The Sound of Belfast is back once again and this year the programme is bigger than ever.
The ten-day celebration of local music, which takes place 1 – 10th November, was established to promote and celebrate the musicians, bands, venues, promoters and music communities of Belfast.
Sound of Belfast includes a mix of collaborative, independent and partnership events involving showcases, gigs, industry talks, panels and workshops, youth, family, community events and the NI Music Prize including the Oh Yeah Legend Award. There are over 45 events this year, with over 70 performances and 18 participating venues.
Live music is supplemented by music industry content. There is a chance to learn about booking gigs, and there are meet ups for engineers and music makers.
There’s the DITTO X conference featuring speakers from Deezer UK, while Association of Independent Music (AIM) presents the future of streaming with representatives from Spotify and Amazon. You can find out about music revenue with PPL and get advice on copyright and contracts with Musicians’ Union, plus there’s a discussion with Attitude is Everything on the barriers facing musicians with access requirements.
There are new band opportunities through the annual under 18s talent search Clash of The New Breeds, while Oh Yeah and Translink have teamed up for a new Metro Sessions competition.
Live music is varied and exciting and includes gigs with TOUTS ,Jordan Adetunji, Cherym, Sam Wickens, Joshua Burnside, David C Clements, Roe, Runabay, Kitt Philippa, Conor Marcus, The Darkling Air and more. BAFTA nominated composer Sheridan Tongue is set for Getting To Know, and The Real Music Club brings Mary Gauthier to Fitzroy Church.
The Distortion Project present Warrior Soul and Bad Boat,and Hornets are for Voodoo too. Songbook presented by Nathan O’Regan includes music from Gareth Dunlop and Reevah, while Shizznigh Promotions presents various gigs headed up by Wynona Bleach, Jealous of The Birds and Dea Matrona.
Charlotte Dryden of Oh Yeah said: “Belfast is an exciting place for music and it is currently the most diverse its ever been. This programme really demonstrates what this city has to offer and we are grateful to our partners, collaborators and funders for the support in being able to promote the best and on-going efforts of our music community.”
That's only a taste of what's in store this year and there is plenty more, for full details go to www.soundofbelfast.com
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