Venue: The Stiff Kitten, Belfast Date: 25/11/11 The Staves have become something of a regular sight on the stages of Belfast since playing a few shows including a rain-drenched Laura Marling support at last year’s Open House Festival. They’ve been back for a couple of support slots and tonight they headline Belfast’s Stiff Kitten and [...]
Wednesday 2nd November marked a return for the Northern Irish Music Awards. In previous years organisations such as the Oh Yeah Music Centre have hosted little ceremonies to honour newcomers on the Northern Irish music scene throught their ‘Contenders’ programme and also to pay homage to legends of days gone by like Terri Hooley and [...]
UK Release Date: 1/11/2011 Label: Independent With a degree in ethnomusicology, several records under her belt and a touring schedule alongside the likes of Ani Difranco, Thea Gilmore, Alison Miller and The Indigo Girls, Virginian Erin McKeown is certainly a force to be reckoned with on the folk scene. That’s not to say she’s one [...]
Venue: Ulster Hall, Belfast Date: 27/10/2011 I’ll get this one off my chest straight away, Belfast Festival at Queen’s strikes me as something of an odd festival. It’s connections to a university campus and financial massaging by a range of corporate sponsors including large banking firms don’t tend to sit well with the bawdiness of [...]