• Courtney Pine & Zoe Rahman @ Cathedral Quarter Arts Festival, Belfast

    May 17, 2016 - By 

    It’s not exactly a shocking revelation to say that jazz can be a ludicrously self-reverential medium, especially given the insular virtuosity required to play it to a world-class degree, so it’s pleasant that tonight, under this starry-ceilinged festival marquee, that Courtney Pine maintains a balanced composure; one that allows for moments of wild, wandering timbres but also gentle interplay with Zoe Rahman’s fervent piano playing. A courteous guest, Pine lays on the thanks thick and fast for the Cathedral Quarter Arts Festival organisers, prompting agreement from a largely excitable crowd who rightly recognise that jazz in Belfast isn’t exactly the…

  • Richmond Fontaine @ Voodoo, Belfast

    May 4, 2016 - By 

    There’s no room for sentiment during Richmond Fontaine’s last ever Belfast show. The band from Portland, Oregon have been regular visitors to the city since the release of the critically-acclaimed Post To Wire in 2004, and tonight their final album You Can’t Go Back If There’s Nothing To Go Back To gets some serious attention from the setlist. You Can’t Go Back is a summary of all that’s great about this much-loved Americana band so it’s fitting that most of the record is showcased this evening. ‘I Got Off The Bus’ – a song about the worst homecoming ever, alternates…

  • Where He’s Meant To Be: An interview with Arab Strap’s Aidan Moffat

    April 28, 2016 - By 

    As one half of the band Arab Strap with Malcolm Middleton between 1996 and 2006, Aidan Moffat quickly became one of the most influential voices in Scottish indie music. His unmistakable thick brogue and frank, confessional and often hilarious lyrics are reflected in so many newer Scottish bands while Moffat himself has guested with the likes of Mogwai and Frightened Rabbit over the years. Since Arab Strap’s amicable split, Moffat has undertaken all kinds of projects, from spoken word to his collaborations with Bill Wells to his electronic work as L. Pierre, to name a few. In 2014 he toured…

  • Cathedral Quarter Arts Festival 2016

    March 8, 2016 - By 

    Set to return to Belfast for its grand 17th outing from April 28-May 8, this year’s Cathedral Quarter Art Festival is set to be yet another mouth-wateringly, curiousity-satingly sublime 11 days and nights of music and culture. Ranging from the likes of legendary reggae producer Lee “Scratch” Perry (pictured), The Zombies and Arab Strap’s Aidan Moffatt to David Holmes, John Cooper Clarke and Grandmaster Flash, this year’s line-up (in full below) is, for our money, the strongest CQAF outing to date. Go here to buy tickets.

  • Front of House: Louise McElvanna (CQAF)

    May 19, 2015 - By 

    In the latest installment of Front of House, Brian Coney chats to Louise McElvanna, Event Manager at the likes of Open House Festival, Belfast Festival at Queens and the recent Cathedral Quarter Arts Festival. Photos by Sara Marsden. Hi Louise. You’ve just finished working at this year’s Cathedral Quarter Arts Festival. First off, any highlights? Hello The Thin Air. It’s always a mad 11-day whirlwind. There were so many highlights for me, but The Staves show was amazing, I just love them. I’m considering applying for the position of fourth Stave, but I’m not actually sure there’s a vacancy going! It was also…

  • Shot Glass: Three Strikes @ CQAF

    May 8, 2015 - By 

    On Tuesday night, Shot Glass theatre performed the second night of Three Strikes at Cathedral Quarter Arts Festival, in the unusual surrounds of the Dark Horse Bar. A new concept in live theatre, Shot Glass bring edgy, dark theatre right into the pub. At three discreet tables in the bar, the protagonists sit, waiting their moment, the crowd having to twirl around to see from which corner the voice is coming. From Mary Jordan’s effortlessly cool account of her unusual application of Brazil Nuts and her husband’s subsequent demise to Gerry Crossan’s delightfully bizarre rant as ‘Blow-Dry Barry’ the pub goers…

  • Beats Rhymes and Life: The Travels of a Tribe Called Quest @ Black Box, Belfast

    May 5, 2015 - By 

    On Friday, May 8, the Cathedral Quarter Arts Festival will host a free early evening screening of Beats Rhymes and Life: The Travels of a Tribe Called Quest at Belfast’s Black Box. Having forged a 20-year run as one of the most innovative and influential hip hop bands of all time, the Queens NY collective have kept a generation hungry for more of their groundbreaking music since their much publicized breakup in 1998. Beats, Rhymes & Life (also the title of the band’s 1996 record) balances brutal honesty with a heartfelt devotion as it tracks A Tribe Called Quest’s mid-1980’s formation in…

  • Interview: Woody Woodmansey

    May 1, 2015 - By 

    Ahead of the legendary English drummer’s appearance at Belfast’s Cathedral Quarter Arts Festival’s Marquee on Friday, May 8, Mike McGrath Bryan chats to Mick “Woody” Woodmansey, best known for his work with David Bowie and the Spiders from Mars. Hi Woody. You played on four of Bowie’s most influential and important records. How did you come into his fold, so to speak? I had played with Mick Ronson in a band called The Rats in the city of Hull, East Yorkshire. We were a blues based progressive rock outfit playing on the University circuit, supporting major acts at that time, plus we…

  • Interview: Soup DuJour & Venus Dupree of Tease-O-Rama

    April 24, 2015 - By 

    One of the more expectedly fabulous prospects in the Marquee of this year’s Cathedral Quarter Arts Festival, Belfast Burlesque showcase Tease-O-Rama promises an evening of music, dancing, glamour and fun on Sunday, May 3. Ahead of the event, we speak to Burlesque extraordinaire Soup DuJour and and DJ Venus Dupree about what’s in store. Photos by Sara Marsden. Hi guys. Can you give us some background on Tease-O-Rama; previous appearances and what will set this one apart from the others? Soup DuJour (above, left): I founded Tease-O-Rama nearly two years ago and it’s all about creating really fun nights that make people laugh…