Mayo’s Graham Sweeney will be among the performers at the Other Voices Ballina Music Trail, taking place over the last two days of February.
The series of free gigs on the Music Trail take place in a cluster of venues spread across Ballina on February 28th and 29th, and complement the main Other Voices Ballina televised concerts in St. Michael’s Church on the outskirts of the town, where David Gray, Elbow, JyellowL and Skinny Living are among the top acts.
Other fringe events for the weekend include Ireland’s Edge, Waxing Lyrical and Our Coasts, Our Voices. More details below.
From Achill, Graham Sweeney blends Irish folk with irresistible rhythms on his latest track The Quiet Man (watch the lyric video below), selected as Tune of the Week on RTE Culture.
RTE 2FM will broadcast from the festival with Tracy Clifford going live from Bar Square on Friday between 12pm and 3pm, featuring band sessions and interviews. Later that night 2FM Rising bring their stage to Bar Square, with performances by Alex Gough, Nealo, and Kynsey.
THE MUSIC TRAIL
A whopping 18 new acts have been added to the Other Voices Music Trail bill, including Elkin (pictured at front).
Ballina bound festival-goers will be treated to a wealth of talent from a diverse range of genres, amd there’s something to suit everyone.
This year’s dynamic line-up includes drummer/producer/rapper and winner of the Other Voices IMRO Open Call 2019, Alex Gough will join us in Ballina. Galway songwriter Maija Sofia will play a collection of songs from her RTE Choice Prize nominated, debut album ‘Bath Time’, exploring the female experience throughout art, history and folklore. Rusangano Family band member, MC God Knows brings his electrifying energy to Ballina, his performance will also feature Citrus Fresh who delivers on a wave of Irish cloud-rap plus Hazey Haze, and some very special guests. Dublin artist Kynsy, fuses elements of indie, rock and electronic music. She has already been highlighted as one of 2fm’s Rising Artists of 2020 and her live performances have clearly marked her out as one of Ireland’s most exciting new talents. Next up, it’s dynamic singer-songwriter Farah Elle, powerful lyrics from Dublin hip hop artist Nealo, for your pop fix, check out artist Rushes with his soulful, silky vocals – here’s a taster with his track Wave. Expect a high-energy, no holds barred rock show from Sick Love, Dublin quartet Autre Monde create art-rock, electro-pop. Raw and captivating vocals from Amy Montgomery, experimental rock from Percolator, old-school soul, funk, and pop from Uly. Hailing from Galway, Roisin Lowry is Lōwli: an exhilarating artist with ethereal melodies as seen in her song Fallow. Folk fans are in for a treat with traditional folk singer and multi-instrumentalist John Francis Flynn followed by Armagh singer DANI who takes inspiration from Irish traditional melodies.
The phenomenal line-up of both Irish and international acts performing in St. Michael’s Church as part of the live TV Recordings include; multi-platinum singer DAVID GRAY, Manchester favourites ELBOW, rapper JYELLOWL, dreamy pop from SODA BLONDE, rising Derry singer JC STEWART, indie guitar from THE HOWL & THE HUM, four-piece SKINNY LIVING, rapper/spoken word artist DENISE CHAILA, and American songwriter/guitarist JESCA HOOP.
FESTIVAL REGISTRATION
All those planning to attend Other Voices Ballina should register for free in advance and exchange tickets for Festival wristbands at the Other Voices Ballina Hub. All festival-goers who collect wristbands from The Hub will have the opportunity to win a multitude of great prizes including tickets to St. Michael’s Church, signed Other Voices Ballina posters, Other Voices merchandise, and lots more. Entry to all Music Trail events is on a first-come, first-served basis. Registration for the Festival is now open at Eventbrite.
LIVE STREAMING
Other Voices Live Streaming in partnership with Virgin Media streams all the action from St. Michael’s Church to the Music Trail venues throughout the town. Music fans can sit back and enjoy all the performances from St. Michael’s Church from a cosy spot in the pub in front of huge screens with high definition audio-visual. Venues include The Loft, T Breathnach’s, An Sean Sibin, An Bolg Bui, Harrisons, Paddy Macs, Bar Square, An Tarbh 47, The Cot and Cobble, Vincy’s Bar, Ballina Arts Centre and Shambles Bar at Ballina Manor Hotel.
CLEAN COASTS WORKSHOPS
Our Coasts, Our Voices feature marine environment workshops and games for little ones and grown-ups alike. Taking place on Saturday 29th in The Library, Ballina. The first workshop is Indoor Coastal Fun (10:00 – 10:45) which involves a host of games & explorations of our coastal ecosystems – fun, interactive, and very child-friendly! (4+)
Our Rhythm, Our Climate, Our Voices (11:00 – 11:45) is a workshop fusing rap and drumming led by MC God Knows and Murli of Rusangano Family for children (4+). Using music and spoken word to explore our waterways, coastline, ocean and marine life. The artists and children will collaborate with Little Rainbow Family for a live spoken-word workshop performance. No registration needed just drop in on the day. Cleancoasts.org
WAXING LYRICAL
Waxing Lyrical is a series of art happenings located in the Other Voices Hub and Ballina Art Centre. An art exhibition titled Torann na dTonn will adorn the walls with beautiful art pieces from artists based in Mayo, Kerry and surrounding areas for this very special group show. The artists work with paint, moving image, music, song, sound, sculpture, ceramic, print, drawing amongst other mediums. Participating artists include: Desmond Downes, Michael Kelly, Muireann Nic Amhlaoibh, Líse Nic Fhloinn, Sadhbh Nic Fhloinn, Ferg Flannery, Jane Williams, Lone Beiter, Honora O’Neill, Ronan Halpin, Bob Ó Cathail and Aidan Crotty. A book project called Cogar explores art, song, rap, lyrics, spoken word and poems. Live music will be performed by Teresa Horgan, Matt Griffen and Bob Ó Cathail.
The multi-disciplinary creative event IRELAND’S EDGE returns to Ballina to the Jackie Clarke Museum on Saturday 29th February. The event will bring together a compelling range of entrepreneurs, innovators, writers and artists.
Other Voices Ballina 2020 is made possible in partnership with Mayo County Council and Moy Valley Resources and the support of Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, RTÉ, Mayo.ie, Ballina Chamber of Commerce, Mayo North Promotions Office, Wild Atlantic Way, Creative Ireland Mayo, Tesco Ireland, Virgin Media, Ballina Arts Centre, The Jackie Clarke Collection, Music Generation’s Core Youth Music Hub and local hotels, pubs and businesses.
Ireland’s Edge Ballina is supported by Intel Ireland, Hollister ULC and Creative Ireland Mayo and Mayo County Council.
TICKETS TO ST. MICHAEL’S CHURCHFor media information on Other Voices Ballina 2020 please contact Sync & Swim
Tickets for the intimate TV recordings at St. Michael’s Church will be made available by competition only through Other Voices and partners social media and digital platforms. Church Performances from St. Michael’s will be live-streamed into venues around Ballina town.
Check out the promo video from Other Voices Ballina 2018 HERE and you can see all of the action from Day One Other Voices Ballina HERE
Facebook: OtherVoices Twitter & Instagram: @othervoiceslive
For media information on Ireland’s Edge please contact South Wind Blows
Ellen King ellen@southwindblows.ie
