Blues aficionados, lovers of good live music, and those who remember The Maritime, Club Rado, The Marquee, and the Astor Ballroom should set some time aside for the upcoming 12 Bar blues Festival @ the Spring and Airbrake (May 9-10). The festival is the brainchild of Rab Braniff, president of The Belfast Blues Society and [...]
April 29, 2008
The new Unsigned Guide is an 872-page music industry contacts directory researched and compiled specifically for unsigned bands and artists. Now in its 6th edition, the guide contains over 11,500 UK music industry contacts: phone numbers, e-mail addresses, websites and postal addresses. Each entry explains exactly how they can help you as an unsigned band [...]
April 29, 2008
Following a break from music and a year living in Australia, Claire Sproule is about to release her brand new album Shades Of Night, on her own independent label. Sproule’s debut album was released on Parlophone Records and sold over 10k units in Ireland. She has supported artists Dr John and Al Green at venues [...]
April 29, 2008
Daniel O’Donnell has new single on the launch-pad: Mother’s Birthday Song was written by prolific songwriter John Farry. Farry, who hails from Garrison, Co. Fermanagh – and a recording artist in his own right – says the song was inspired by his own mother [not O'Donnell's own "mammy" - ed]. Farry is best known for writing [...]
April 29, 2008
Irish language television channel TG4′s new talent show Nollaig No. 1 is searching for a new “singing sensation”. The winner of the serialised talent contest will launch a single and music video and vie for the top slot in Ireland’s singles chart this coming Christmas.
April 29, 2008
The Northern Ireland Country Music Awards 2008 takes place on Wednesday, April 30 in the Tullyglass Hotel, Ballymena.The event will highlight the achievements and recognize the talents of Ulster’s top country music performers. There are a eleven award categories and on the night there will be TV personalities hosting the event, a full live band, [...]
April 29, 2008
Derry alt-rock band Fighting With Wire has confirmed summer tour dates in Germany (Cologne, Berlin, Frankfurt), Belgium and England: see http://www.myspace.com/fightingwithwire. The brainchild of guitarist Cahir O’Doherty and drummer Craig McKean, Fighting With Wire emerged in 2003 and released a number of limited-edition singles. After a hiatus at the end of 2006 the band started [...]
April 22, 2008
Epic Records – now a subsidiary of global music company Sony BMG – has signed a trio of singing priests from Ulster. To be known simply as The Priests, Father Martin O’Hagan, aged 45, his older brother Eugene, and school friend David Delargy, 44, have together signed a £1M deal with Sony in London. All [...]
April 22, 2008
School bands from across Ulster face off in the Northern Ireland final of the Coca-Cola Blastbeat competition at the Limelight, Belfast this Saturday, April 26 from 1pm until 6pm. The participants include: Frau Sandy (Columb’s College); Seven Story Weather (Campbell College); 6 Days Later (St Malachy’s College); Illict (De La Salle); Atlas (St. Colmcilles College); [...]
April 22, 2008
Ulster musicians can now access the ground-breaking range of new capo designs for six-string electric and acoustic guitars, as made by G7th Ltd. Designed to be the “best capo in the world”, the design allows adjusting without pesky re-tuning, a one-touch mechanism and a unique tension control system.
April 22, 2008
Rena Maguire writes for UlsterMusic.com: For a band who say they formed on the 16th of March to play the next day in a St. Patrick’s Day drinking session, the self-confessed “six w*****s from Tyrone” who make up the Logues (pictured) are starting to sound very, very commercial and professional indeed. Folk bands seem to [...]
April 15, 2008
Andrew Thompson interviews Co. Monaghan’s Gráinne Duffy for UlsterMusic.com; photographs by Robin Cordiner: Gráinne Louica Duffy may not be a name you are too familiar with, but – believe me – watch this space. I first heard the name late last year on a local radio station, and thought, mmm, sounds interesting. They played a [...]
April 15, 2008
Coleraine based “melodic rock” trio Swurve - messrs. Cozy McAuley, Steve Legear, and Tim Torrens [not Tim Collins - ed] – plan to release a new EP, single and future LP with an (unnamed) American label later in 2008. Swurve say that the Los Angeles based label is owned by one of the biggest names [...]
April 15, 2008
Invitation is the title of the 6th in a series of self-produced CD albums from prolific singer-songwriter Fra Donaghy. Available via free digital download, all 10 tracks are performed by 28-year-old Fra, and written by him, except “Torture Again“, which was co-written with longterm collaborator Deane Morrone, and two cover versions.
April 15, 2008
The Windmill, Brixton in south London, is the venue for a weekend showcase of new-generation bands from N. Ireland. The NI:NG Showcase features up-and-coming indie acts Panama Kings, Escape Act, Kowaski, Cutaways, and Pocket Promise on Saturday, April 26 – and V-Formation, General Fiasco, And So I Watch You From Afar, Pat, Nipsy, Ned and [...]
April 15, 2008
The 7th City of Derry Jazz and Big Band Festival welcomes back the Blind Boys of Alabama, the Irish queen of Jazz, Honor Heffernan, and a special evening hosted by BBC Radio Ulster featuring the Ulster Orchestra directed by Jazz pianist and arranger Brian Byrne. This year the festival also introduces Kyle Eastwood, Cormac Kenevey, [...]
April 15, 2008
It’s true. Paul’s Mobile Disco offers music for all ages and every occassion: birthdays, engagements, weddings , office parties, funerals – even discos. [younger readers please note - a "mobile disco" is not the same as danceable MP3s/AACs played back on a mobile phone - ed]. Paul: 028 9047-1892 | 07919 056-893
April 15, 2008
Bluesman Rab McCulloch and friends headline “Singing the Blues” gig for charity – Habitat for Humanity – the The Lansdowne Hotel on the Antrim Road on Wednesday, April 23. Tickets at £10 from Simply Devine on the Antrim Road or phone Maria: 07716 724 078
April 15, 2008
Need a “Big O” persona to complete that Traveling Wilburys tribute band? Roy Orbison act Paul McCluskey is available for bookings on 028 9029 136
April 8, 2008
Belfast-born Tony Kaluarachchi is a singer-songwriter and an accomplished jazz-blues guitarist who plays the music of his heroes – Hendrix and Ellington – with gusto. He’s done stints as frontman for the reformed Animals and Them and major festivals in Ireland. Tony Kal performs every Thursday at McHughs Bar, Custom House Square, Belfast from 10pm [...]
April 1, 2008
Nick Fitzsimons reports for UlsterMusic.com: The annual orgy of live music that is South by Southwest (SxSW) took place barely two weeks ago in Austin, Texas. Some 1,800 bands played on 80 stages all day and all of the night throughout the 4-day festival, and Ulster was well represented: Oppenheimer, The Answer, Foy Vance and [...]
April 1, 2008
Rena Maguire writes: Thursday, March 20 saw a level of preening mayhem seldom seen in Belfast’s Rotterdam Bar outside of a Sunday night. The reason? Local community television company Northern Visions [link] had a young new producer cutting her teeth on a documentary on the oul’ place and its denizens. Jordana Maguire isn’t even legally [...]
April 1, 2008
Belfast musician Ludwig has received much media attention recently. He may as well prepare for more: his EP which was released late last year, entitled Let Go, is now available in Terri Hooley’s eclectic record shop Phoenix Records, shabby Haymarket Arcade’s [photo by Donna - ed] alternative to the Zavvi store in Victoria Square [Belfast's [...]
April 1, 2008
Belfast-born singer-songwriter Andy White [son of Belfast Telegraph newspaper columnist Barry White - ed] crashed the Ulster music scene 21 years ago with his debut album “Rave on Andy White” – allegedly recorded in a field in bucolic Randalstown, Co. Antrim. Today, White is best known for his songs James Joyce’s Grave, Street Scenes From [...]
April 1, 2008
News receaches UlsterMusic.com that Co. Down singer-songwriter Kieran Goss shifted over 1,000 CDs at his recent series of shows – “Kieran Goss - 3 Nights at the Opera House (With Very Special Guests)” – at Belfast’s Grand Opera House. Doing the math, this implies that one-in-every-three punters bought a CD. So who says that CD [...]
April 1, 2008
No Celtic Boundaries, a well-established independent radio show previously only broadcast in Scotland and the Western Isles, will be available to listen to from the first Wednesday in April 2008 on West Belfast based community radio station Féile FM. This will be Feile‘s first syndicated show, deviating from the station’s strong Irish language stance, and [...]
April 1, 2008
Are flash drives [a.k.a. USB memory sticks] poised to be the “next big thing” in music retail? Are CDs just a flash in the pan? A boutique Canadian maker of flash drives for new media ventures believes so…
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April 29, 2008
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