Line-up for Dublin Bowie Festival 2020 announced

Back in May, supergroup Holy Holy was announced as the headliner for the fifth edition of the Dublin Bowie Festival which celebrates the 50th anniversary of the icon's seminal album The Man Who Sold The World. Now, the complete programme for the 5-night event was unveiled. Just like the years before, an unbelievable line-up of musicians, photographers, artists, writers, DJs, designers and producers are set to take over Dublin City for the jam packed festival which kicks off on January 8, 2020.

Headlining act Holy Holy consists of Bowie's iconic, treasured and trusted producer Tony Visconti and Spider From Mars drummer Woody Woodmansey, who are set to take to the stage at the Olympia Theatre – scene of Bowies amazing 1997 gigs – on Saturday, January 11. With an all star line up featuring Heaven 17 mainman Glenn Gregory on lead vocals, the 6-piece will perform the TMWSTW and Ziggy Stardust albums in entirety as well as a selection of '70s Bowie rock'n'roll classics.

Tony and Woody are also part of a very special event in the beautiful The O'Flanagan Theatre, Royal College of Surgeons, St Stephens Green on Sunday, January 12, chaired by Tony Clayton Lea (Irish Times) on the closing day of the Festival. It's sure to be an exciting afternoon charged with emotion and great stories from their amazing years working with Bowie. World-renowned producer Visconti will also draw on his 50 years' experience in the music industry working alongside global superstars such as Marc Bolan, Thin Lizzy, Morrissey, Damon Albarn, Iggy Pop, The Stranglers, Sparks, Manic Street Preachers, Prefab Sprout, revealing the methods he used to get the best out of his artists.

Other highlights include The Birth of Bowie in The Sugar Club on Friday, January 10 which sees a Q&A with Phil Lancaster (Bowies drummer with his mid 60s mod group The Lower Third) and a live set from The London Boys who play exclusively from Bowies '60s period. Lancaster's recent book At The Birth of Bowie will be profiled on the night by guest host, our very own Pat Carty.

Another Hot Press appearance comes from Roe McDermott who will join Culture Vultures for a panel debate on sexual politics in The Workmans on Thursday, January 9 alongside Jack O'Rourke. The same venue hosts the Art Crime Inc late on Saturday, January 11 as they revisit their DBF19 Festival stealing performance of Bowies underrated classic 1. Outside.

In addition, the amazing Glasshouse Ensemble will be reimagining tracks – fully orchestrated - from the Berlin Trilogy on Thursday, January 9 in The Sugar Club while the fabulous I Heart Bowie band will be belting out Bowie classics from the ages with a variety of well known guest vocalists on Wednesday, January 8 in Whelan's main room.

A major Festival coup, and of massive interest to Bowie fans from all over the world, will be the unbelievably rare David Bowie private record and memorabilia collection offered exclusively for display to the Festival. Items include one of the very few surviving 7 inch acetates of Bowies first music release (as David Jones & The King Bees), an original flier advertising the first appearance of Ziggy Stardust live at Friars Ailsbury (January 29, 1970), the worlds rarest CD set (Sound & Vision birchwood edition, signed by Bowie), the largest private collection of extremely rare and sought after TMWSTW linen sleeve dress covers, (including the Australian cover, one of the holy grails of record collectors worldwide) and original, signed Bowie artwork and prints etc.

There are a lot more things happening during that 5-day celebration of David Bowie. Check out the complete line-up here.