Mull It Over 028: Wake Up Sheeple
Entries for the Northern Ireland Music Prize are now open. Plus, some notes on Stendhal 2024. Featuring Drew Makes Noise.
Stendhal is a wonderful place. Northern Ireland’s renowned festival of arts and music, now in its 14th year has become the official annual celebration of music from our rich region. It is easy to find yourself tucked away under the natural shelter of the Craic Inn, deep in the Wooly Woodland, or to catch five minutes of our next great musical export at the Nerve Centre pop-up on your way round to (my personal favourite) the Henry McCullough Stage, boasting its stunning natural amphitheatre setting formed entirely of dirt, grass and trees surrounding.
Yes, Stendhal is sublime. However, one thing needs to be said. As you enter through Ballymully Cottage Farm, past the ticket scanners and before finding your way along the winding paths into the labyrinth of Limavady, you will initially find yourself on the flat, wide-open paddock on the uppermost level of the festival. Exposed greatly to the elements and just a little too vast, my friend summed up this area of Stendhal as (I’m paraphrasing) “sheep sale-core”. Pretty good. But that’s OK, it’s just a small part of the festival and is merely my opinion. Regardless, I find myself on the paddock, making my way to the Stevie Martin Stage, not to trade sheep; the only horns I am seeking here are those from the next band due to take the stage. Yikes.
A respectable crowd is gathering for Drew Makes Noise, the solo vehicle of Ed Zealous alumnus Andrew Wilson. DMN is an eclectic, kitchen-sink sort of a project that blends the sounds in Wilson’s head with the sounds of his influences, worn easily on his sleeve here. A considered set-list made up primarily of songs from his fantastic debut album Let The Whole Tape Run, dancing makes way to running as the crowd makes a break for shelter as the heavy rain starts to fall. The sun quickly reappears and the absolutely bonkers weather we are having proves a fitting metaphor for the music blasting from the stage. From Nick Cave to Doves, half the fun of a Drew Makes Noise show is feeling like you’re at a live listening party of your own Discover Weekly playlist, set to shuffle. Or better yet, to Andrew’s.
A cynic may ask why I did not include Drew Makes Noise in my pre-Stendhal recommendations post. To them, I say: you’re paying too much attention to a newsletter and need to get out more. Regardless, I do hope Andrew accepts my apology in the form of this half-baked review, with entirely far too many bizarre references to livestock . Anyway, not one sheep was sold that afternoon at the Stevie Martin Stage, but there were bags full of tunes. How many? Three.
Other highlights from my quick visit to Stendhal included seeing The Breeze perform their tumbling, whiskey soaked debut album Thin Ground in a haze of dry ice on the Henry McCullough Stage, a truly perfect setting for the (now) foursome. After this it was back up to the paddock to watch When Ireland Rocked, a legitimate supergroup featuring the legendary Pat McManus of Mama’s Boys and Cormac Neeson, chief wailer with The Answer, who belted out the entire rock and roll history of the island in a blistering and unflinchingly fun set, bridging the gap between the daytime merrymaking and the nighttime debauchery. Could it get any better than this, pondered Neeson as they launched into Rat Trap? Not likely. “Breathe it in deep” he demanded. And we did.
Prize Fighters
This week the Northern Ireland Music Prize announced that submissions were open for its 2024 event. The categories include best live act, best single, best album and best video. The entry criteria are simple: if you are a solo artist you must have been born in Northern Ireland (see, not always a bad thing) and if part of a group then 50% of your core members should be from here and/or Northern Ireland has been your creative base for at least two years.
The NIMP is the biggest night in the musical calendar for Northern Ireland and is a genuine celebration of artists from our patch, when for far too long focus has been centred on gatekeeper award institutions like the Choice Music Prize in the Republic or the Mercury Prize in the UK. These ceremonies do recognise important music and while I’ve been lucky enough to attend the Mercury’s (wee insider term for you) in London, you’d be hard pressed to find a better celebration of life than seeing previous winners Ash belt out the iconic Rudi’s seminal punk anthem Big Time on the Ulster Hall stage at the 2021 event. Ash were previous winners of the Legend Award in 2016.
The Northern Ireland Music Prize doesn’t happen without the tireless work of those at the Oh Yeah Centre and I have no doubt this year’s event will be as joyous as previous celebrations. The ceremony usually takes place in November, so keep your eyes peeled for a special NIMP edition of Mull It Over where I will outline the nominated acts and highlight my favourites from the year, as well as some previous winners.
In the meantime, I begin my campaign to be welcomed through the front door of the Ulster Hall on awards night like Noel Gallagher being handed a glass of champagne at 10 Downing Street in 1997. Hey, it worked for the Output Conference taking place later this year, and to be honest is the only reason I am writing this blog.
Thank you for continuing to read Mull It Over. I have some fun stuff in the pipeline and will be in the studio recording the next edition of Mull It Over: Live down at Banana Block for Belfast Built Digital Radio in the coming weeks. As always, keep an eye on my social media for the exact date and time. Happy Friday!
The Mull It Over Substack Playlist