Belfast’s Fleadh, in the Ears of a Trad Musician
By Owen Nugent It took until the second of August for the month to really start, and for the next
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music
‘Three-Nil to Kneecap’: Terrorism Charge dropped by UK Division Court
Meli writes on the most recent developments in Kneecap’s battle with the UK Government, and whether it has changed public opinion despite the charges against Mo Chara being dropped.
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In Conversation with Mob14 and Jessie Lea
Emma Ferguson sits down with incredible up-and-coming musicians Mob14 and Jessie Lea to talk all things music and their careers. All after their exciting support slot for Bino Bames and Villanelle at the Oh Yeah Music Centre.
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Georgia’s Gig Guide – Five Up-and-Coming Irish Acts to see this Summer
This summer features a vibrant lineup of fresh Irish talent at festivals. Notable acts include Fizzy Orange, a soul group known for their lively shows; Hotgirl, a rising indie rock band; Sexy Tadgh, a genre-bending performer; Puzzy Wrangler, an energetic all-female DJ collective; and Negro Impacto, a neo-soul duo.
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Record Store Day 2025: Success For Independent Record Stores (And For Scalpers)
Luella Coley reflects on her experience at Record Store Day (RSD) on April 12th. Attendees lined up early to secure exclusive vinyl releases, facing competition and challenges. Coley successfully collected sought-after items but felt guilt over disappointing others. The event highlights the ongoing struggle against scalpers in the music community.
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Back to Belfast with a Bang: A guide to Belfast’s student nightlife
Ellen Lundy welcomes the new year with a fresh guide to Belfast nightlife.
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REVIEW – Fontaines D.C.’s “Skinty Fia”
Alexandra Rosbotham reviews Irish band Fontaines D.C.’s newest album “Skinty Fia”
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GIG REVIEW: The Florentinas at Ulster Sports Club
Alexandra Rosbotham reviews The Florentias first headline gig at Ulster Sports Club in Belfast.
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New Music to Anticipate in 2022
As we settle in to the new year, The Gown’s Arts and Entertainment Editor, Ally Rosbotham, gives music fans something to look forward to in 2022.
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BBC Proms 2021: Keeping Up With The Times
Claire Dickson reviews the 127th BBC Proms as it demonstrates that some tradition can keep up with the times.
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Music: Lorde’s “Solar Power”
Arts and Music Editor, Alexandra Rosbotham, reviews Lorde’s “Solar Power”.
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PREVIEW: BBC Proms 2021: Keeping Up With The Times
PREVIEW: Claire Dickinson reviews the 127th BBC Proms as it demonstrates that some tradition can keep up with the times.
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Ike White – A Changin’ Mind and Steady Vocation
Peter Donnelly, Opinions Editor. Over a period of 18 months, producer Vivienne Perry and director Dan Vernon embarked on a
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15 Years Since Luther Vandross’ Passing
Peter Donnelly, Opinions Editor and Niall McElroy, Contributor. Luther Vandross was raised in the years when the Motown movement was
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Obituary: Soul Legend Bill Withers Dies
Peter Donnelly, Opinions Editor. News of soul great Bill Withers’ death broke on Thursday 3rd April, after he passed away
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Miss Anthropocene: Grimes Album Review
Sam Farrell, Arts & Entertainment Editor. With her highly publicised relationship with technology innovator Elon Musk and the announcement that
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“If my music makes me feel good, hopefully it does the same for other people”: In Conversation with Sigala
Kristen Sinclair, Editor. Bruce Fielder, better known as Sigala, answers the phone from his studio in London. Having racked up
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‘Sing Me to Sleep’: Matty Burke Track Review
H. R. Gibs, Contributor. Matty Burke’s solo album has been something of an urban legend for a small unit of
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‘Home to You’: Sigrid Track Review
Kristen Sinclair, Editor. Incorporating a personal element into the lyrics of a song written for a film soundtrack is as
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Mr Oizo Announces New Album, ALL WET
Mr Oizo (Quentin Dupieux) is due to release his new album, All Wet, on the 30th September this year, and it’s sure to be a great one. He’s already shared a taste of what is to come in the form of his most recent single ‘End of the World’, featuring the much-memed and notorious divider of opinions, Skrillex.
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Album Review: The Cadillac Three – Bury Me In My Boots (Big Machine Records, 2016)
Rhonda Mayne, contributor. When ‘Rolling Stone’ magazine states that, ‘The Cadillac Three’ are “poised for their first big break in
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Gig Review: Newton Faulkner, Limelight (Monday 8th April)
Contributed by Mark Loughrey The atmosphere of this gig was a rather relaxed one, with opening singer-songwriter James Gillespie doing
Read MoreLIVE REVIEW: Woods. McHugh’s Basement Bar, Belfast.
By Joseph Gilson Woods cannot be pigeonholed into the folk bracket that they often are. The Brooklyn based band cover
Read MoreClub Night Review: Shine with Green Velvet, Dense and Pika, and Space Dimension Controller (01/03/14)
BY ANDREW DOHERTY We sit sipping cider whilst staring out the window at the drizzle sparking off the pavements. In
Read MoreAn Interview with…Sam Lockwood from The Jezabels
QUESTIONS BY ANNA CAFOLLA The Gown met with Samuel Lockwood, the guitarist of Australian “intensindie” band, The Jezabels– who
Read MoreAn Interview with…George Ezra
QUESTIONS BY PETER MCGORAN Currently in the middle of his first UK & Ireland tour, The Gown caught up with
Read MoreNewly Established Electronic Music Society Seeks to Train Aspiring DJs
BY JOE GILSON A new society has started up with the hope of bringing Queen’s students into the wonderful world
Read MoreGig Review: Stornoway at Black Box (4/12/13)
BY PETER MCGORAN Stornoway are effortlessly precise, lyrically nuanced, and, when they took to the stage in Black Box on
Read MoreAlbum Review: Bad Religion – Christmas Songs
BY LAURA SHIELDS Love Christmas but are too punk rock for the festive tunes that fill the air leading up
Read MoreConcert Review: The Darkness at Limelight 1, Belfast (23/11/2013)
BY LAURA SHIELDS Following an indefinite hiatus in 2006, The Darkness reformed in 2011 and released Hot Cakes, their newest
Read MoreGig Review: Nick Mulvey at McHugh’s Basement (15/11/13)
BY RYAN ANNETT What a night in McHugh’s Basement. Nick Mulvey’s music created the perfect atmosphere for a small and
Read MoreGig Review: Primal Scream at Limelight (24/11/13)
BY CHARLES COOK Primal Scream front man Bobby Gillespie appears high. Not slightly high, or high on life, but really,
Read MoreGig Review: Drenge at Limelight 2 (25/10/13)
BY JOE GILSON Drenge look like a band that should be playing to 25 people but they sure as
Read MoreAlbum Review: Arcade Fire – Reflecktor (Merge Records; 2013)
BY HANNAH GREENFIELD Reflektor is exactly the album you would expect if you were to throw Arcade Fire into a
Read MoreVan Morrison at the Waterfront (15/11/13)
BY PETER MCGORAN As Van Morrison enters the stage to be awarded the Freedom of Belfast, donned with his trademark
Read MoreFrightened Rabbit at Mandela Hall (15/11/13)
BY PETER MCLOUGHLIN There are few bands (or artists for that matter) that have such a naturally strong connection with
Read MoreAn Interview with….Jay Boland from Kodaline
QUESTIONS BY PETER MCGORAN Ahead of Kodaline’s concert at Limelight, I was lucky enough to get an opportunity to speak
Read MoreAn Interview with…Justin Lockey from Editors
QUESTIONS BY JOANNE SAVAGE After a four year hiatus, the Birmingham-based band Editors are making a welcome return to the
Read MoreAn Interview with…Nick Mulvey
QUESTIONS BY PETER MCGORAN Since parting from Portico Quartet in 2011, Nick Mulvey has built up a reputation as a
Read MoreConcert Preview: The National at the Odyssey Arena (09/11/13)
American indie rock band formed in Cincinnati,The National will perform at Odyssey Arena this November. They’ve been described as “dark,
Read MoreConert Review: Lawson at The Ulster Hall (20/10/13)
BY PETER MCGORAN I was warned by Lawson’s Joel Peat in an earlier interview not to write the band off
Read MoreGig Review: Johnny Flynn & The Sussex Wit at the Limelight Belfast (18/11/13)
BY PETER MCGORAN Johnny Flynn has that certain quality of being just as competent as a poet as he is
Read MoreAn Interview with…KT Tunstall
QUESTIONS BY CONOR KERR KT Tunstall spoke to Assistant Arts & Entertainment Editor, Conor Kerr, about her new album Invisible Empire/Cresent
Read MoreAn Interview with…Lewis Watson
QUESTIONS BY HAYLEY GAULT Indie pop, self-taught singer/song-writer Lewis Watson speaks to The Gown about touring with Birdy, turning twenty-one
Read MoreAlbum Review: Arctic Monkeys – AM (Domino Records; 2013)
BY MICHAEL DEVLIN So much of this album is Alex Turner and his crew ramping up the sleaze. The seedy
Read MoreAlbum Review: Kings of Leon – Mechanical Bull (RCA Records; 2013)
BY MICHAEL DEVLIN Mechanical Bull largely follows what’s gone before in the Followill clan’s repertoire. Two years ago, fans feared
Read MoreConcert Review: Bastille at the Ulster Hall (26/10/13)
BY LIAM CASSIDY Bastille’s success story has been an accelerated one. From mid 2012 they have gained steady momentum, increased
Read MoreAlbum Review: Haim – Days Are Gone (Polydor Records; 2013)
BY SARAH MCCREEDY Haim’s debut album, Days are Gone, is aptly titled. It perhaps indicates that the days are
Read MoreAlbum Review: Forest Swords- Engravings (Tri Angle Records; 2013)
BY HAYLEY GAULT It is always a challenge for artists to bring something new to the table in the over-saturated
Read MoreAn Interview with… Local Natives’ Kelcey Ayer
BY TARA McEVOY Bursting onto the indie-rock scene in 2010 with the universally acclaimed debut album Gorilla Manor, Local
Read MoreAn Interview with… Bastille
BY TARA McEVOY If you’ve been anywhere near a radio in the past six months, chances are you’re already acquainted
Read MoreAn Interview with… Josephine
BY TARA McEVOY With the success of her critically lauded debut album Portrait – released late last year – 29
Read MoreALBUM OF THE MONTH: Nick Cave – Push the Sky Away (Bad Seed Ltd; 2013)
BY CATHAL DELEA All tailored suit and slit-throats, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds are back after an over-long absence,
Read MoreExclusive: Jenn Bostic – The Gown Session & Interview
The frankly iridescent Jenn Bostic performed for The Gown at Ten Square Hotel, Belfast, on 3rd March 2013 We were also privileged to interview
Read MoreAlbum Review/Preview: Keaton Henson – Dear…/Birthdays (Motive Sounds; 2010/13)
BY DARREN McCULLINS One of music’s great challenges is to create an album that on the surface can be perceived
Read MoreAn Interview with… Frightened Rabbit’s Scott Hutchinson
” I think that every man has some of the worst traits – the whole challenge of being a guy is
Read MoreAlbum Review: Trichotomy – Fact Finding Mission (Naim Jazz, 2013)
BY HAYLEY GAULT As a complete jazz novice, I was pleasantly surprised with the musical offering of Australian band, Trichotomy.
Read MoreAlbum Review: Villagers – {Awayland} (Domino Records; 2013)
By COLM O'CONNOR @Colm16 Conor J. O’Brien, the man behind the Villagers, has returned to much publicity. In {Awayland}, he
Read MoreAn Interview with Conor O’Brien from Villagers
Conor O'Brien spoke to Peter McLoughlin shortly after the release of Villagers second album, {Awayland}. Villagers are performing in
Read MoreGig Review: Ed Sheeran at the Odyssey
BY NIAMH MARLEY Ed Sheeran is the type of act that comes along once every twenty years. A stripped-back style,
Read MoreArts Feature: Albums of 2012
BY PETER MCLOUGHLIN This is not a comprehensive list. I haven’t even heard all the albums released this year. These
Read MoreGig Review: The Saw Doctors at Mandela Hall (23/11/12)
BY CATHAL DELEA The Saw Doctors are a fucking amazing band. That, dear reader, will be the crux of this
Read MoreExclusive: The Gown Sessions – Jack & Glen
Jack & Glen performed in a place that is not actually called Malone Park, but is called something which I
Read MoreExclusive: The Gown Sessions – DANI
DANI performed somewhere off University Street in Belfast on 17th November 2012, exclusively for the Gown. To visit her Facebook
Read MoreExclusive: The Moving Word
The Moving Word was a 'drive-through' poetry reading event (with live music) held at the QFT as part of the
Read MoreAlbum Review: Heyward Howkins – The Hale & Hearty (2012)
BY BEN WHITTINGTON The Hale & Hearty will not change your life, but it will make you happy for a
Read MoreArts Photo Gallery: NI Music Showcase at the Limelight (8th November 2012)
Here is a gallery of the best photos taken by the Gown at the NI showcase at the Limelight. All
Read MoreAn Interview With… Bellos
Local bands are constantly emerging in Belfast, and in the Northern Ireland music scene. When one such band cites ‘The
Read MoreExclusive: The Gown Sessions – The Slow Ticks
The Slow Ticks performing at Governor's Bridge, Belfast, in early November 2012 exclusively for The Gown. The Slow Ticks are
Read MoreAlbum Review: Grizzly Bear – Shields (Warp Records; 2012)
By Emma Cox Hailing from Brooklyn New York, Grizzly Bear are no longer a mere cult favourite among their local
Read MoreAlbum Review: We Are the Physics – Your Friend, The Atom (This is Fake DIY; 2012)
By Ryan Annett We Are the Physics are in no way conventional. Self-diagnosed, the Glaswegians describe themselves as “mutant science
Read MoreMusic Feature: Marcus Foster is Back – a preview of The Last House EP
By Darren McCullins If Nameless Path was the album where London born Marcus Foster found his feet in a cut
Read MoreGig Review: Heathers (at McHugh’s, 28th September)
By Christopher Parkhill Between them and a huddle of eager fans, Heathers deduce that it’s been two years and a
Read MoreAlbum Review: Mumford & Sons – Babel (Island Records; 2012)
By Orry Robinson Last week saw the release of Mumford and Sons second album Babel. This highly anticipated record comes
Read MoreGig Preview: The Saw Doctors at The Mandela Hall, Belfast (Friday 23rd November 2012)
The Saw Doctors, who have recently returned from a six week Coast to Coast Tour of the US and Canada,
Read MoreArts Feature : Pussy Riot and the Rejuvenation of Protest Music
By Tara McEvoy @tara_mcevoy Is protest music dead? For many years, it certainly seemed to have slipped out of
Read MoreInterview : General Fiasco’s Owen Strathern
Questions: Peter McLoughlin @PeterGownArts P: At what point did you realise that the urge to create was the most vital urge
Read MoreAlbum Review : Sam Lee – Ground Of Its Own (The Nest Collective; 2012)
By Matthew Law Studying under traveller Stanley Robertson and learning songs from gypsy communities led Sam Lee to create this
Read MoreAlbum Review : The xx – Coexist (Young Turks; 2012)
By Tommy Greene For a while now it has been clear that The xx’s follow-up to their Mercury Prize-winning debut
Read MoreAlbum Review : David Byrne & St. Vincent – Love This Giant (4AD; 2012)
By Cathal Delea Despite what Mark Ronson would have you believe, horns aren’t cool. No, horns and in particular the
Read MoreExclusive : The Gown Sessions: Ryan Annett – Overload
Ryan Annett performing in Musgrave Park, Belfast, in late August 2012, exclusively for the Gown. With Special thanks to Ultan
Read MoreExclusive : The Gown Sessions: Mick Hannaway – Just Want You To Know
Mike Hannaway performing in Botanic Gardens, Belfast, in early August – exclusively for the Gown. [jwplayer config=”Custom Player
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