Snow Patrol, Starsailor celebrate opening of new Belfast venue
Snow Patrol, Starsailor, Duke Special and the actor James Nesbitt lead a night of celebration at the weekend to mark the opening of a brand new music venue in Belfast.
As previously revealed on NME.COM, the Oh Yeah Music Centre will be a hub for new music and new bands in the city's Cathedral Quarter.
The official unveiling of the venue on Saturday (May 5) saw a host of city's best known sons congregate for a surprise party at the end of an open day to let the public see the building.
Actor James Nesbitt acted as compere for part of the night, praising the Oh Yeah project and called Belfast "the most exciting city in the world right now".
Snow Patrol frontman Gary Lightbody performed with Lisa Hannigan, formerly a member of the Damien Rice band. This was Hannigan's first appearance since leaving Rice in March. They sang 'Set The Fire To The Third Bar' and 'Some Surprise', a duet that first appeared on an Oxfam charity album, 'Cake Sale', last year.
Lightbody also sang The Undertones classic 'Teenage Kicks' with Guy Garvey from Elbow and played an acoustic version of 'Run', plus an unnamed song that was written especially for the day.
Starsailor mainman James Walsh, currently a Belfast resident, played a version of the Van Morrison's song 'Wild Night', plus his band's own 'Four To The Floor' and a snatch of Gorillaz' 'DARE'. He also previewed an as-yet untitled new Starsailor song.
Peter Wilson from Duke Special finished the night with a version of the Ash song, 'Oh Yeah'. This track had originally given the project its name.
The Oh Yeah project is led by Stuart Bailie, a journalist and broadcaster and a former Assistant Editor of NME.
"It was an astonishing night," he said. "So many unique musical moments and jaw-dropping performances. It was the first time that Gary has sung in public with Lisa. It was an honour to have Elbow over for the night, and Duke Special broke us up with 'Oh Yeah'. We were aiming to get a feeling of community with the night and it happened almost immediately. We've been talking about this project for almost a year-and-a-half so to actually hear great music in the building was the supreme proof." |
Happy Mondays and Supergrass headline Electric Gardens Festival
Happy Mondays and Supergrass have been announced as the headliners for Electric Gardens 2007.
Around 50 acts are set to play over 4 stages at Kent's Mount Ephraim Gardens on August 4-5.
Tickets are set to go on sale at 9am today (May 4), more acts are expected to be announced soon.
To check ticket availabilty and get all the latest listings, go to NME.COM/GIGS, now.
Last year's festival saw performances from The Fratellis, The Automatic and The Charlatans. |
The Killers, Interpol headline KROQ Weenie Roast
The Killers, Interpol and Queens Of The Stone Age are set to headline KROQ's Weenie Roast y Fiesta.
The Los Angeles radio station's annual event with a newly expanded name takes place May 19 at the Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre in Irvine, California.
Also on the bill are The Bravery, Peter, Bjorn and John, Linkin Park, Korn, Bad Religion, Social Distortion, Silversun Pickups, Rise Against, Tiger Army, 30 Seconds To Mars and Plain White T's.
Proceeds from the event will go to several local charities including Heal the Bay, the Surfrider Foundation and Aids Services Foundation Orange County.
Tickets go on sale Saturday (May 5) via Ticketmaster. |