Stuart Murdoch – Nobody’s Empire: A Novel

Stuart Murdoch – Nobody’s Empire: A Novel

The Black Box

Sunday 5 January, 2.00pm

Doors 1.30pm | Unreserved seating

£10.00

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Belle and Sebastian frontman Stuart Murdoch joins us for this in-conversation event about his debut, a life-affirming novel.

It’s the early 1990s in Glasgow, and Stephen – music loving romantic – has emerged from a lengthy hospital stay diagnosed with chronic fatigue syndrome, a little-understood disease that has robbed him of any prospects of work, a social life or independent living.

Meeting fellow strugglers, who the world seems to care less and less for, they form their own support group and try to get by as cheaply and as painlessly as possible. Finding that he has the ability to write songs, albeit in a slow and fledgling way, Stephen wakes to the possibility of a spiritual life beyond the everyday.

Leaving Glasgow in search of a cure in the mythic warmth of California, Stephen and his friend Richard float between hostels, sofas, and park benches. Could the trip really offer them both a new-world reinvention?

Stuart Murdoch is the lead singer and songwriter for the iconic Glasgow-based band Belle and Sebastian. Since forming in the mid-1990s, the band has released twelve studio albums to high acclaim, including If You’re Feeling Sinister and The Boy With the Arab Strap. In 2012 Murdoch scripted, composed, and directed the movie God Help the Girl.

Tickets also available from:
Visit Belfast | 028 9024 6609
9 Donegall Square North - Open 7 days a Week

Out To Lunch 2025 Earlybird Shows

Historic Pubs of the Cathedral Quarter

Historic Pubs of the Cathedral Quarter

Leaves Kellys Cellars

Sunday 5 January and Sunday 12 January, 2.00pm

Stuart Murdoch – Nobody’s Empire: A Novel

Stuart Murdoch – Nobody’s Empire: A Novel

The Black Box

Sunday 5 January, 2.00pm

Celebrating 40 Years of Raindogs

Celebrating 40 Years of Raindogs

The Oh Yeah Music Centre

Friday 10 January, 7.30pm

Celebrating 40 Years of Raindogs

Celebrating 40 Years of Raindogs

The Oh Yeah Music Centre

Saturday 11 January, 7.30pm

The Zac Schulze Gang

In association with Belfast City Blues Festival

The Zac Schulze Gang

The Deer's Head

Saturday 11 January, 2.00pm & 8.00pm

Ulster Orchestra at Out to Lunch

Ulster Orchestra at Out to Lunch

The Black Box

Tuesday 14 January, 1.00pm

Ursula Burns: The Secret Melodies of Trees Album Launch

Ursula Burns: The Secret Melodies of Trees Album Launch

The Black Box

Thursday 16 January, 1.00pm

Josie Long: A Work in Progress About Giant Extinct Animals

Josie Long: A Work in Progress About Giant Extinct Animals

The Black Box

Thursday 16 January, 8.00pm

Katharine Timoney – Extra show added

Katharine Timoney – Extra show added

The Black Box

Friday 17 January, 1.00pm and 8.00pm

Lights, Camera, Belfast!

Lights, Camera, Belfast!

Meet at the Leonardo Hotel, Great Victoria St, Belfast BT1 6DY

Sunday 19 and 26 January, 11.30am - 1.30pm (approx) 

The Special Consensus: 50th Anniversary Tour

The Special Consensus: 50th Anniversary Tour

The Black Box

Wednesday 22 January, 1.00pm & 8.00pm

Tim O’Brien & Jan Fabricius with Dermot Byrne and Seamie O’Dowd

In association with Old Flat Top

Tim O’Brien & Jan Fabricius with Dermot Byrne and Seamie O’Dowd

The Black Box

Thursday 23 January, 8.00pm

Craig Oldham: The Tools of Protest – A Talk on Visual Dissent

Out to Lunch Festival and Ulster Presents…

Craig Oldham: The Tools of Protest – A Talk on Visual Dissent

Ulster University, Belfast Campus, Block BC, Lecture Theatre 2

Friday 24 January, 6.30pm

Joel Harkin and Band play ‘I’m Wide Awake, It’s Morning’

Joel Harkin and Band play ‘I’m Wide Awake, It’s Morning’

Oh Yeah Centre

Friday 24 January, 8.00pm 

New Street Adventure/Carmy Love/The Gold Tips/Aaron Craig

In association with Superfly Funk and Soul Belfast

New Street Adventure/Carmy Love/The Gold Tips/Aaron Craig

The Oh Yeah Centre

Saturday 25 January, 7.00pm - 1.00am

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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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Cathedral Quarter Arts Festival / Out To Lunch Arts Festival
Unit 8
Northern Whig House
Bridge Street
Belfast
BT1 1LU