albums of 2021 and John received Best Emerging Folk Artist & Best Folk Singer accolades at RTÉ Radio One Folk Awards. Moving on Music is delighted to present John Francis Flynn’s debut Belfast performance in association with Strange Victory and Out To Lunch Festival
‘Human experience burns ferociously on this extraordinary debut from the uncompromising Irish artist John Francis Flynn. An extraordinary debut’ – THE GUARDIAN
‘Double Tin Whistle and Tape-Loops. Revelatory new takes on English and Irish folk songs in the manner of Sam Amidon. A singular and striking clarity of vision’ – UNCUT
The London African Gospel Choir (LAGC) are looking forward to their return to Belfast Cathedral Quarter.
This show sees the “redemption songs” reinterpreted; with the choir’s own inimitable African choral arrangements and Marley’s music stunningly arranged for the Choir’s band.
The London African Gospel Choir has gained international recognition for their critically acclaimed reworking of Paul Simon’s Graceland.
“Lively Up Yourselves” the great man said, welcome to a celebration to what is a part of many peoples lives, old and young…
The UK’s Poet Laureate Simon Armitage is one of Britain’s most well-established and well-loved literary talents, and has been bringing us his unique blend of wit, empathy and caustic insight for more than three decades, since the publication of his debut collection of poems Zoom! in 1989.
2021 welcomed two new publications: The Owl and the Nightingale, a new rendition of a Middle English narrative poem, bringing the verse to life with energy and humour; and A Vertical Art, a collection of Armitage’s spirited public lectures as Oxford University Professor of Poetry, bringing together subjects as diverse as Bob Dylan and Elizabeth Bishop.
Simon Armitage was born in Marsden, West Yorkshire in 1963. In 2020 he published Magnetic Field, a collection bringing together all the poems has written throughout his career about his home village.
Kathryn Joseph releases her forthcoming studio album for you who are the wronged on 22 April 2022 via Rock Action.
Unspoken truths take flight in songs that simmer and seethe with quiet anger, as Joseph gives voice to those robbed of their own. This record is a statement of abuse observed; its narrative woven with pain’s complexities, futility and stasis.
for you who are the wronged is the much anticipated follow-up to 2018’s from when i wake the want is, and her 2014 debut bones you have thrown me and blood i’ve spilled, which won 2015’s Scottish Album of the Year award.
If from when i wake… was written for love to return, this is where she fights tooth and claw to protect it. And though her sparrow-boned musical structures are as slight and sparse framed as their singer – they burn with a fearsome new certainty.
The sound is spacious, honouring the rawness of her original demos, written in early 2020. The subject matter is violation – of power, of love, of access – a pain that may not belong to her alone, but she strives to make sense of what’s being enacted on others.
In crafting these songs, Joseph offers a window into these toxic patterns that she hopes could save someone.
“Partly, it feels like the only thing I can do in terms of saying it out loud,” Kathryn shares. “It’s like code. No-one will hear their name, or recognise themselves, but in years to come, they might. For me, I think maybe there’s someone who might not even realise that they’re being abused until they listen to these songs. The ones who are already – I know how strong they are. They’re in my life, and they’re surviving it.”
Love in Bright Landscapes is the inspiring, tragic and intimate life story of David McComb, cult Australian singer/songwriter and driving force behind one of the greatest Australian bands, The Triffids.
Love in Bright Landscapes reveals the man behind the music; and McComb’s status as a quintessentially Australian artist.
‘This is a brand new work in progress (WIP) show that will look at my personal struggle and experience with depression, anxiety and intrusive thoughts that I’ve suffered from since the age of 5 and many nervous & mental breakdowns.
For me, I think it’s a subject not properly spoken about enough in comedy, in society, or in the world. I want this show to help smash or at least crack the stigma we all have of mental health.’ – Paul Currie, December 2021
TCOGLIMSKTMTTASITFS is the sister show to Paul’s 2021 Edinburgh Fringe Sell Out show “TEET”
★★★★★ THE SCOTSMAN
‘He’s fast developing a cult following. Everything Currie does has the spirit of Vic & Bob, The Young Ones and everything surreal that’s come before or since.’★★★★ EDFEST
‘He is simply and without question unmissable!’★★★★★ MELBOURNE INTERNATIONAL COMEDY FESTIVAL<
‘Paul Currie is a disturbingly brilliant comic.’★★★★★ BROADWAY BABY
‘I wish I’d seen him sooner. I’ll be back to see him every year. My favourite comedy show of the Fringe this year.’STEWART LEE
Acclaimed Irish comedian Tadhg Hickey (outstanding physical and comedic performer – The Scotsman), brings a weird and wonderful part theatre, part stand-up comedy show, In One Eye, Out The Other to this year’s Out to Lunch.
IOEOTO tells the story of Feargal, the downtrodden but cheery man who fulfilled his lifelong dream of becoming an alcoholic. Using the Catholic calendar as a roadmap, Feargal leads us on a surreal and hilarious journey with many poignant twists in the hope of arriving at a sort of light at the end of the tunnel for the ‘bright man’.
The show is loosely based on Tadhg’s own journey with alcoholism. During promotion of the show, Tadhg went public with his own story and has since had many mental health and alcohol action groups, as well as sufferers, reach out to him.
Tadhg is one of the brightest and bravest new stars in Irish comedy and theatre. His satirical sketches have amassed several million views online, and earned the admiration of comedy royalty like Armando Ianucci.
‘In One Eye, Out The Other’ is characteristically brave and ambitious, as Tadhg searches for cathartic humour in a surreal retelling of his own battle with alcoholism.
“Great art. A vital catharsis. I laughed until I cried. Go see it.” – Sunday Independent
“Both funny and poignant; a brave, risky performance. This is exciting work” – The Independent
“Illuminating. Affecting in surprising ways. Feargal’s story will stay with you for days”– Sunday Business Post.
Doors open 30 minutes before show | Unreserved Seating
Jonathan Barnbrook is a graphic designer and musician. He will talk about his work and design and his musical collaboration with Anil Aykan.
Jonathan worked with David Bowie from 2003 up until his passing in 2016. In that time he was responsible for designing album covers including Heathen, The Next Day and Blackstar – for which he won a Grammy. Barnbrook was also part of the curating panel and main graphic designer for the exhibition ‘David Bowie Is’.
From school to college, Saint Martin’s and the Royal College of Art – a trajectory he says is down to free education – his dedication and skill in the medium were discussed across the industry before he even graduated from his masters. Post-education Jonathan set up his own studio immediately.
From here, an array of projects began – from David Bowie to Damien Hirst, Penguin Books, Adbusters, the Occupy movement, several famed font releases – leading the designer down a path of thoughtful and often political or music-related projects.
Most recently, however, the latter has become more of a focus, as the designer and his partner Anil Aykan launched Fragile Self. An electronic duo who place as much focus on visuals as music, their album took several years to make and includes a 480-page tome visualising the poetic detail of each song.
PLEASE NOTE
“The Conor Theatre is on the second floor of the Birley Building (art college), Block BA, of Ulster University’s Belfast campus in the Cathedral Quarter. Please arrive at the reception of the Birley Building with your ticket/s to gain access through the turnstiles to the stairs and elevators.
Experience Mary Ann McCracken’s Belfast, as you walk in the footsteps of this remarkable abolitionist, philanthropist and social reformer. Mary Ann McCracken, who was born over 250 years ago, is intrinsically linked to the city of Belfast. She lived her fearless life championing causes, moving from place to place, always on a mission to make life better for those less fortunate than herself.
Hear too about her more radical nature. Her role in the work of the United Irishmen, the 1798 rebellion and beyond. How she was devoted to her older brother Henry Joy – hanged for his leading role in the rebellion.
This walking tour takes in the locations linked to her life, her endeavours and that of her family. You will be led by an experienced guide through the same streets she walked over 200 years before. This new walking tour starts at Clifton House, where Mary Ann’s thirst for philanthropic causes first began, and where her impact can still be seen today, and finishes near Belfast City Hall.
Planning your visit:
• Walking tour lasts approx. 2 ½ hours
• Please arrive 10 minutes in advance of the tour start time
• Tickets are £12.50pp*, and include a complimentary tea and coffee
• Walking tour commences at Clifton House and finishes in Donegall Square
• Booking in advance is essential due to limited spaces
• Belfast Visitor Pass and Concession rates are £11.25. Please present your Visitor Pass on arrival. For further information on the Belfast Visitor Pass, visit: visitbelfast.com
About the Mary Ann McCracken Foundation
The Foundation was officially launch in 2021 to promote the life and times of this remarkable woman and to explore her legacy and relevance in the 21st century. The Foundation have, to date, republished Mary McNeill’s biography on Mary Ann McCracken, produced an historical map of Belfast, and recently award bursaries to Ulster University Masters Students.
The St Buryan Sessions is the sixth solo album by award-winning singer/songwriter Sarah McQuaid. Born in Madrid to a Spanish father and an American mother, then raised in Chicago, Sarah lived in Ireland for thirteen years.
Her first three albums were recorded in Ireland with producer Gerry O’Beirne. Her latest album The St Buryan Sessions had its genesis in the spring of 2020 when Sarah’s gigs and tours were cancelled due to Covid.
Thanks to a successful crowdfunding campaign she was able to finance a live solo recording (without an audience) in the medieval church of St Buryan, not far from her home in rural West Cornwall. The recording in an old stone church gives the acoustics an ethereal dimension, especially to the vocals.
Sarah, a member of the St Buryan choir and also a multi-instrumentalist, moves between acoustic guitar, piano, electric guitar and not forgetting her vintage floor tom drum.
Sarah, has one of the most instantly recognisable voices in contemporary acoustic/folk music.
The St Buryan Sessions represents a journey through a wide range of styles — from world music to the jazz standard Autumn Leaves.
“One of the most instantly recognisable voices in current music … Shades of Joni Mitchell in a jam with Karen Carpenter and Lana Del Rey.” —Trust The Doc
“Captivating, unorthodox songwriting … layered satin vocals … enthralling, harrowing arrangements … a gateway into a true innovator’s soul.” —PopMatters
“I’ve attended hundreds of concerts of all kinds, and her subtle mastery onstage launches her straight into my fave shows ever.” —Huffington Post
By the age of 17, Ruth McGinley had already gained widespread recognition as one of Ireland’s leading pianists, winning countless accolades including both the piano finals of both the BBC and RTÉ Young Musician of the Year awards. Since then, her career has been wide-ranging and daring, collaborating with some of the most acclaimed teachers and musicians working today, and straying from the typical classical-pianist journey.
The Derry native studied at the Royal Irish Academy of Music and Royal Academy in London before being awarded a Postgraduate in Solo Performance from the Royal College in London. She has performed as soloist with many orchestras including the BBC Philharmonic, National Symphony Orchestra, RTE Concert Orchestra and Ulster Orchestra and as a solo recitalist throughout the UK, Europe and the Middle East. Ruth broadcasts regularly for BBC Radio 3, Classic FM, BBC Radio Ulster and RTE, and was honoured to be invited to perform as soloist at the BBC Proms in the Park.
But it is perhaps the spaces between where Ruth’s interests really lie. A determination to walk her own path, Ruth’s love of music goes far beyond the classical world. A highly sought-after collaborator, Ruth works with musicians from many backgrounds including jazz, folk, electronic and other.
This concert programme will feature classical works by Arvo Pärt, Erik Satie, Chick Corea and reimagined folk songs by Neil Martin.
‘Stylistic variety is seamlessly blended throughout in intelligently proportioned playing as sincere as it is supple. More please!’Michael Quinn, CLASSICAL EAR.
Adapted by Cliodhna McAllister, from the novel by Marian Engel.
“Tear my head off, Bear. Claw out my heart.” Led by animal instinct. Intoxicated by primal desire. Marked by violent passion. When Lou meets Bear, she is forever changed.
‘Bear’ is the provocative tale of a woman’s transformative experience on a remote Canadian island. Dispatched to catalogue the contents of the island’s abandoned nineteenth-century estate, Lou finds she is not alone – there’s always a bear on Cary Island. And there are always secrets. Consumed by primal desire, Lou’s relationship with Bear takes her on a journey of sexual and spiritual awakening. She won’t leave the island the same woman she used to be.
Blacklight Productions are proud to premier ‘Bear’ – the first adaptation of Marian Engel’s acclaimed and controversial novel – at CQAF 2022.
Cast: Aoife Honohan
Writer & Director: Cliodhna McAllister
Producer: Fionnula Ryan
Costume Design: Henrique Caliento
Set & Lighting Design/Op: Chris Merton
Sound Design/Op: Jamie Bishop
Supported by the Pavilion Theatre, Dún Laoghaire and Future Foundations NI
Ayanna Witter-Johnson is a multi-talented singer, songwriter, pianist and cellist. She has a phenomenal mastery for seamlessly crossing the boundaries of classical, jazz, reggae, soul and R&B, to imprint her unique musical signature with her virtuosic tap, strum and bow with her cello into her sound.
An acclaimed and celebrated performer, Ayanna has collaborated with many stellar artists, including Anoushka Shankar, Nitin Sawhney, Andrea Bocelli and Jools Holland. She has also toured extensively across the UK, Europe and the US.
As a composer, Ayanna has been commissioned by the London Symphony Orchestra, Ligeti Quartet, Kronos Quartet and The Hip-Hop Shakespeare Company to name but a few. She was also selected as an arranger/orchestrator for the London Symphony Orchestra (Hugh Masekela, Belief) and the BBC Symphony Orchestra (Urban Classic).
Ayanna has released three EPs and put out her debut album Road Runner in 2019, with its two subsequent singles Nothing Less and Crossroads. With her January 2021 surprise-released EP Rise Up, Ayanna again combined reggae, classical, jazz and R&B to celebrate black culture and identity to uplift and inspire the next generation. The stunning collection of three tracks and videos featuring Akala on Rise Up, Cleveland Watkiss on Declaration Of Rights and the Rise Up Riddim have received a huge amount of critical acclaim.
Many of Ayanna’s remarkable tracks have received airplay on radio stations, including BBC Radio 1, 1Xtra, 2, 3, 4, 6, BBC Radio London, BBC Manchester, Jazz FM and Scala Radio. Her TV credits include BBC One, London Live, Channel 4 (Sing It Loud: Black and Proud), BBC Proms and a stunning performance on Later…with Jools Holland (BBC One).
2021 has been a stellar year for Ayanna. She is currently working on her sophomore album and collaborating with Solem Quartet as part of their Beethoven Bartok Now series. 2021 also saw Ayanna returning to the live stage, headlining at London’s iconic Jazz Café and Kings Place. She also made additional performances supporting Nubiyan Twist on their UK tour, participating in ‘Jazz Voice’ (the opening of the London Jazz Festival) at the Royal Festival Hall and a 22-date US tour with Opera superstar Andrea Bocelli.
As a performer of extraordinary versatility, Ayanna’s live shows are intimate journeys that chronicle her experience as a female artist in the 21st century. Due to her musical prowess, mesmerising vocals, non-compromising lyrics, and ability to deftly reinterpret songs on the cello. Ayanna Witter Johnson is the very definition of eclectic soul.
Gwenifer Raymond began playing guitar at the age of eight shortly after having been first exposed to punk and grunge. After years of playing around the Welsh valleys in various punk outfits she began listening more to pre-war blues musicians as well as Appalachian folk players, eventually leading into the guitar players of the American Primitive genre.
In 2017 she released her first single Sometimes There’s Blood and released her debut album You Never Were Much of a Dancer in June of 2018 to worldwide acclaim.
What followed was much international touring. Gwenifer headlined shows across much of Europe, debuted at several summer festivals including Green Man, Black Deer, Supernormal, Shambala to name but a fraction. She also played a number of support slots for artists such as Michael Chapman, Michael Hurley, Xylouris White and Charlie Parr.
The release of Strange Lights Over Garth Mountain has been highly anticipated after Gwenifer’s debut album, You Were Never Much of a Dancer, received critical acclaim from numerous publications including The Guardian.
Listeners who enjoyed her unmistakable virtuosity on the guitar and banjo, as well as the adventurous musical journey her debut album travelled through, can expect nothing less from this new release.
CQAF are delighted to present a new commission at St. Joseph’s Church in Sailortown from This Ship Argo. Funded by The Leche Trust. CQAF have commissioned the musician/ composer ‘This Ship Argo’ (Aileen McKenna) to produce a new composition for a specially edited film. This Ship Argo will be playing live to visual material.
The performance would be presented in the historic St Joseph’s Church in an area of Belfast known as Sailor town. The commissioned work would tie into themes of the sea and seafaring industries in a historical context. Imagery for the film, sometimes abstract and poetic, would tie in with the subtle and delicate score produced by This Ship Argo.
This Ship Argo is the moniker of Aileen McKenna; a producer, musician, composer, vocalist and remixer based in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Aileen combines synths, vocals and the occasional sample to create low-tempo electronic soundscapes that are at times both ambient and uplifting through to angry and intense, but always engaging and intriguing. The depth of layers and detail within her work rewards repeated listening, always presenting something new to pick out with each play. This is not only a reflection of her training as a classical pianist but as a guitarist, a vocalist and her experiences with auditory-visual synaesthesia. Aileen’s work is reflective of her love of multiple genres, from singer-songwriters, her love of indie-pop and riot girl through orchestral works, traditional pieces and electronica which combine to make up the palate of This Ship Argo.
A prolific producer, her first album – “Kintsugi” – was released on 22nd January 2020 with the second album – “Always the Bees: Never the Honey” – exactly one year later on 22nd January 2021, and a host of standalone singles in-between. The inclusion of her track Isomer on Hannah Peel’s All Queens Mix on the Maryanne Hobbs show shortly after release, only serves to demonstrate her artistry with Peel saying “I love the dreaminess of this track”. Her work has also been championed in multiple playlists by Daniel Avery for both Apple Music (Underground Dance) and on Spotify, and has been included in short films and multiple compilations released in 2021 with more set for release before the end of the year and into 2022.
All work is recorded, mixed, mastered and produced by her in her home studio and is the result of McKenna’s dedication to her craft and a determination to be self-reliant. This extends to the creation of all her own artwork and accompanying videos, as well as visual accompaniments for live-streams during lockdown. This work earned her a place as a finalist in the Best Album category of the Northern Irish Music Prize 2021 as well as a spot in the NI Electronic Workshop: an initiative run collaboratively between Hannah Peel, Start Together Studio, The Oh Yeah Centre, Northern Ireland Screen, Tonn Recordings and the legendary Analogue Catalogue recording studio in Northern Ireland.
Supported by Film Hub NI, part of the BFI Film Audience Network, awarding funds from National Lottery.
Celebrating 20 years of action, Explosion Sound System, Belfast’s greatest purveyors of all things Reggae and Dub are having a night of bass-heavy sounds in the Ulster Sports Club.
Joining them for the night will be the legendary Ras Tenda, (Roots Tradition Round Beat Sound System).
We’re delighted to present this very special CQAF cinematic doggie treat.
The Incredible Journey is the timeless tale of Luath the Yellow Labrador, Bodger the elderly English Bull Terrier and Tao the Siamese Cat, as they embark on a long trek through the rugged wilderness of the Sierra Nevada mountains in a quest to reach home and their beloved owners.
We invite you and your four-legged friend to join us for this Disney classic!
Roll your sleeves up and get floury! Tracey Jeffery from Tracey’s Farmhouse Kitchen will demonstrate how to make Northern Ireland’s most loved traditional breads – Soda and Potato bread.
Now it’s your turn! You’ll make your own soda and potato breads in the traditional way – no measuring or weighing required!
Your breads will cook on a Griddle and from start to finish they’ll be ready to eat within 15 minutes. You’ll take home 4 farls of Soda and 4 farls of Potato bread, or enjoy them with lunch, hot off the griddle. There’s even a prize for the best breads.
Includes tea / coffee on arrival, bread making experience, followed by lunch.
Meet at Northern Whig, 15 minutes before your start time.
Ashley Campbell was originally a theater major at Pepperdine University. Music had always been a major part of her life from beginning piano lessons at age 6 and picking up the guitar at 15. But it wasn’t until she was asked to learn the banjo for a role in Pepperdine’s Edinburgh Theater program that music began to take the wheel as both a passion and a career.
Shortly after graduation, Ashley spent the next three years touring with her father, Glen Campbell, playing banjo and keyboards. As the tour went on, Ashley began writing and performing music of her own and subsequently moved to Nashville in 2013 where she signed a publishing deal and began her own journey as an artist. Ashley went on to write and release her first single “Remembering” in 2015. A deeply personal reflection about her father’s Alzheimer’s diagnosis, “Remembering” was featured on her father’s documentary, Glen Campbell: I’ll Be Me. The soundtrack for the documentary (also featuring a cover by Ashley of her father’s song “Home Again”) would go on to win two grammy’s.
The success launched Ashley into a solo career as an independent artist, releasing her first album, The Lonely One, in 2018. Ashley co-produced the record with her brother Cal and released on her own label (Whistle Stop Records). The Lonely One album hit the Top Ten of the UK Country Chart upon release. Since then, Ashley has toured all over the US as well as the UK and Europe including opening for Kris Kristofferson in London, the C2C Festival MainStage in 2018, and playing at Carnegie Hall with songwriting legend Jimmy Webb.
Ashley’s sophomore album, Something Lovely (produced by friend and co-writer of “Remembering” Kai Welch) was released October 9, 2020 with Vacancy Records. The album features eleven new tracks including “If I Wasn’t” which features Vince Gill on vocals and electric guitar. Ashley’s hard-wired musicality, clarity and easy lyrical delivery gives this collection a classic feel but the songwriting and production are right up the the minute. There is depth as well as undoubted style. A mature and confident set from a musician who has earned her place in the spotlight.
Rescheduled from OTL 22 with an additional show added.
Following the release of his critically acclaimed album, Heartbreaker Please, Teddy Thompson kicks off a UK tour with a special concert in the Black Box as part of this year’s Out to Lunch.
Recorded in Brooklyn and written and produced by Teddy, Heartbreaker Please sees the critically acclaimed artist at the top of his craft, serving up the medicine of resignation with sweet, catchy satisfaction. “Here’s the thing,” Teddy sings frankly on his new album, “you don’t love me anymore. I can tell you’ve got one foot out the door.” From its opening track, Thompson’s new album reckons with the breakdown of love with a wistful levity as satisfying as it is devastatingly honest.
From a young age, Sam Cooke, Hank Williams, Chuck Berry, and the Everly Brothers made up the bulk of his listening and you can hear that ache in his voice. After releasing his self-titled debut in 2000, Teddy went on tour as part of Roseanne Cash’s band.
Since then he’s released five acclaimed albums, collaborated with good friends Martha and Rufus Wainwright, contributed to numerous tribute projects, and produced albums for Americana singer-songwriter Dori Freeman, Shelby Lynne, Allison Moorer and his mother, Linda Thompson.
Doors 30 mins before the show | Unreserved seating
NI troubadour Malojian and Out to Lunch invite you to a very special afternoon show celebrating the music of the iconic singer songwriter Neil Young.
The show features songs from the huge Neil repertoire, with a focus on the early 1970s including songs from the albums Harvest and After the Gold Rush.
Malojian whose own music has been heavily influenced by Neil Young and his band will present their beautiful interpretations of his songs in an afternoon you soon won’t forget.
“There was a band playing in my head and I felt like getting high”
Described by Ralph McLean of BBC Radio Ulster as “A great songwriter with a voice that can break your heart at 30 paces” Brigid O’Neill from Co. Down is a genre-spanning songsmith whose evergreen music appeals to multiple generations.
The last few years have seen the critically acclaimed artist earn a formidable reputation as one of the most versatile, unique and fearless storytellers on the island. Her latest album Touchstone sees her effortlessly weave elements of folk, country and jazz into relatable tales of happiness, heartbreak and the human condition, with recently released singles Leaving and Prayers from her highly anticipated follow-up album, receiving great reviews.
Brigid has performed everywhere from the world-famous Bluebird Cafe in Nashville to the iconic Grand Opera House in Belfast, writing with Grammy award writers along the way. She is a recipient of numerous Arts Council and Music Industry awards and was long-listed for the Glastonbury Festival 2020 Emerging Talent Competition and Northern Ireland Music Prize 2021.
Some time ago she had the idea to write songs about special buildings in Belfast and commissioned by the Ulster Architectural Heritage Society, the project grew to include Derry and Armagh. Intangible Heritage a trilogy of songs from this very special project, recorded live at Sonic Visuals Studio, following an award and invitation from the British Council to perform at the online UK-China Festival of Contemporary Culture 2021.
It includes Sisters Born Here inspired by the historically significant Armagh Gaol, Belfast Angel about the Art Deco Bank in Belfast and Window Seat about Austins Dept Store in Derry.
‘An immensely gifted storyteller. Very special indeed’ – HOTPRESS
‘Brigid O’Neill has a voice like a clear cut diamond’ – BRITISH COUNTRY MUSIC FESTIVAL
‘Supremely confident both musically and lyrically’ – GLASTONBURY FESTIVAL
‘Really beautiful’ – FIACHNA Ó BRAONAIN RTE RADIO 1
This is one of our very favourite films from Bill Forsyth – one of our very favourite directors.
After his girlfriend walks out on him, Glasgow DJ Alan “Dicky” Bird witnesses an ice cream van being attacked and destroyed by an angry competitor. He becomes embroiled in the struggle between two Italian families, the Bernardis and the Rossis, over the carve up of ice cream distribution in the city.
Featuring an incredible cast including Bill Patterson, Alex Norton and Clare Grogan, Comfort and Joy is a darkly funny treat.
We’re thrilled that CLARE GROGAN will also be nipping over from sound-checking with Altered Images to talk about her experience working on this minor classic.
Supported by Film Hub NI, part of the BFI Film Audience Network, awarding funds from National Lottery.
Seacht Líne is a post-trad band based in Belfast and London, formed by brothers Joshua and Connor Burnside.
It is an instrumental musical project born during the coronavirus lockdown, with an emphasis on family, home and nostalgia.
The first-ever live show for the ‘post-Trad’ instrumental musical project that was formed during lockdown by brothers Joshua and Connor Burnside.
With one based in Belfast, one living in London, they used technology to record the EP ‘Hawk on the Cliff’ at a distance. The music is heavily rooted in the themes of family, home and nostalgia.
Pioneering her own brand of cosmic folk, County Down native Bróna McVittie both deftly reimagines traditional folk and crafts her own nature-inspired songs with a rich mix of folk and electronic instruments.
Her debut solo album We Are the Wildlife, released in 2018, earned her a string of four star reviews from MOJO, Uncut, The Guardian and The Independent and garnered high praise from critics including Nigel Williamson and the late Andy Gill.
The album’s single Under the Pines was featured in Lauren Laverne’s best-of-2018 list. And before her Womad appearance in 2019 Bróna was interviewed live by Cerys Matthews on her BBC 6 Music festival highlights show.
The Man in the Mountain features notable collaborations with avant-garde Nordic composer Arve Henriksen and electronica trailblazers Isan. The title track, inspired by the local legends and lore of Bróna’s homeland, tells a tale of a battle between Irish and Scottish giants.
Her desire to steer traditional folk into the 21st century is borne out of her immersion in the London Irish music scene (for many years she was lead singer for 6-piece trad outfit The London Lasses) and her longtime love of electronica. Her own songwriting is harnessed in a deep reflection on the natural world.
Bróna recently performed with her trio at Dublin’s National Concert Hall, Dublin City Hall, Glasgow Royal Concert Hall, London’s Kings Place, Celtic Connections Festival, TradFest and Womad. She returns to the Cathedral Quarter Arts Festival with an exclusive preview of the new single from her forthcoming third album.
She is supported by The National Lottery and the Arts Council of Northern Ireland.
‘McVittie’s voice is clear, hypnotic and uncannily timeless, floating between Broadcast’s Trish Keenan and Clannad’s Moya Brennan.’★★★★ MOJO
‘Every note of sweetness to McVittie’s voice has a bite behind it too, showing you the stuff under the skin.’★★★★ THE GUARDIAN
Soul II Soul – Club Classics
(DJ support from Superfly Funk and Soul, Belfast)
Following the success of their shows in 2018, iconic British band Soul II Soul will take their acclaimed Club Classics tour back on the road in 2022, paying tribute to their legendary debut album, Club Classics Vol 1.
With huge hits including ‘Keep On Movin’ (which sold over a million copies in the US alone) and the UK number one single ‘Back To Life (However Do You Want Me)’, Soul II Soulprogressed from being one of the leaders of the 1980’s warehouse scene to pioneering British black music around the world, and securing commercial success for themselves and the huge amount of artists they have influenced.
During the course of their stellar career the band have sold over 10 million albums worldwide and main man Jazzie B was awarded an OBE for services to music in 2008, as well as winning an Ivor Novello Award for Inspiration, as “the man who gave British black music a soul of its own”.
Mostly Standing | Doors 7.30pm
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The Cathedral Quarter Arts Festival and Out To Lunch are annual festivals of music, comedy, theatre, art and literature which take place in January and May in Belfast, Northern Ireland.
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