Portstewart Songwriters Festival back again

The event, which is due to hit the North Coast on Friday to Sunday, April 15 to 17, will feature live music in bars and coffee shops along Portstewart Promenade with almost 20 free live gigs.

The line up for the Festival, which is organised by local music promoter The Listening Post and fully funded by participating venues in Portstewart, will this year focus on homegrown artists including Mark Blair, Claire Hill, Gary Anderson, Toni Whitten and one of Portstewart’s own musical success stories – Tony Wright aka VerseChorusVerse.

We reported in December how Tony, a former member of the band And So I Watch You From Afar, teamed up with MOBO and Urban Music Awards-nominated David Lyttle to produce the stunning new album Say & Do (Lyte Records).

The event will also showcase song-writing talent from further afield, including English anarcho-folk songwriter, James ‘Bar’ Bowen; the Walled City’s own John Ross; Bangor-based troubadour Stephen Macartney; Stendhal Festival favourites No Oil Paintings; and Katie Richardson’s latest stunning musical incarnation, Goldie Fawn.

In addition to the raft of live performances, the Festival will also give the opportunity for anyone to come along and learn a little about what makes some of the weekend’s performers tick and the thought and process behind song-writing at a Songwriter’s Panel on Saturday afternoon.

Furthermore, budding songwriters are invited to perform at the Open Mic Session on Sunday afternoon which will be open to all singer songwriters to come along and participate. Both events will take place at The Box (Big Telly Theatre Company’s performance space) on Porstewart Promenade.

As well as the various gigs happening in venues over the weekend, keep an eye out for the Big Telly Theatre Company Wee Portable Theatre, which will be hosting a series of pop up mini-gigs throughout the festival weekend.

Keep an eye on Facebook and Twitter for details of these exclusive moments.

All gigs and events are free in, with full programme available at participating venues in the coming week as well as at www.portsongfest.com.

Find it on Facebook at www.facebook.com/PortstewartSongwritersFestival or follow on Twitter @PortSongFest.

For further information contact [email protected]