The 11th Cathedral Quarter Arts Festival programme unveiled… The long-awaited programme for the 11th Cathedral Quarter Arts Festival was finally unveiled at a special launch event on Wednesday 31 March.   This year’s Festival, which runs from 29 April – 9 May, boasts the most ambitious line-up yet with a programme packed with music, comedy, literature, theatre and visual arts. For eleven days, the city centre will once more be transformed for the duration of the Festival as over 140 events take place in over twenty venues across the area. Festival Director Sean Kelly said: “Belfast has changed a lot in the 11 years since the Cathedral Quarter Arts Festival first began. We’ve witnessed a lot of growth and development both socially and in arts and culture provision in our city. We’re delighted to still be here delivering a programme that reflects that growth and one we believe puts the festival at the very heart of the city’s cultural calendar. I know it’s often said on these occasions but I genuinely believe that we’ve managed to achieve a great balance of the old and the new, the emerging talent with the established big stars and the local with the international. Kelly added: “We’re very proud to be able to welcome everybody, regulars and newcomers alike, to join us in celebrating the very best of music, comedy, arts and culture over the Festival period.” The word ‘legend’ is bandied around a lot these days, but the CQAF musical programme delivers three acts who can legitimately claim the title as their own. Jamaica’s finest Sly Dunbar and Robbie Shakespeare need no introduction. It would be easier to make of list of stars that they haven’t worked with over their illustrious 30-year career. One of the most famous double-acts in the music world, Sly and Robbie make an extremely rare visit to this part of the world to grace the main stage at the Festival Marquee. As Saturday night headliners go, they don’t come much bigger than Echo and the Bunnymen. The self-styled ‘best band in the world’ (copyright Ian McCullough 1984), the band have influenced everybody from Coldplay to U2. CQAF is delighted to catch them just as they’re riding the critical zeitgeist once again with new album The Fountain mooted as a rival their stone-cold classic Ocean Rain. Think African music, and one of the first names on your lips will likely be Toumani Diabate. A genuine super-star of huge proportions in his native Mali, this Grammy-winning musician is responsible for bringing the sound of West African music truly global. Part Miles Davis, part Hendrix combined with the ancient griot tradition, Diabate and his band promise to be an unforgettable Festival highlight. The dazzling eight-piece Hypnotic Brass Ensemble bring a little funk, soul and sheer authentic passion to the Marquee with their strictly unplugged powerhouse live act. Elsewhere, the festival can boast an eclectic and dazzling array of musical styles and performers. From Josh Ritter to DJ Food, Hope Sandoval and Sharon Shannon to King Cannibal and Martin Stephenson, it’s a roster of unparalleled musical spoils. CQAF is also thrilled to present a rare live performance from our very own Divine Comedy on the eve of their long-awaited tenth studio album, Bang Goes the Knighthood. Commenting at the programme launch for the 11th Cathedral Quarter Arts Festival Lord Mayor Naomi Long said: “The advent of spring in Belfast means just one thing – the Cathedral Quarter Arts Festival. It’s incredible that it has been eleven years since the Festival first burst onto the city’s arts calendar and into our public consciousness. In little more than a decade, CQAF has become an essential fixture of Belfast’s cultural landscape and can justly claim to be one of the leading arts festivals, not only of our city, but of the island of Ireland as a whole. Over the years, the Festival has become celebrated for consistently combining the very best international star names with the cream of our home-grown talent, consistently providing a genuinely inclusive, eclectic and quality bill. Eleven years on since CQAF mark one and I’m delighted to be able to congratulate the organisers for yet another stellar line-up which, for ten days May, looks set to once again totally energise the city centre." The Festival’s comedy programme boasts some of the top stand-ups on the circuit including a quick return for Andrew Maxwell following his blistering turn at the Out to Lunch Festival just a few short months ago. A stand-up at the very top of his game – those who missed him then will have a chance to see him headlining on his biggest stage yet. Ardal O’Hanlon award-winning star of Father Ted and My Hero, celebrated author and all round comedy Renaissance man also makes a welcome return to the festival as does the inimitable Reginald D Hunter – possibly the face of the moment on primetime TV comedy. Star-in-the-making Kevin Bridges and the Irish-Iranian (very) funny man Patrick Monahan both debut at the festival – the next step on their meteoric rise from open mic hopefuls to house-hold names. From the world of literature, the Festival welcomes one of this island’s finest living poets Paul Durcan and crime fiction author John Connolly – arguably Ireland’s most successful author in that genre. Everyone’s favourite movie critic Mark Kermode will be here to not only read from his highly acclaimed memoir It’s Only a Movie, but also to take up the double-bass as one quarter of roughneck outfit The Dodge Brothers. Broadcasting icon Joan Bakewell and counter-cultural hero Howard Marks also make welcome debuts on the festival stage as does our very own Tim Brannigan, whose incredible autobiography Where are you really from?, movingly and humorously details a remarkable life growing up black in a white catholic west Belfast family. Praising this year’s programme, Nick Livingston, Arts Council Director of Strategic Development said: “The Cathedral Quarter Arts Festival has once again succeeded in securing an eclectic line up of top local and international acts. The festival’s innovative approach to attracting new audiences and to forging partnerships with venues and public and private organisations in the area, creates not only a great arts festival, but makes a vital contribution to the economic and creative regeneration at the heart of this area of the city.” The Cathedral Quarter Arts Festival has always been an ardent supporter of the ever-burgeoning Northern Irish theatre scene and this year is no exception. The world premiere (in adjoining bedrooms at the Ramada Encore!) of Prime Cut’s hotly-anticipated Scarborough, Henna Nights by Rawlife, C21’s inimitable re-imagining of Sylvia Plath’s only radio play Three Women, and Wonderland’s stunning La Locandiera which transforms the Merchant Hotel into an 18th century Florentine Inn for one night only. There’s also an opportunity for local audiences to see Hedwig and the Angry Inch – the gender-bending cult musical classic to rival Rocky Horror. Throw in the likes of manic wordsmith Dan Eggs, ex-taoiseach Bertie Ahern, a whole Festival-full of Fools, Polish Cultural Week, film, street theatre, food and a whole host of family events not to mention an evening in with George Clooney and the 11th Cathedral Quarter Arts Festival looks set to be the biggest, best and most exciting yet. The Cathedral Quarter Arts Festival is supported by The Arts Council of Northern Ireland, Belfast City Council and the Department of Social Development.