Sound of Belfast festival kicks off season of concerts, workshops and more
Top names are on the bill at the music industry conference
It’s the time of year again when Northern Ireland music stops to give itself a well-earned pat on the back. Aye, right. The scene here never stops – it’s always on the move, evolving, growing, pushing out boundaries and pulling down walls.
But in November, the Sound of Belfast festival kicks off and gives people a real taste of what it’s all about. So there are a tonne of concerts, chats, concerts workshops and more concerts scattered across the city.
And it all kind of reaches a crescendo with the NI Music Prize – judging the best album, single, live act and newcomer and bestowing the Oh Yeah Legend on one of the many local musicians who have earned their place in the pop Pantheon. This year’s recipient is former Thin Lizzy guitarist Eric Bell.
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The day before it all wraps up there’s a hugely important – and exciting – conference for anyone interested in a career in music. Top names from the global music industry are lined up to speak at Output Belfast on Tuesday 12 November – the biggest music conference on the island.
The conference will include panel discussions, music sessions, workshops and speed-networking events, as well as keynote speeches from award-winning musicians and managers of globally recognised talent. This year it will take place during the Sound Of Belfast and Belfast International Arts Festival arts programmes
Announcing the details of Output Belfast 2024 the Lord Mayor of Belfast, Councillor Micky Murray commented: “Belfast City Council is proud to support Output Belfast Festival 2024. This annual event is all about developing and supporting our fantastic music industry and is helping to deliver on our UNESCO ambition of nurturing the sector.
“Once again, delegates can expect a diverse and inspiring programme of music industry education and networking that will educate and engage – from industry sessions, workshops and masterclasses, to panels and keynotes. And it’s so fitting that the event takes place on 12 November – just a few days after the three-year anniversary of Belfast becoming the first city on the island of Ireland to be designated a UNESCO City of Music.”
Based at The MAC and Oh Yeah Music Centre, it’s expected that the conference will attract more than 750 local artists, businesses and students, and deliver a programme addressing the challenges and opportunities presented in today’s music industry, as well as highlighting the key role that music and performance plays in the city’s buoyant creative industries sector. Later that evening, there’ll be a range of free showcase events featuring the most exciting new NI artists, in Belfast’s Cathedral Quarter.
This year’s opening keynote speakers will be Mark Davyd, Chief Executive of The Music Venues Trust; Jo Twist, Chief Executive of the BPI and PRS Foundation boss Joe Frankland. On the evening of Tuesday, November 12, Output Belfast will present a fantastic array of free showcase events across a number of venues in Belfast’s Cathedral Quarter, featuring highly anticipated live performances from the best new acts in NI music.
For more info and and to sign up for priority updates go to www. outputbelfast. com
Chalk of the town
Electronic post-punk rockers Chalk have a new EP coming out – Conditions III – and it’s far more inventive than the title.
Only being flippant, of course, for the Belfast band’s latest release is the final of a trilogy and while each has its own identidy they do feel part of a set. The single Tell Me is a floor-filling banger that owes as much to Underworld as it does Therapy?. The perfect cocktail.
The album is released in February - just in time to set off on a lengthy tour of Britain and Ireland finishing up in Belfast’s Ulster Sports Club on April 10 and Whelan’s in Dublin on April 12.
Chalk were winners of Best Live Act at the NI Music Prize last year - but they’re not a band to rest on their laurels. It’ll dark and brooding angsty and aggressive – and just a little bit brilliant.
Music news
Mayo band Train Room, first sprang to our attention in the dark days of Covid, his grimy, end-times indie a perfect reflection of the times. Songs such as Hurricane Of Love (the title track of his 2021 album) and Heroes Everywhere were dark yet imbued with a sense of hope - all wrapped up in gorgeously down-beat fuzzy folk. Then it went all quiet on the Western front as Train Room, aka Joe Monaghan, took a step away from music. Thankfully he’s back and has lost none of his knack for writing wonderful pop tunes that seem to resonate in all the right ways. New single Pleasure is a case in point. There are hints of Tom Petty in its catchy refrain or mid-period REM,perhaps, in its plucky, intricate guitar lines. But as ever with Train Room, the near-perfect pop is allowed to breathe and it all breaks down into a controlled squall of guitars and drums – played by stand-up comedian Ger Staunton. He’s no joker in this case. Pleaure is out on October 25.
OK, so I was wide of the mark when I predicted Rory Gallagher’s legendary Fender Strat would be bought by guitarist Joe Bonamassa – and played at his two tribute concerts in Cork next year. In fact, he urged that the “most recognisable guitar in rock” stay in Ireland and it looks like he got his wish after it sold for almost £900,000 yesterday. The buyer turned out to be festival promoters Live Nation Gaiety who are to donate it to the National Museum of Ireland. Fair play. And it seems as if the guitar will go on tour at least one more time with Ireland’s Culture and Arts Minister Catherine Martin revealing: “The generous donation to the museum will not only allow the famous instrument to be protected for future generations and musicians, but will also attract visitors from far and wide. I look forward to hearing more of the museum’s plans to showcase the famous Strat, which I understand will include Cork, where the legendary musician grew up.” Wouldn’t be nice to see it at the Ulster Hall...
I’m not sure who made the calculation, or how (or why?), but it turns out Pink Floyd are the band most likely to feature in a tattoo. Researchers rang around all the parlours and asked the artists- no, sorry, that’s wrong. They did a fancy Google search and found the prog rockers were the most sought after tattoo – ahead of Guns ‘N Roses, Metallica, Rammstein and Nirvana. You’d need to be really sure about a band before getting them inked for ever - or you’ll end up thinking, “wish you weren’t here...”
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