Music News

With her tousled dreads and Native American stylings you’d be forgiven for dismissing Amy Montgomery as some kind of new age, hippy-dippy wannabe... then you hear the voice and you know she’s the real deal. The 23-year-old seems to conjure the spirit of hard-living 60s icon Janis Joplin while nodding to more modern influences such as Alanis Morissette, Anastacia or even big-voiced pop superstar Pink. And while Amy borrows from all these disparate sources the voice that emerges is her own. It’s raw and earthy, rooted in her native Co Down but drawing from far and wide, and has helped make her a hit on the festival circuit – all aided by her crack band of course. They play Limelight 2 tomorrow night, doors 7pm...

Kwame Daniels’ Inna Rhythm series on Radio Ulster stands out, even among the many great shows on the station these days. His mix of “personal favourites from his off beat, second room sound shone a light on sub-cultures of black music made by and performed by various communities in Northern Ireland. It was both enlightening and engaging – and there were enough classic bangers thrown in for codgers like me to not feel left out. Anyway, check it out on BBC Sounds if you get a chance but, even better than that, Kwame will be joining the “prolific and inventive” Kaidi Tatham for a rare back-to-back set at Bullit tomorrow night so “expect boogie, disco, Latin, jazz, synths... all with a soulful twist. And a mic”. Sounds like a night out. Bullitt Courtyard, 8.30pm to late, free entry.