• Psych-Rock Revolution: Ireland and Beyond

    When you consider Ireland’s rich history of iconic rock bands, those of a psych-rock persuasion don’t feature heavily on the list. Bands labelled as psychedelic were emerging in the US and Britain as early as the 1960’s. At the beginning it was defined by experimental songwriting, mind-altering drug culture, and a penchtant for flamboyant silk shirts. Tracing its roots back to the 1960’s you find bands like The Beatles, Pink Floyd, The Yardbirds, Jimmi Hendrix, The Doors, Soft Machine, Sly and the Family Stone and The Grateful Dead. Although Ireland could not be seen as a psych-rock hub, it has…

  • Sick Records’ First Birthday

    Having featured in the first issue of our physical magazine, Belfast’s finest independent dispenser of wax,Sick Records celebrate their grand first birthday from 2pm on Saturday, March 7. Having steadily established itself as the city’s most comprehensively tasteful record store, psych-inflected rockers Thee Penny Dreadfuls, acoustic doom master Robyn G Shiels, new-fangled Derry duo Fabric and Bloomer White will all perform on the day, with DJ sets coming from Chris Hanna (Oneknown) and Jamie Nelson. Check out a video interview with Sick Records’ owner Kenny Murdock by The Thread below.

  • Culture Night Belfast: Ten Must-See Events

    With 250 events set to take place across 100+ to over 30,000 people this evening, it’s safe to say we’re spoiled for choice at this year’s Culture Night Belfast. With an understandable leaning towards the more musical end of the spectrum, we have scratched our heads to no end to whittle down the plethora of happenings to a mere decad worthy of your consideration. See you in the streets, rooftops, cathedrals, etc. 1. 101 Sessions Some of Belfast’s finest musicians will quite literally congregate at the wonderfully intimate church on 101 Donegall Street from 7.00pm. As well as music from…