If there’s two things we like at Folk and Tumble it’s great music and cake and fortunately for us both were in abundance when we attended the launch of the 2016 Eastside Arts festival.
At a packed Engine Room Gallery in East Belfast we were treated to cake, poetry and music by Mark Braidner and by an abridged version of folk band Anuna.
In a move that will delight music lovers this year sees the festival incorporate the mighty fine Woodstock Rhythm and Blues Festival into the programme. Woodstock this year has the legendary Andy Fairweather Low and Rob Strong among its headline acts as well as providing a base for a plethora of local musicians to showcase their talents.
While the main festival headline act this year is the renowned Nick Lowe the programme is diverse with artists and bands such as Indie/Pop band The Late Twos, The formidable Kaz Hawkins Band, Irish Folk band Anuna and Soulful tunes from Amanda St. John and her band.
This year also see the return of the successful Festival Club in the Park Avenue Hotel featuring performances by Ronnie Greer, Los Dramaticos and the Brigid O’Neil Trio.
As usual there’s a host of workshops, spoken word and theatre to be enjoyed during the festival.
The festival runs from the 10th of August until the 21st of August and to wet your appetite we’ve put together a handy playlist sampler of some of the fine music you can enjoy this year on the Eastside.
Ticket and programme details are available now online over at Eastside Arts website.