Derry’s ‘Illuminate’ Festival music gigs announced

A series of intimate live music gigs have been announced this week as part of Derry’s ‘Illuminate’ festival.
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The festival will take place over two weekends on February 17-20 and 24-27 and will bring Derry’s centre to life with a series of outdoor light and live illumination experiences which will transform iconic buildings into spectacular pieces of art.

The live acts performing at the festival include Kíla, Neil Cowley, the Henry Girls and Aoife Scott as well as local acts Glenn Rossborough,Roe and John Deery, The Heads, Comrade Hat, Clodagh May Music, Kate O’Callaghan, Ciaran Lavery, Maria Kelly and Basork for what promises to showcase the region’s diverse range of talent.

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The artists will perform in intimate settings such as the Guildhall, St Augustine’s Church, Echo Echo studio and Contemporary centre of Arts as part of a live illumination trail experience with superb outdoor projections, sound and animation telling original stories through digital animation and innovative design.

Henry GirlsHenry Girls
Henry Girls

Tickets for the intimate music experiences are currently on sale and are expected to sell out fast as numbers are restricted – for more details on the gigs and how to book tickets visit www.musiccapital.org.Funding for this iconic celebration of the Walled City has been secured from Tourism Northern Ireland through its Market-Led Development Programme for Local Authorities. The fund is part of the Embrace A Giant Spirit campaign which pledges to create authentic and innovative experiences that will provide more reasons to travel to and within Northern Ireland and to enhance and animate the experience for visitors from NI and ROI.

Kieran Dunlop from Music Capital who has been appointed by Council to organise the music element of the festival said he is delighted to be part of this hugely exciting showcase of visiting and local talent. He said he is delighted to be hosting a range of music acts that people can look forward to attend in early 2022.

He said: “Illuminate will be an amazing event that will really showcase a wide range of talented musicians and artists and perform in some of the most iconic and intimate settings. We are delighted to be part of this fantastic spectacle and we are delighted to have artists such as Neil Cowley, Kila, Aofie Scott, Ciaran Lavery and Roe performing live in the city and bringing some much needed cheer and positivity after such a difficult time for many people.

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Derry City and Strabane District Council is currently working closely with a wide range of statutory bodies in terms of ensuring the event is COVID friendly and in adherence to any possible restrictions that may be in place at that time.

RoeRoe
Roe

The primary focus when planning for this event will be to have a crowd friendly circuit of the city that can accommodate the numbers of people expected to attend, taking into account social distancing and crowd management, whilst allowing people to enjoy the experience safely.

Council is also working with local businesses to get them involved and to maximise the opportunity the festival will bring to grow the city and region’s evening economy and to assist in COVID recovery.

The Mayor concluded: “I am hugely excited about this and delighted that once again our Council is set to deliver another fantastic event to showcase our city and region. This festival will be an opportunity for us to celebrate after a difficult and challenging period.”

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Details of the gigs included in the programme are as follows:

Ciaran LaveryCiaran Lavery
Ciaran Lavery

Thursday 17 February, Comrade Hat and Clodagh May Music from 730pm-9pm at CCA

Friday 18th February, Glenn Rossborough and Kate O’Callaghan, from 730-9pm at St Augustine’s

Saturday 19 February, The Henry Girls (Boswell) and Aoife Scott, from 9-11.30pm at the Guildhall

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Thursday 24 February, Roe and John Deery The Heads from 730-9pm at the Echo Echo studios

Saturday 26th February, Neil Cowley, Ciaran Lavery and Maria Kelly from 9-11.30pm at the Guildhall

Sunday 27 February, Kila and Basork from 9-11.30pm at the Guildhall.

More details on the programme are available at www.illuminatederry.com.

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