Mull It Over 017: Cool Gig Guide - May '24
Your guide to the coolest gigs happening in Belfast and beyond for May 2024. Featuring Sister Ghost and Joel Harkin.
Just some housekeeping before we start dishing out the gigs. I want to say thank you to everybody who read and shared last week’s Mull It Over article on the blues night in The Empire. It quickly became the most read edition of the newsletter and I couldn’t think of a better subject to hold that spot. Previously, the most popular article was the feature on the Northern Ireland shoegaze renaissance in week two, so to be hitting new highs four months in is really encouraging. Thanks again, everyone - and if you haven’t read it yet, you can find it below.
“… three words went through my mind endlessly, repeating themselves like a broken record: you're so cool, you're so cool, you're so cool.”
Welcome back to the Mull It Over Cool Gig Guide. Each month I bring you a carefully curated list of gigs, at any of which if you are spotted I truly believe your social status will increase by at least seven cool points. You don’t need a pass at GCSE maths to understand that’s a pretty good deal. I, on the other hand will likely be unable to attend any of these due to my duties related to keeping an infant human alive and brewing mediocre to near undrinkable kombucha. Needless to say this has been disastrous for my social standing.
On the off chance you do see me milling around one of the below gigs, feel free to buy me a vodka and tonic in lieu of paying for this service.
It is a monster Cool Gig Guide this month and also quite Belfast-centric as the Cathedral Quarter Arts Festival returns from 2nd - 12th May, where over 100 acts will play across the city. Keep an eye out for where some of our local artists will be performing on the very, very cool list below. Singer-songwriter Joel Harkin is this year’s artist in residence and will performing in multiple venues across the festival. Check out Ho Chi Minh from his ‘Sham Supermarket’ E.P. below on his Bandcamp page. It’s just lovely.
So, without further ado, here are the coolest gigs by local artists happening in May this year. To kick us off, please enjoy the indisputable best song in existence with ‘cool’ in the title. Take it away, Gwen.
Cool Gig Guide: May 2024
*CQAF - denotes Cathedral Quarter Arts Festival show
Thursday 2nd May
CQAF | Hole: Live Through This - A Celebration featuring Sister Ghost and Susi Pagel at the Oh Yeah Centre, Belfast. Tickets
Friday 3rd May
CQAF | The Breeze: Thin Ground Album Launch at Ulster Sports Club, Belfast. Tickets
Sunday 5th May
CQAF | Conchúr White at Rosemary St. Church, Belfast. Tickets
Wednesday 8th May
CQAF | Ben Glover: And The Sun Breaks Through The Sky Album Launch at The Black Box, Belfast. Tickets
Saturday 11th May
CQAF | Blue Whale: Last Immediate Images Album Launch at The Black Box, Belfast. Tickets
SX-70 with Bannered Mare, Madams Last Discovery at Oh Yeah Centre, Belfast. Tickets
Saturday 18th May
Teach Coil MacGiobuin: Mandy Bingham. Tickets
Wednesday 22nd May
Dea Matrona at The Limelight, Belfast. Tickets
Friday 24th May
Cherym at Ulster Sports Club, Belfast. Tickets
Friday 31st May
The Chris Taplin Blues Band at The Errigle Inn, Belfast. Tickets
Thank you for reading Mull It Over issue 17, the Cool Gig Guide for May 2024. You can find all of the above artists and more on the below playlist. Please endeavour to grab a ticket to see some of our homegrown talent, where you can. I’ll maybe see you there. Please share and / or subscribe if you haven’t already! Happy Friday :)
The Mull It Over Substack Playlist: