APRIL
April saw the hype begin for a summer of festivals, with representatives from Glasgowbury, Sunflower Fest an Pigstock all coming on the show to announce their respective line ups. Meanwhile, Belsonic and Vital also played their hands while news filtered through that Oxegen would be replaced with a series of enormous shows in Pheonix Park, Dublin. At this point, off-air, ATL began to worry a little about the sheer quantity of festivals on offer, concerning ourselves with visions of over saturation and empty fields. Thankfully, our concerns were misguided as Northern Ireland went on to enjoy it's biggest summer of live music to date.
April saw the hype begin for a summer of festivals, with representatives from Glasgowbury, Sunflower Fest an Pigstock all coming on the show to announce their respective line ups. Meanwhile, Belsonic and Vital also played their hands while news filtered through that Oxegen would be replaced with a series of enormous shows in Pheonix Park, Dublin. At this point, off-air, ATL began to worry a little about the sheer quantity of festivals on offer, concerning ourselves with visions of over saturation and empty fields. Thankfully, our concerns were misguided as Northern Ireland went on to enjoy it's biggest summer of live music to date.
MAY
May was all about ambition. As always, team ATL (specifically Paul McClean) got a little carried away with production of 'The Great Northern Songbook', a gala concert to celebrate 150 years of The Ulster Hall. The Ulster Orchestra made sense with the likes of Brian Kennedy and Cara Dillon - but what of all those ATL friendly acts - General Fiasco, Rams Pocket Radio, ASIWYFA and The Answer? In their own unique way, they all knocked it out of the park/hall - performing a song of their own and a cover of a Northern Irish anthem, backed by the biggest 'band' they'd ever share a stage with. The night belonged to Katharine Phillipa, however. Visibly nervous and still rehearsing as doors opened, we started to worry. Katharine was the newest act on the bill and despite her wonderful recordings and the aforementioned ATL session, she was still a 'risk' booking. Nice then that she stole the show, her performance of 'The Days of Pearly Spencer' and 'Wake Up O Sleeper' greeted with astonished silence, interupted only by the sound of jaws dropping and the odd bought of weeping courtesy of our very own Rigsy.
May was all about ambition. As always, team ATL (specifically Paul McClean) got a little carried away with production of 'The Great Northern Songbook', a gala concert to celebrate 150 years of The Ulster Hall. The Ulster Orchestra made sense with the likes of Brian Kennedy and Cara Dillon - but what of all those ATL friendly acts - General Fiasco, Rams Pocket Radio, ASIWYFA and The Answer? In their own unique way, they all knocked it out of the park/hall - performing a song of their own and a cover of a Northern Irish anthem, backed by the biggest 'band' they'd ever share a stage with. The night belonged to Katharine Phillipa, however. Visibly nervous and still rehearsing as doors opened, we started to worry. Katharine was the newest act on the bill and despite her wonderful recordings and the aforementioned ATL session, she was still a 'risk' booking. Nice then that she stole the show, her performance of 'The Days of Pearly Spencer' and 'Wake Up O Sleeper' greeted with astonished silence, interupted only by the sound of jaws dropping and the odd bought of weeping courtesy of our very own Rigsy.
JUNE
Late June saw a trip to Derry and a show from Foyle. While Intermission nailed a session and proved themselves to be about as civil a band we'd ever encountered, our 'First Base' feature formally introduced SOAK. First played on Radio Ulster by Stephen McCauley, it slowly dawned on us that SOAK, a 16 year old called Bridie, had a proper chance at superstardom. Daytime Radio Ulster took to her (as did daytime Radio 1) with a now legendary performance at Glasgowbury helping her cause. ATL found the bleed from the mainstage a little much that day, but her faithful band of followers didn't care. 2013 is hers for the taking.
Late June saw a trip to Derry and a show from Foyle. While Intermission nailed a session and proved themselves to be about as civil a band we'd ever encountered, our 'First Base' feature formally introduced SOAK. First played on Radio Ulster by Stephen McCauley, it slowly dawned on us that SOAK, a 16 year old called Bridie, had a proper chance at superstardom. Daytime Radio Ulster took to her (as did daytime Radio 1) with a now legendary performance at Glasgowbury helping her cause. ATL found the bleed from the mainstage a little much that day, but her faithful band of followers didn't care. 2013 is hers for the taking.
