Sunflower Festival 2016 returns for what is set to be the biggest version of the concept yet.
Over 150 acts will be performing across 6 stages, alongside poetry, theatre and comedy to give attendants a truly deep and diverse experience of the arts.
The setting is Tubby’s Farm in Hillsborough, less than twenty minutes from Belfast. The farm will play host to an array of diverse sound, from death metal to electronic and folk to reggae; uniting those from a range of genres under one collective identity.
“After starting as a small-scale music festival organised to raise funds for our son’s school project, we soon realised that Northern Ireland was lacking in opportunities for young talent to build their followings and be heard by diverse audiences. We are proud of our great home grown talent and it’s brilliant we we can offer them a lovely setting to perform to their own crowd. This year’s acts include a range of music genres, meaning there will be something to fit almost every taste at Sunflowerfest.”
On Friday’s opening night, the festivals main stage, The Sunflower Stage, will be the home of Dublin bred electronic outfit Le Galaxie, an impressive booking, their album Le Club was shortlisted for the Choice Music Prize Album of 2016. Following them on Saturday will be rhythm and blues boys The Strypes and festival favourites King Kong Company, who are back by popular demand.
There is set to be an abundance of home grown talent on show, showcasing both those established and those up and coming. John Andres, R51, Civil Simian, Amanda St. John, Jealous of the Birds, Donna Dunne, After the Ibis, Elevation Falls and Fiction Peaks are all on hand to show the best of what Ireland can offer.
A few changes have been made to the site for 2016. One major change is the introduction of the Moot Takeover. The emergence of ElectroMoot is not to be missed with an eclectic mix of electronica running all weekend. The Sunflowerfest team have curated the best in local electronic talent, the DJs and artists who week in week out deliver some of the best club nights in the country.
Jika Jika, Twitch, Belfast Music Club and Beat BBQ will all be bringing the house down. Put these well established crews alongside acts like Bloom and Chris Hanna and you have a recipe for pure euphoria.
Finalising the electronic stage for this years edition of Sunflower will be Moodtrax, Celestial and a live performance from Dead Spector.
Moodtrax, also known as Andrew Johnson, has been providing the soundtrack at Misfit , located at Thompsons Garage. Ryan Macfarlane makes up Celestial, a concept that sways more towards the spacey side of electronic music. Dead Spector are a hardware only, three piece electronic collective from Belfast. Their sound, created without the aid of computers, ranges from stripped back house to full on “itchy, scuzzy techno.”
