• Festival Preview: Open House Festival

    June 22, 2015 - By 

    This year’s Open House Festival has once again delivered a strong blend of music and arts to charm audiences throughout the month of August.  An array of top-class talent is brought to Northern Ireland during the course of the year under the Open House banner, but the annual festival is the pinnacle for its promoters; when they round-up a list of traditional and cutting edge folk artists to perform in Bangor.  Taking place from August 1-31 there will be over 100 events in 26 different locations within the seaside town.  A whole range of concerts, performances, film screenings, talks, exhibitions…

  • Open House Festival Programme Announced

    June 4, 2015 - By 

    Set to see more than 100 events happening in 26 different locations through Bangor, the expectedly diverse and extremely inviting programme for this year’s Open House Festival has been announced. Taking place from August 1-31, a whole range of concerts, performances, film screenings, talks, exhibitions and food events will take place. Amongst the many musical highlights this year include Sun Kil Moon (pictured) at the Marine Court Hotel, Joan Armatrading at Bangor Abbey and King Creosote at Queen’s Parade Methodist Church. Go here to check out the full listings for the festival.

  • Gigs of the Week: Electric Picnic, Twitch, Sargent House Label Show, Bonnie Prince Billy & Shizz The Fest

    August 26, 2014 - By 

    With the now-sold-out largest music & arts festival in Ireland very much looming before us, it’s a relatively quiet week ahead in terms of gigs, but there are a few of doozies in the coming days scattered across the island. First and foremost: Electric Picnic – Stradbally Estate, Co. Laois; August 29-31 Unfortunately for most, it’s now too late to snap up tickets for Electric Picnic, but for those who wish to see out the Irish summer in style, there’s always one of the most eclectic bills on the circuit. For those who are heading, the Picnic contains some acts of…

  • Bangor set for Open House Festival Culture Day

    August 13, 2014 - By 

    A main fixture of this year’s Open House Festival, the streets of Bangor will be transformed into a bustling hub of happenings and creative activity for Culture Day on Saturday, August 23. Celebrating the wealth of creative talent of the town, buskers, skateboarders, poets, potterers, dancers and dramatists will see every corner of the Co. Down seaside resort come alive with an eruption of sound, movement and colour. Speaking of Culture Day 2014, Open House Festival Director, Kieran Gilmore said, “It’s a well-known fact that Bangor folk are a talented breed. Over the years the town has produced an abundance…

  • Steve Earle @ Open House Festival

    August 6, 2014 - By 

    With an image of the ascending Christ as a backdrop, the sanctuary of Bangor Abbey would be an imposing stage for many lesser artists than Steve Earle, who, from the opening unnamed new song to the closing favourite ‘Copperhead Road’, ensures the sold-out Bangor crowd’s attention remains on the music rather than on the discomfort of the church pews. The absence of a merchandise stall, café and bar facilities, or a support act does not detract from an intense yet entertaining set from the Texan, who admits between songs, “It’s not the first time that I’ve played in a church,…

  • Film Night: Some Like It Hot

    June 26, 2014 - By 

    The Walled Garden of Ward Park in Bangor – accessible via entrance opposite the park’s Aurora pool – plays host to a one-off screening of Some Like It Hot on Saturday, August 23 for the Open House Bangor Festival which takes place in the town for the entirety of the month. The 1959 Billy Wilder comedy classic, starring Marilyn Monroe and the phenomenal combination of Tony Curtis & Jack Lemmon is at this point a timeless piece of pop culture history, having been listed by the American Film Institute as the country’s best comedy of all time. Tickets are available from the…

  • Sons of Caliber – Albatross

    June 19, 2014 - By 

    Having been exclusively previewed here at the Thin Air last month, Northern Irish folk singer-songwriter Andrew Farmer and friends AKA Sons of Caliber will release their spellbinding debut album, Albatross, on Sunday, June 22. Taking place as part of this year’s Open House Festival, Farmer & Co. will release the nine-track album at Belfast’s Black Box, supported by Lonesome George. You can buy tickets for the launch right here. Stream Sons of Caliber’s last EP, Tundra, below. The Tundra by Sons Of Caliber

  • Exclusive Preview: Sons of Caliber – Albatross

    May 30, 2014 - By 

    Ahead of its official release on June 13, we’re very pleased to present an exclusive, one-day stream of Albatross, the debut album by Northern Irish folk singer-songwriter Andrew Farmer and friends AKA Sons of Caliber. Two years on from the Andrew Farmer-fronted band’s critically acclaimed 2012 release The Tundra, the nine-track album is a subtly mesmerising collection of songs, traversing  the laws and hidden depths of nature, love and survival. Albatross will be launched as part of this year’s Open House Festival at Belfast’s Black Box on June 22. Go here to buy tickets and stream Albatross via our Bandcamp page below. (You…

  • Open House Festival 2014

    May 13, 2014 - By 

    We’re big fans of Open House Festival and how they do things here at the Thin Air. With an extraordinarily tasteful penchant for the very best in folk, roots and Americana, the team have brought us some unforgettable shows ranging from the likes of Bob Log III, Deer Tick, John Grant to Lower Dens, Cold Specs and Old Crowd Medicine Show. As well as one-off shows and happenings scattered across the years, Open House really flaunts its wares with its annual festival events. This summer they will present two festivals, a Belfast festival and a Bangor Festival. The former, taking place from June 18…

  • In Photos: John Grant @ Mandela Hall

    March 6, 2014 - By 

    Featuring Conor O’Brien from recent Choice Music Prize winners Villagers, American singer-songwriter John Grant delivering a sublime set at Belfast’s Mandela Hall on Tuesday night as part of Open House Festival 2014. Our photographer Alan Maguire was there to capture all the action.