Author: whatsonni

Armagh’s Market Place Theatre is gearing up for an action-packed September, with several renowned drama titles due to take to the stage, kicking off on 7 September with the renowned Prime Cut Productions with their critically-acclaimed drama, ‘The Border Game’, from award-winning writers Michael Patrick and Oisín Kearney [My Left Nut and The Alternative].

On a farm on the border, a fence needs repair after being destroyed by vandals. When Sinead finds Henry hungover in her field, she ropes him in to help. But re-building a fence is more complicated than it seems. What begins as a simple task soon turns to talk of their past, a reliving of old memories, and a relentless competition to come out on top. ‘The Border Game’ is a timely and powerful reflection on 100 years of the border and how it has impacted those who live along it.

Then on 9 September, the political and historical fantasy ‘The Trial Of The Gaelic Lords Of Ulster In The Court Of History’, will see Conn O’Neill, the last Gaelic Lord of east Belfast, called from the grave to answer the charge that he and his fellow chiefs betrayed Ulster and her people. As in Anthony Russell’s other trial plays there is no fourth wall, the audience is the jury, and all are expected to vote guilty or not guilty only on the evidence presented.

The exceptional Kabosh Productions return on 21 September with the award-winning ‘Green & Blue’ exploring the painful and humorous realities faced by the individuals who patrolled the border during the height of the conflict. An officer from the Royal Ulster Constabulary in his green uniform, and Eddie from An Garda Síochána, resplendent in blue, communicate via crackly radios until an explosive incident forces them to meet across a field only farmers know the location of. Focusing on what it’s like to be hunted when you’re protecting a man-made line on the ground, the play looks at the societal and human cost of borders.

Tickets can be booked online at www.visitarmagh.com/marketplacetheatre, or through the Box Office on 03300 561 025. ‘The Border Game’ and ‘Green & Blue’ are part of the Theatre’s Autumn 22 Drama multibuy offer.

And to keep up-to-date with the latest news at the Market Place Theatre, you can follow us on Facebook (www.facebook.com/marketplacearmagh) and Twitter (www.twitter.com/mptarmagh) where you will find all the latest information, special offers and video previews.

What better way to celebrate Her Majesty The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee than through our royal passion for food. The Council is calling on all bakers in the Borough to dust down their aprons and enter the Ards and North Down Platinum Pudding Competition!

The British pudding comes in all shapes and sizes, so you can decide if it is steamed, baked, rolled or layered. The proof of the pudding will be in the eating though, as our judging panel shortlists the puddings considered most fit for a queen.

There are top prizes up for grabs, including a KitchenAid food mixer, food blender and electric hand mixer. The overall winner will receive an invitation to the Big Jubilee Lunch at this year’s festival.

Fancy your chances? Pudding entries need to be delivered to Bangor reception of SERC on Friday 27 May, by 11.30am. Judging will take place that day with winners notified the following week. Entries must be accompanied by a copy of the recipe and the entrant’s contact details. Ts and Cs apply.

Excitement builds as we plan to welcome celebrity chef Jean Christophe-Novelli MBE, from Novelli at City Quays, at Sea Bangor Celebrates the Platinum Jubilee on Saturday 4 and Sunday 5 June. Highlights will include top culinary tips from this multi-award-winning chef and answers to all your cookery questions. Jean-Christophe will bring charm and expertise to proceedings as our host for the Big Jubilee Lunch.

Our team of chefs from SERC will continue Jubilee celebrations by shining a gastronomic light on dishes from the seven decades of Her Majesty’s historic reign. Expect a trip down memory lane, with delights such as Coronation Chicken, Prawn Cocktail or maybe a Devilled Egg or two!

The Mayor of Ards and North Down, Councillor Mark Brooks, said:

“We are thrilled that Jean-Christophe Novelli MBE will be our celebrity chef at Sea Bangor on Saturday 4 and Sunday 5 June. He is a multi-Michelin star and 5/5 AA Rosette winning chef, author, and restaurateur who is known around the world for his amazing cooking artistry. It will be a great opportunity to gather some cooking tips and tricks from the best in the business while also celebrating food from the past 70 years.”

Brian Magill, Hospitality and Catering Lecturer at SERC, said:

“We are delighted to be involved in Sea Bangor, which has become a key date in the calendar for hospitality and catering students who will be involved in demonstrations, street food and ambassador roles at the festival. We are excited to be involved in the judging for the Platinum Pudding Competition and recreating the winning pudding for festival-goers to savour. We are expecting the highest standard of entries which will make judging a challenge.”

Jean-Christophe Novelli MBE, from Novelli at City Quays, said:

“I am absolutely thrilled to be joining the Platinum Jubilee celebrations in Bangor and working with the fantastic Brian Magill and the team from SERC. I am very much looking forward to hosting the Big Jubilee Lunch and meeting all attending and involved. The Pudding competition is a great way for people to get involved and showcase their creativity and imagination.”

For more information, visit ardsandnorthdown.gov.uk.

– Ulster American Folk Park will host the iconic music festival for its 30^th anniversary on 28^th and 29^th May –

– World class line-up of performers will play across three stages –

Ulster American Folk Park has announced the return of the Bluegrass Omagh music festival after a two year break due to the pandemic. Now in its 30^th year, big crowds are expected to attend across the two-day event on 28^th and 29^th May to mark this significant milestone.

Multi-award winning acts from both sides of the Atlantic will take to three stages. From international acts including The Slocan Ramblers, Seth Mulder & Midnight Run, Vivian Leva & Riley Calcagno and Aaron Jonah Lewis, to our finest local artists such as No Oil Paintings, Joshua Burnside and Cup O’Joe.

Set against the vibrant and imaginative backdrop of the Ulster American Folk Park, visitors will be transported to Appalachian America – the root of bluegrass music – to enjoy strumming on the porches, dancing on the cobbled streets, and jamming outside the General Store as the sounds of banjos, guitars and fiddles fill the air.

John-Paul Coyle, Visitor Services Manager at the Ulster American Folk Park, said: “We are delighted to welcome people back to Bluegrass Omagh to help us celebrate its 30^th anniversary. This year, we decided to host the festival in May to allow for brighter evenings, and hopefully warmer weather.

“This event is one of the best and most authentic bluegrass experiences on offer, not only in Northern Ireland, but across the world with both home-grown talent and performers from across the Atlantic coming together to share their music.

“The museum setting adds to the experience as it helps bring to life what is widely considered the beginning of the bluegrass genre, when the people who emigrated to the heartland of Appalachian America, brought their music styles to the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia and the Great Smoky Mountains of North Carolina. Bluegrass is in the depths of our DNA at the Folk Park and the distinctive style of a lot of modern-day American country, bluegrass and folk music can be traced directly back to emigrants from Ulster. It is wonderful to keep this heritage alive and continue to share the rich cultural expressions of song and dance.”

To mark the 30^th anniversary, local musicians and songwriters Rachel McCarthy, Katie Richardson and Jackie Rainey have collaborated to perform songs from the bluegrass, folk and Americana artists who have inspired them over the years. This performance will include three part harmonies and covers from a range of artists from the bluegrass and folk music genres.

Speaking about this one-off collaboration, Carolyn Mathers, Director at Snow Water, the company behind the programming of the festival, added: “It has been an immense pleasure to programme the 30th Anniversary of Bluegrass Omagh, given the incredible reputation it has established over the years. We curated a line-up that will appeal both to bluegrass purists and to those new to this rich, vibrant and colourful scene. The special collaboration between Rachel McCarthy, Katie Richardson and Jackie Rainey will bring their incredible collective musical backgrounds together to express their love of bluegrass and country music, and will add to the spirit of the occasion.”

Bluegrass Omagh has previously been nominated for ‘Bluegrass Event of the Year’ by the International Bluegrass Music Association and over its 30-year legacy has become part of the fabric of Omagh that delivers for the local economy with international visitors enjoying the town’s hospitality offerings and other tourism hotspots in the region.

The two-day festival is sponsored by Fermanagh and Omagh District Council. Chair of Fermanagh and Omagh District Council, Councillor Errol Thompson, said: “As an Omagh Town Councillor I am delighted that Bluegrass Omagh at the Ulster American Folk Park, is returning this year.  The Council is pleased to be able to provide sponsorship towards the Festival which is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year.

“The Bluegrass Festival is a significant event for the District providing a much welcome boost to the local economy and in particular the tourism and hospitality sector.  The Council is committed to ensuring that the District is an attractive place to live, work, visit and invest in, and events such as this contribute to the achievement of this.”

Festival-goers can pay homage to the heritage and legacy of the Appalachian settlers through music, but they will also have the opportunity to enjoy wholesome food, musical workshops and artisan craftwork across the weekend.

Kathryn Thomson, Chief Executive of National Museums NI, said: “It’s wonderful to reflect and see just how significant an event Bluegrass Omagh has come to be and how it has enabled us to show that museums are more than buildings and collections, but an integral part of society and our wellbeing. We’re proud of the contribution that the festival makes to the local economy and community each year with visitors coming from across Northern Ireland, Great Britain and even further afield to enjoy the experience year on year.”

The festival will take place at the Ulster American Folk Park in Omagh on Saturday 28^th and Sunday 29^th May, 2022, with performances starting each day at 1pm and running to late evening. For more information and for tickets, please visit https://www.bluegrassomagh.com/.

The first ever ‘Swamp Festival’ in Belfast is expecting to attract hundreds of visitors to the Bog Meadows Nature Reserve in Belfast on Saturday 14 May.

This unique and free fusion festival of music, arts and crafts, storytelling, nature walks, cultural workshops and much more will celebrate the return of the African sedge warblers, willow warblers, house martins and swallows to Bog Meadows.

Belfast City Council and Ulster Wildlife have joined forces with leading cultural arts organisation ArtsEkta to put in place this special Swamp Festival for all the family as part of the £5.1million EU PEACE IV-funded Forth Meadow Community Greenway project, which aims to promote the greenway as a shared, welcoming, connected and safe space for all. 

With African music from Magwere, traditional Irish music and local folk band The Doone Brothers on stage throughout the afternoon, the day starts at 6am with a special Dawn Chorus and finishes with the Forth Meadow Greenway Duck Derby at 4pm. Tickets are free but must be pre-booked via ArtsEkta’s website, which contains the full programme of activities for the festival.

Rose Crozier, Director of City and Neighbourhood Services, Belfast City Council said: “We attracted a tremendous crowd for our first Greenway cultural event in March, with the Luminate Festival, so we’re hoping more and more families will join us on Saturday 14^th May for this amazing Swamp Festival to enjoy this wonderful new space being created in the heart of the city to bring people from all communities together.”

Nisha Tandon, Founder and CEO of ArtsEkta said: “We are delighted to present the first ever Swamp Festival on this island on behalf of Belfast City Council, following our inaugural Greenway Luminate Festival in March. We look forward to putting on more events throughout the Summer to bring the Forth Meadow Community Greenway to life this year.”

Deborah McLaughlin, Community Engagement Officer with Ulster Wildlife said: “Every year hundreds of feathered visitors flock to Bog Meadows from Africa to rear their young. This amazing green space, right in the heart of West Belfast, is a fantastic asset, not only for wildlife but for local people to enjoy and we look forward to showcasing it at the Swamp Festival.”

For full details of the Swamp Festival programme go to ArtsEkta’s website where tickets for this FREE festival must be booked in advance from https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/forth-meadow-community-greenway-40614725793

The Greenway is being delivered through Belfast City Council’s PEACE IV, Local Authority Action Plan. This Action Plan has been funded through the EU’s PEACE IV Programme, which is managed by The Special EU Programmes Body. Match-funding has been provided by the Executive Office in Northern Ireland and the Department of Rural and Community Development in Ireland.

Armagh Craft Fair returns for its tenth anniversary year to the wonderful surroundings of The Market Place Theatre and Arts Centre in Armagh on Saturday 28 May, with an exciting programme of creative activities for visitors of all ages to enjoy, making this year’s craft fair a date for your diary.

The venue will transform into a vibrant hub of high-quality craft, art and design activity for the day. Visitors can shop at thirty craft stalls from makers nationwide, experience traditional and contemporary craft demonstrations with some hands-on craft making opportunities. You will find printed and woven textiles, jewellery, wood, fine art, leather, glass, soaps, candles, ceramics and artisan foods.

Children will enjoy getting creative at the FREE drop-in art sessions throughout the day making this fun event a must for all families.

Live musical performances during the fair will keep you entertained as you shop for beautiful craft products, relax with a refreshing drink or simply enjoy the atmosphere.  We look forward to celebrating 10 years of this wonderful fair with all the talented makers and our visitors.

This year’s Craft Fair will run from 10.30am to 4.30pm at The Market Place Theatre. Entrance is free, as are all craft demonstrations. For further information, bookings and to download the full programme go to www.visitarmagh.com/marketplacetheatre You can also follow developments on Facebook (www.facebook.com/marketplacearmagh) and Twitter (www.twitter.com/mptarmagh) for the latest information and video previews.

May is a month of music at Seamus Heaney HomePlace and next Sunday 15 May sees one of the most significant Irish Trad musicians – the amazing Martin Hayes – perform, and while in conversation with Liam O’Connor of the Irish Traditional Music Archive / Taisce Cheol Dúchais Éireann, share notes on his story of getting to the very heart of music.

Martin Hayes is regarded as one of the most significant talents to emerge in the world of Irish traditional music. His unique sound, his mastery of his chosen instrument – the fiddle – his acknowledgement of the past and his shaping of the future of the music, combine to create a formidable artistic intelligence.

He has drawn inspiration from many musical genres, but remains grounded in the music he grew up with in East County Clare, creating a unique and insightful interpretation of Irish music.

Martin has toured and recorded with all the great artists, has played with Sting and Paul Simon and performed for Barak Obama at the White House. He founded the seminal Irish American band, The Gloaming, with whom he tours internationally and with whom he shared the prestigious Meteor Prize in 2014 for their debut album. His autobiography ‘Shared Notes’ was published to great acclaim in 2021 and tells his own unique story of getting to the very heart of music.

In this unmissable event, Martin will chat with Liam O’Connor, director of the Irish Traditional Music Archive, about his life, career and autobiography, before performing some of his best-loved pieces.

Tickets are on sale now at www.seamusheaneyhomeplace.com

Rathlin Sound Maritime Festival is back this year from May 27^th – June 5^th with 10 days of exciting seafaring fun to look forward to.

Causeway Coast and Glens Borough Council is working with Ballycastle Community Development Group and Rathlin Development and Community Association to bring you this hugely popular celebration, with a packed programme of activities on both dry-land and at sea, inspired by the Rathlin Sound – the body of water connecting Rathlin Island to the mainland in Ballycastle.

Visitors can look forward to live music performances, ‘have a go’ activities, crafts, walks, talks and lots of artisan produce which celebrate the area’s rich local history, culture, music, and food.

There’ll also be a special visit from tall ship ‘The Leader’, a traditionally rigged sailing vessel, who will moor in Ballycastle throughout the festival. Get on board for a tour, enjoy a sail around the bay or simply admire the beauty of this majestic boat from the harbour.

In addition, thanks to Causeway Coast Maritime Heritage Group, you’ll get to see traditional fishing boats like drontheims and currachs take to the water, including the Colmcille, one of the largest vessels of its type in Northern Ireland.

In other programme highlights, look out for the blessing of the boats, an appearance by the Vikings, a colourful kite display and an exciting demonstration from Red Bay RNLI to mark its 50th anniversary.

Looking ahead, the Mayor of Causeway Coast and Glens Borough Council, Councillor Richard Holmes, said:

“Rathlin Sound Maritime Festival is about inspiring a passion for the sea, as well as celebrating Ballycastle and Rathlin Island’s shared nautical heritage. It is a fantastic showcase of the area’s unrivalled tourism product and it brings a unique vibrancy which has been enjoyed by thousands of visitors since it first began.

“I know it is highly anticipated every year as a highlight of our Borough’s events calendar, and Council is very grateful to the local community volunteers who play a central role in its success.”

The full programme will be published on the festival’s website soon so please visit www.rathlinsoundmaritimefestival.com for the latest updates or contact Ballycastle Visitor Information Centre by ringing 028 2076 2024.

Please note, details are subject to change due to tides and weather conditions, so visitors are advised to follow the Festival’s Facebook (@RathlinSoundMaritimeFestival) and Twitter (@RathlinSoundMF) channels for the most up-to-date announcements.

It is with tail wagging excitement that Cancer Focus Northern Ireland is calling all dog lovers to sign up to its Waggy Woodland Walk at Springhill House in Moneymore on Saturday 28^th May 2pm to 5pm, to raise vital funds for their cancer services. 

The event will feature the central Waggy Woodland Walk with a choice of a long or short walks – suitable for dogs and owners of all ages, shapes and sizes. The family fun day will also include dog agility show, meet and greet with the PSNI police dog unit, doggy stalls, doggy raffles, and much more. With top prizes to be won on the day

Local Cancer Focus fundraiser and dog lover, Emma McCann said, “The Waggy Woodland Walk will hopefully help raise awareness of the charity’s incredible services which are available for local cancer patients and their families in Northern Ireland. “It’s great to see an event like this in my community, bringing everyone together in joint support, so I want to encourage all the local dogs and owners to turn out for this brilliant local charity.” Emma continues: “I am so excited to launching the first dog walking family fun day event for the whole community. We are inviting all the family to come along and of course dogs of all shapes and sizes. “Our walk will not only increase awareness of Cancer Focus NI and the support services we offer but will also raise vital funds. All the money will go towards funding their many services which support patients and carers who are struggling with a cancer diagnosis”. 

The walk will kick off on Saturday 28 May at 2pm in Springhill House, Moneymore. ‘Pawty’ bags are guaranteed for the first 150 dogs on the day. Contact the fundraising team at fundraising@cancerfocusni.org . Anyone who has concerns about cancer can speak to a specialist nurse on the Cancer Focus NI free Helpline, 0800 783 3339.

Click HERE to register today!

New single Green Green Grass

The second song to be taken from new album Gold Rush Kid, due 10 June

Announces full UK arena tour, to follow biggest ever headline show at London’s Finsbury Park

28 September: The SSE Arena Belfast

29 September: 3Arena Dublin

Tickets on sale Friday 29 April at 10am

George Ezra – Photo : Adam Scarborough

“another insatiable earworm” – The Guardian

“a sugar-sweet pop banger that’ll catapult his ascent even higher,” – DIY

“its arena-friendly chorus already sounds like classic Ezra” – The Times

BRIT Award-winning, multi-platinum selling musician George Ezra today debuts his hugely infectious new single ‘Green Green Grass,’ the second song to be lifted from his forthcoming new album Gold Rush Kid, due for release on 10 June via Columbia Records. The single arrives alongside the announcement of a huge nationwide UK arena tour, scheduled for September and October, following George’s special show at London’s Finsbury Park in July.

Listen to ‘Green Green Grass’

Pre-order / pre-save Gold Rush Kid

‘Green Green Grass’ is an irresistibly joyful song about making the best of things, even when it might feel like the worst of things are afoot: “Green green grass, blue blue sky, you better throw a party on the day that I die.”

“I was on holiday in St Lucia with a few friends at Christmas 2018, with two of my closest mates from home,” explains George. “We were in this beach bar, drinking homemade rum punch and Piton, the local lager, flip-flopping between the two, pissing about with three local guys who worked there. And this music started up, three streets back from the sea.

“After about half an hour, I had to go see what it was. And there was a street party going on, with three different sound systems, people cooking in the street. I asked a woman what was going on and she told me it was a funeral – for three people. They were celebrating three lives! I thought: that is not how we do this at home. And it’s really beautiful.”

‘Green Green Grass’ follows the euphoric first single and album opener ‘Anyone For You,’ which continues to climb the UK Official Singles Chart and is the number one song at UK radio, with A-list rotation across all major stations.

George debuted both songs to a rapturous reception at his recent intimate gigs in London, Manchester and Edinburgh – shows praised as “a joyous singalong that was impossible to resist” (5*, The Telegraph), “blazing sunshine tempered by subtle shadow” (4*, Evening Standard) and a set filled with “hooks so plentiful he could go long-line fishing with them” (4*, The Guardian).

Listen / watch ‘Anyone For You’

“The Gold Rush Kid? That’s me,” says George, reflecting on the title of his third record – a 12-strong suite of marvellous, transporting, elevational songs, that more than anything “sound like me. That’s what ties them together.”

After two blockbuster albums – Wanted On Voyage (2014) and Staying At Tamara’s (2018), both of which reached number 1 in the UK and sold millions around the world, and the latter of which earned him his first number 1 single in ‘Shotgun’ and won him the 2019 Brit Award for British Male Solo Artist – it was time to return to heart and hearth, with an album written and produced entirely in London with longstanding collaborator Joel Pott.

George Ezra – Gold Rush Kid album art (download high res assets)

Following the release of Gold Rush Kid, Ezra will play his biggest headline show to date, a special all day event at London’s Finsbury Park on 17 July 2022. Joining George at his first live show in almost three years, presented by Festival Republic, will be special guests Blossoms, Holly Humberstone, Mimi Webb, The Big Moon, Mychelle and the London International Gospel Choir. Tickets are available via Ticketmaster.

He today announces a full nationwide UK arena tour to follow in September and October, beginning at Liverpool M&S Bank Arena on 13 September and taking in 11 shows, finishing at Sheffield FlyDSA Arena on 2 October. Fans who pre-order Gold Rush Kid before 3pm on Tuesday 26 April can access tickets via exclusive pre-sale, before they go on general sale at 10am, Friday 29 April via Ticketmaster.

George Ezra tour 2022

Sunday 17 July – Finsbury Park, London

Tuesday 13 September – M&S Bank Arena, Liverpool

Wednesday 14 September – Motorpoint Arena, Cardiff

Friday 16 September – The AO Arena, Manchester

Tuesday 20 September – Utilita Arena, Newcastle upon Tyne

Thursday 22 September – Utilita Arena, Birmingham

Sunday 25 September – P&J Live, Aberdeen

Monday 26 September – The Ovo Hydro, Glasgow

Wednesday 28 September – SSE Arena, Belfast

Thursday 29 September – 3Arena, Dublin

Saturday 1 October – Motorpoint Arena, Nottingham

Sunday 2 October – Utilita Arena, Sheffield

Alongside the tour announcement, George has partnered with YouTube Music to be their Sustainability Partner for 2022. He says: “I am conscious that creating, touring and promoting a record has an impact on the environment, so I am delighted to announce I will be working with YouTube Music as their Sustainability Partner for 2022. They have very generously provided a significant financial contribution to support a cause of my choosing; this is going to be The National Trust, who are working hard to reverse the decline in nature and reduce the impact of climate change by planting trees and restoring landscapes. Together, we’ll directly use this money to plant 17,000 trees across the UK.”

The National Trust has committed to planting or establishing 20 million trees covering an area the size of Birmingham as part of their plan to become net zero by 2030. The carbon benefits from the 17,000 trees will go towards the charity’s own net zero ambitions.

National Trust Director General Hilary McGrady said: “We are enormously grateful to George for this donation, and it serves as an important reminder that only by a collective will and everyone playing their part will we help reverse some of the impacts of climate change and help the nation to reach net zero.

“This gift represents an important step as part of our ambition to try and tackle the effects of climate change. We are planting the trees in the right places to maximise the impact they will have in locking in carbon.”

YouTube Music is a music app made for music listening, on top of the magic of YouTube: making the world of music easier to explore and more personalised than ever.  Whether you want to listen, watch or discover – all the ways music moves you can be found in one place – not just music videos, but official albums, singles, remixes, live performances, covers and hard-to-find music you can only get on YouTube.

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Ukraine Aid gig set for Oh Yeah Centre Belfast

The Oh Yeah Centre Belfast and Stendhal Festival, along with seven of Northern Irelands finest indigenous musical artists, have come together to curate an amazing evening of music on Saturday, April 23rd with all proceeds going towards a charity that is feeding Ukrainian refugees in Poland.

Aid for Ukraine will feature performances from Duke Special, Phil Taggart, Joshua Burnside, The Wood Burning Savages, Sister Ghost, Dark Tropics and Lemonade Shoelace and will take place at the Oh Yeah Music Centre in Belfast’s Cathedral Quarter.

Tickets are £15, with all proceeds going to Stowarzyszenie Leubuzzi, a charity based in Poland that works across various sectors but at present is putting all their resources towards the refugee crisis.

Antrim woman, Pamela Moore is the link between the Charity and those involved in putting on the show  and she says that the money raised at the gig could mean the difference in a child eating for a week or not.

Pamela said: “Working with this charity in Poland, I’ve seen first-hand how traumatic it is for Ukrainian Refugees arriving in a new country having fled all they have,” she said. “The money raised here can’t help them get back the life they once had but it can help them greatly as they arrive to start a new one.”  

Charlotte Dryden, CEO of the Oh Yeah Centre said she is delighted that the music community is coming together to show support for the current crisis.

“We are so pleased to be hosting what will no doubt be a brilliant event at the Oh Yeah on April 23^rd. The fact that all these acts were so willing to give their time and talents to this cause voluntarily, speaks volumes to their character and their desire to see a better future for all involved in the Ukraine War. Thank you to everyone who so enthusiastically signed up to get involved.”

Ross Parkhill, Director of Stendhal Festival added: “It’s been a great experience putting this together with the Oh Yeah Centre and all the acts on the bill. It’s a great example of how our music community will often come together to help others in the spirit of solidarity.

“We really hope to see a big crowd turnout on the 23^rd of April to try and raise as much money as we can for this incredibly worthy cause.”

 For tickets and more info visit www.stendhalfestival.com and click on the ticket tab.