Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
Titanic event looks like a real turn on..
Lough Down Festival live and on your car radio
So we’re all itching to get out and do something interesting but, you know, coronavirus. It feels like we’ve been robbed of our summer, those balmy nights when the strains of rock and pop music would drift across the city from the mega gigs at Ormeau, Boucher and Custom House Square. It’s a shame, but that’s just the way it is…
Well, not entirely. Strange times cal l f or strange measures, as someone maybe said, so Belfast is to host its first-ever drive-in arts festival – and it’s right in the heart of the city. The Lough Down Festival takes place at Queen’s Island, just down past Titanic Belfast where all the new s t u f f h a p p e n s , o n S a t u r d a y, S e p t e m b e r 2 6 a n d S u n d a y, September 27, and features a pretty amazing line-up of music, comedy, theatre and family friendly performances.
These include And So I Watch You From Afar, Ciaran Lavery, Joshua Burnside and Ronnie Greer (circled) with a full band. There’s also a performance of My Left Nut, Mr Hullabaloo, Dino Day Out and comics Micky Bartlett, Diona Doherty and Sean Hegarty.
Audiences will take part in the interactive event from the comfort and safety of their cars, parked in front of a performance set, with live action transmitted directly from the stage to LED screens and through a dedicated FM radio channel to their car radio.
Festival Organi ser, S a r a h - J a n e Mo n t - gomery said: “We are so excited to be offering fans of l ive arts and culture something new to enjoy. Lockdown has shown just how important the arts are to our mental health and wellbeing for young and old. As well as catering for adults during the festival we will also feature a ‘ Maywee Ones’ minimorning series of events with fami ly-ori ent ed content and earlier start times.
“It’s great to be able to provide families and friends with a muchneeded distraction to stay local and social but while, we love putting on a good show, we don’t want to risk anyone’s safety so strict hygiene measures i n line with government guidelines will ensure a safe environment for all.
“We are delighted to be doing our bit to keep our local arts alive. Our Artists and creatives make our community vibrant. It’s Maywe’s aim to generate new ways to support the sector during this time. We would especially like to thank Arts Council of Northern Ireland for their contribution and Catalyst for allowing us the use of their site and kindly donating their hire towards artists.
“The Lough Down Drive-in Arts Festival is a wonderful opportunity for all of us as a community to celebrate the best of home grown talent and support our local artists and creative and technical teams”.
Live show tickets range from £15-£20 plus booking fee, per vehicle. Test Drive Tickets priced at £10, per vehicle are available for community groups. fee
We are delighted to be doing our bit to keep our local arts alive.