Over 40 free music gigs in Bangor this weekend for Open House Festival

This is the city’s first ever dedicated Blues & Jazz Week

Over 40 free music gigs are on offer in Bangor city centre this bank holiday weekend as part of the Open House Festival Bangor Blues & Jazz week.

Supported by Ards and North Down Borough Council and Beamish, this is the Co Down city’s first ever dedicated Blues & Jazz Week. Eight Bangor bars are participating in the free music trail, hosting acts such as blues guitarist Willie Byrne, the Linley Hamilton Jazz Trio, and the Frank Carberry Blues Band.

Aside from the free trail, 15 ticketed blues and jazz events have been programmed in the Walled Garden and the Court House, featuring artists including Dana Masters, Mary Coughlan, Grainne Duffy, and Otis and the Elevators. The festival’s own Madi McCullough, a jazz soul singer who works at the Court House, is also performing during the week.

READ MORE: Nine weeks of Picnic in the Park events kick off in Bangor this SundayREAD MORE: Open House Bangor: Co Down city hosting first week-long Blues & Jazz event this summer

“Bangor was once a thriving venue for the blues,” said Open House Festival director, Kieran Gilmore. “The legendary guitarist Gary Moore played some of his earliest shows in the town, and in his Taste days, Rory Gallagher lived on Sheridan Drive practising riffs in his garage. Jenny Watts’ Sunday Jazz sessions are the longest running in the country, and we thought it was time to roll this much-loved genre out to other venues in the city.”

Mayor of Ards and North Down, Councillor Gillian McCollum said: “The addition of a Blues & Jazz week to the Open House programme this August has added an extra soulful dimension to Bangor. It is music to my ears, as I am sure it will be for many others, with the free trail providing so much quality live music in the city.”

For full details of both the free Blues & Jazz trail and the ticketed events, go to www.openhousefestival.com.

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