Mull It Over 026: Stendhal Special
A look ahead to next week's Stendhal festival and five acts from Northern Ireland not to be missed.
Welcome back to Mull It Over. You may (or most likely did not as not one person mentioned it) have noticed I took a break from writing last week. With the airing of the radio show and the natural break point of making it to halfway through the year I decided to stop talking shit on here for one week only. But fear not, the newsletter is back, littered with more rambling and is above all, still free.
A quick thank you to everyone who made the last article on the Sound of the Shore festival one of the top two most read on Mull It Over. Alongside the piece I wrote on the blues night in The Belfast Empire it highlights to me that you enjoy reading gig reports, if you can call them that. I have included links below for anyone who may have missed them and can assure you I’ll try to publish more articles in the same vein as we move into the second half of the year.
And if you are new to Mull It Over, welcome. There is a treasure trove of writing waiting for you to pore over and for the second half of the year you can expect more of the same - thoughtful profiles on local artists with a taste of humour (humorous to me, at least), new releases and of course the most hip list of live band shows to hit Belfast since the parades commission released their itinerary for marching season - the Mull It Over Cool Gig Guide. The guide usually lands in your inbox at the end of each month looking at the month ahead, but this time it takes on a slightly different form. This week is the Stendhal Special, where I take a look at Northern Ireland’s preeminent music festival and expertly curate a list of five must-see acts gracing Ballymully Cottage Farm next weekend.
NB: I have not checked if there are any clashes on this list. Again, this is a free newsletter. You get what you pay for.
1. The Breeze
With the release of their debut album ‘Thin Ground’ earlier this year led by the tumbling, good old time lament The Whores of Life, this ‘supergroup’ of sorts features accomplished and already well known names on the local scene - Malojian, Christopher Coll and Declan McManus. The Breeze will be red hot coming into Stendhal with a string of tour dates up and down the country already behind them. Get ‘em while they’re hot.
2. Virgins
Another act with a debut album release in 2024, shoegazers Virgins released the effervescent ‘nothing hurt and everything was beautiful’ back in April to rave reviews and followed up with some truly electric live shows. With a headline slot at GAZEFEST 2 later in the year, 2024 is the year of the Virgin.
3. Belfast Groove Collective
Taking part this year as part of the Elixir Hip-Hop Showcase, Belfast’s collective jam session Belfast Groove Collective will be bringing their fiery brand of funk, soul and rap to the farm next weekend. You don’t know what you’re letting yourself in for with this one unless you turn up. One thing is for sure, if the regular jams in Lavery’s are anything to go by, you may not want to leave.
4. Cherym
Pop-punkers Cherym nearly broke my car speakers when I turned up their hit single Taking Up Sports, incidentally on my way to a 5-a-side game, earlier this year. With the release of their album ‘Take It Or Leave It’ and some high profile tour slots in support, their sharp edged pop melodies will be one for all ages.
5. The Unholy Gospel Band
Another ‘supergroup’ of sorts fronted by The Answer’s Cormac Neeson, The Unholy Gospel band brings a bagful of rock ‘n’ roll hymns to Ballymully Cottage Farm this year. In their arsenal you can expect bombastic versions of songs like Primal Scream’s Movin’ On Up and Blur’s Tender. Backed by some very accomplished brass musicians there is nothing unholy about this offering.
That’s a wrap for issue 26 of Mull It Over. Thanks for sticking with me over the break last week and thank you also to everyone who tuned in to the live show on Belfast Built Digital Radio. I’m curating the next one as we speak and hope to have another fun announcement to go along with it. Keep your eyes and ears peeled. The summer’s here and the time is right for dancing in Limavady. I’ll see you all at Stendhal. Come say hello!
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