Sound of Belfast festival returns for 11 days of music across the city

The Sound of Belfast festival returns to the city from November 5 to 15. The event aims to highlight musicians, venues, and communities that make Belfast as a UNESCO City of Music.

The festival is produced by the Oh Yeah Music Centre, with events spread across the city, including album launches, exhibitions, and anniversary events.

The exhibitions begins at Oh Yeah Thursday 5 November with Alter Your Native Land: Punk in the North 1976–2026, a new photographic exhibition from music journalist, author and Oh Yeah co-founder Stuart Bailie, marking 50 years of punk in Northern Ireland.

The launch features The Outcasts, Tramp and Éabha, with DJ sets from Terri Hooley and Bailie.

In terms of anniversary celebrations, there will be the launch of Bap Kennedy: Dreams of a Boy, written by his wife Brenda Kennedy and marking 10 years since his passing. On 14 November, Duke Special celebrates 20 years of Songs From The Deep Forest at Mandela Hall. He will perform the album in full with special guests.

New for the 2026 festival is the Budvar Music Trail, taking live music into venues across Belfast and encouraging audiences to discover artists and spaces along the way, with Mark Hegan, Rarewitch, Conor Mallon, and Leo Miyagee among those performing.

 

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There will be a number of album launches over the course of the 11 days, including Alana Henderson's A Wilderness of Warning, and Ryan Vail's After Hours. VANTA return with a new immersive audio-visual collaboration from Timmy Stewart and The Fully Automatic Model. There will also be an event for the annual Northern Ireland Music Prize, past winners include Róis, Robocobra Quartet, and Joshua Burnside.

The festival closes on November 15, with The New Wave, a reimagining of a traditional Irish session. The show features Gráinne Meyer and Atóg, and will be led by Hana Abri Smith.

CEO of Oh Yeah Music Centre, Charlotte Dryden said:

"This year we’ve taken a more focused approach, bringing together ideas from artists, venues and promoters to create a programme that reflects the strength of talent across the city. We’ve also offered a small number of bursaries to help artists develop or enhance new ideas."

More information on Sound of Belfast can be found here.