BELFAST'S second annual TradFest is returning to venues across Belfast this month, jam-packed with concerts, workshops, and sessions to fill your toe-tapping boots.
Internationally recognised artists including Déanta, The Friel Sisters, Ríoghnach Connolly, Seamus O’Kane, Niall Hanna, Cúig, Séamus and Caoimhe Uí Fhlatharta, Tim Edey and Ryan Molloy will headline nine concerts.
Dé Dannan founding member and fiddle maestro Frankie Gavin will play the festival closing concert in the Empire Music Hall on a double bill with Armagh native flautist Ríoghnach Connolly of the Afro Celt Sound System.
Belfast TradFest’s Winter Weekend is delighted to host its inaugural Highland Piping Solo Competition at The Deer’s Head on Sunday 26th February.
A selection of Irelands’ top pipers will compete for a place in the renowned MacCrimmon Trophy Competition 2023 that takes place annually at the Festival Interceltique de Lorient in Brittany.
The new Ulster University building on York Street will host workshops covering all instruments from bodhrán to bouzouki and smallpipes to singing. These classes will be delivered by some of the best in business.
Cuig
Beginners can also join in the TradFest fun with classes in Sean Nós singing and Ddancing with American Irish dancer Siobhán Butler and set dancing with Ulster’s own Mary Fox.
Lord Mayor Christina Black shared her “honour” at hosting the festival.
“TradFest gives us a wonderful opportunity to showcase some of our outstanding local talent and to welcome internationally recognised guests to perform in Belfast in this special celebration of our Irish and Ulster-Scots musical and dance traditions," she said.
TradFest’s Artistic director, Dónal O’Connor shared his thoughts on the importance of a festival such as TradFest.
“Traditional music is part of the fabric of this city and in recent years it has become recognised as one of the main attractions for visitors to this part of the world”.
The Titanic Distillers Session Trail which will take you across the city to some of Belfast’s oldest and best-loved pubs including Madden’s Bar, The Duke of York, The John Hewitt, The Sunflower, and The Garrick, is one that is not to be missed and won’t cost you a penny.
Ríoghnach Connolly
The festival’s afternoon events will include album launches at Raidió Fáilte by legendary Fermanagh purveyor of song Gabriel McArdle and up-and-coming stars Martha Guiney and Piaras Ó Lorcáin, plus talks at Ulster University by renowned bodhrán player Mel Mercier and County Clare concertina maestro Mary MacNamara.
Maurice Leyden and Jane Cassidy will be taking walking tours on Saturday 25th and Sunday 26th February, singing some traditional tunes throughout the tours including Maurice’s acclaimed song collection which tells the story of the Belfast’s boom. The guides perform traditional tunes and songs and explain about the instruments, language, customs, and history that make up Ireland’s vibrant musical tradition.
TradFest takes place between 24th - 26th February. Check out the full programme here.
