Indie hero’s Bombay Bicycle Club have just announced details of an exclusive headline performance at the Mandela Hall, Queens University, Belfast on Tuesday 1^st May 2012.

Tickets priced at £24 go on-sale this Wednesday from Ticketmaster outlets nationwide and Ticketmaster.ie

Bombay Bicycle Club released their third album, ‘A Different Kind of Fix’ in August 2011 to widespread critical acclaim. In a little over three years, the band will have released three LPs – an extraordinary and increasingly rare feat in the 21^st century music industry. From the teenage indie kicks of their debut; to the sparse, timeless folk of last summer’s top ten album, ‘Flaws’ (nominated for an Ivor Novello Award); the quartet open a new and beguiling chapter with, ‘A Different Kind of Fix’, one that cements their place at the very forefront of British bands in 2012.

Recorded in Hamburg, London and Atlanta, ‘A Different Kind of Fix’ captures the sound of a band effortlessly progressing and innovating at a startling rate. Guitars are firmly plugged back in for album number three, but added to the mix with potent results are synths, sampled loops, layered vocals from all four band members and washes of reverb throughout.

The sheer breadth of styles and range of influences on display across the record is startling.

First single, ‘Shuffle’, emerges from a looped piano sample to burst forth into one the band’s biggest songs to date, as the piano loop recruits gargantuan drums and bass that march to an epic chorus on their way to a house break of Balearic proportions.

Album opener, ‘How Can You Swallow So Much Sleep’ is all marble steeped vocal loops and breathy samples, which are also used to devastating effect on ‘Lights Out, Words Gone’: a song of such rarefied beauty and rhythmic hooks, one imagines a lost, codeine-fuelled Talking Heads album.

For more see: bombaybicycleclubmusic.com/ /  www.mcd.ie

With the clocks having gone forward and spring officially sprung, the Ulster Orchestra brings a touch of all four seasons tonight (Tuesday 3 April) with Vivaldi’s Four Seasons, one of the most popular and well known pieces of music to Clonard Monastery in Baroque at Easter, a concert of timeless Baroque classics.

The Orchestra’s Hungarian-born Leader, violinist Tamás Kocsis is the soloist for the Four Seasons and directs the concert that also includes music by Bach, Purcell and Handel’s uplifting Water Music.

Looking forward to the concert Tamás said, “It’s has been a busy few days, as we performed Brahms’ great Requiem in the Ulster Hall on Friday and was in Derry on Sunday for an education concert, but I am really looking to playing at this special venue.

“While the Orchestra has played at Clonard before, this is my first time performing at the Monastery where I will also be playing the Bach Double Concerto with Chris Blake, our Principal Oboe player. He is a dear friend and a fantastic oboist, so I am sure we are going to have lots of fun performing this wonderful piece,” he continued.

“The Four Seasons always presents a challenge, being very well known and very transparent. No wonder it’s popular with audiences and performers alike, it is a beautiful set of Concertos.”

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Performing live to 100,000 people each year in venues from Ulster Hall to Strabane’s Leisure Centre, the National Concert Hall in Dublin to London’s Royal Albert Hall, since its foundation in 1966 Northern Ireland’s only professional orchestra has also played in many ecclesiastical venues from the cathedrals of Armagh to St Columb’s Cathedral, Derry and St Anne’s in Belfast.

Speaking about the concert, Clonard’s Rector, Father Michael Murtagh, said, “The Four Seasons is such a famous piece of music and written by a man who I recently discovered was himself ordained a priest.

“I am looking forward to the concert that comes, for many obvious reasons, at an incredibly special time for so many people being Holy Week. It is also our first Easter back in our newly restored church and the first time in three years that the Orchestra has played here and it’s great to have them back.”

Talking about the Bach Double Concerto, UO Principal Oboe Christopher Blake said, “I have played this amazing concerto with the last two leaders of the Orchestra and am really looking forward to performing it with Tamás, who is an extraordinary violinist.

“You need a lot of stamina for this peice because the music never stops which is unusual for a wind concerto. It is also a challenge to play in different places too, as the environment and acoustics differ from place to place, but we are all really looking forward to returning to Clonard,” Christopher said.

Tickets for the concert on 3 April at 8pm are still available from the Ulster Orchestra Box Office on 028 9023 9955 and ulsterorchestra.com.

Come outdoors this Easter. Get ready for eggstravaganzas, egg trails and antics at four stunning National Trust properties in Mid Ulster – The Argory, Ardress House, Springhill House and Wellbrook Beetling Mill. Spring has sprung and there is endless fun in store for all the family.

On Easter Sunday and Monday, Springhill House in Moneymore will celebrate Easter in true fashion with a Cadbury’s egg trail, face painting, craft activities and a visit from a few familiar characters – Alice, the White Rabbit, the Mad Hatter and friends will be joining in the fun and games on the estate.

The Easter bunnies have hidden themselves around the lawns and gardens at The Argory. Come along on Easter Monday and Tuesday to the beautiful estate near Moy to find the bunnies, unlock the clues and win the chocolate surprise. Face painters, crafts, games on the lawns and pony and cart rides will keep you entertained throughout the day.

At Ardress House in Annaghmore, the bunnies have also hidden around the farmyard and gardens. Come along on Easter Sunday, complete the trail and win the Cadbury’s chocolate surprise. Enjoy magic shows, children’s music, balloon modelling, crafts and more.

On Easter Monday, follow the clues along the wooded glen at Wellbrook Beetling Mill, Cookstown to find the Cadbury’s surprise. Pack a picnic for the day and soak up the surrounds of the Ballinderry River.

Whatever you’re into, the National Trust Mid Ulster properties have something for everyone this Easter.

For further information on events and opening times visit www.nationaltrust.org.uk/ni or visit www.eggtrails.com. Normal admission, National Trust members free. Egg trails £1 per child.