Culture
31 Mar 21

AVA Belfast 2021 line-up adds Kojaque, Gemma Dunleavy, Aby Coulibaly and more

The festival is set to take place at Boucher Road Playing Fields from September 24-25th, 2021.

AVA is set to lead the way for the electronic live event sector's comeback in Northern Ireland, announcing an incredibly exciting programme of events for 2021.

Created to shine a light on the best of local talent and international heavy weights, AVA are ready to bring people together in celebration again.

The festival is set to take place at Boucher Road Playing Fields this September, and have unveiled an amazing line-up earlier today.

The AVA team are making sure to include finest of Irish hip-hop with revered Dublin rapper Kojaque, Aby Coulibaly, Leo Miyagee and Emby all joining this year's line-up along with legendary multi-instrumentalist and broken beat innovator Kaidi Tatham and Irish R&B vocalist Gemma Dunleavy.

Artists on this year's line-up also include Berlin Techno duo Fjaak, one of the world’s leading electronic live acts KiNK (Live), who’ll return after an amazing Samba band collaboration at 2018’s AVA. Also joining with raw, angular techno energy is Helena Hauff, disco queen Jayda G, plus Dutch female forces Carista & KIKI. Revered duo Optimo return as AVA regulars with punky, electronic selections.

Derry Native and long-term AVA family Or:la, Hammer and Cromby all return, plus techno king Sunil Sharpe. Another set of female powerhouses who’ll take to the decks are AVA are super-selectors Saoirse and Sally C, plus many more.

The event promises an uncompromising approach to design, creativity and nourishment of homegrown music. The multi-stage open air site will have a distinctive set up - merging industrial design with music, and visual electronic artists including Algorithm, Visual Spectrum and Kevin Gartland.

“We are thrilled to announce our return to Belfast at the end of September after one of the most challenging years the industry and society has ever faced," Festival Director and AVA founder, Sarah McBriar said.

"Not only will this be one of the first festivals returning after a pandemic, but this will also be the beginning of our new fully outdoor chapter. The blank canvas at Boucher Road Playing Fields offers us exciting and endless opportunities. We have been working on the new site design for some time, combining our signature industrial design with the natural landscape, showcasing the artists in the best way and making this year’s AVA experience unique. The dark evenings in September will also lend itself to our new AV shows planned. We are proud & excited to bring back AVA to one of the best crowds in the world.”

Beyond the dancefloor, AVA will once again deliver a full programme of art installations, culture, chill spaces, local food traders, a new cocktail bar experience, plus much more.

"We are massively excited to be bringing AVA back, and to be pushing some fresh sounds in 2021. We've always tried to evolve our programming every year, and for 2021 we are particularly excited with the mix of local and international artists we've curated," Festival Programme Manager, Emmett Costello said.

"Bringing in live performance with likes of Kojaque, Gemma Dunleavy, Aby Coulibaly and Leo Miyagee has always been a goal for us, but we've also continued to programme exciting electronic acts such as FJAAK, Carista, KI/KI and Or:la, alongside an amazing collection of local artists.”

Full festival weekend passes can be bought online at £85, or day tickets at £45. Tickets to AVA Festival are on sale via the website.