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Fabulous food won’t be the only thing sizzling when the Belfast Taste & Music Fest kicks off in August, as this year’s event boasts a red-hot lineup of world class entertainment acts which will cater to a wide range of diverse musical tastes.

 

The Taste Fest, which this year has an extended run from 4th – 8th August in Belfast’s Botanic Gardens, has 20 impressive acts scheduled to perform to an expected 30,000 visitors. The musical entertainment on offer ranges from classic rock to blues and soul, from retro 80s sounds to modern folk and encompasses swing, rockabilly, jazz and jive along the way.

 

Last year’s headliners Rumours of Fleetwood Mac and Flash Harry are making a welcome return to the event and will be joined by a host of local, national and international talent which will combine popular cover versions of old favourites along with original songs. The entertainment has been booked by David Hull Promotions and will once again be expertly compered by Brian Moore.

 

The first day of the event will kick off with one of Ireland’s premier bands The Lee Hedley Band performing classic rock and blues and soul numbers from the likes of The Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, Otis Redding and The Doors. This will be followed by the Kind of Blue Sessions - a celebration of Miles Davis’ best selling jazz album of all time Kind of Blue - performed by some of Ireland’s leading musicians. The show will also include narration by BBC Broadcaster and Jazz personality Linley Hamilton. Taking to the stage early evening will be Ohasis who will be delivering an authentic performance worthy of the Gallagher brothers and creating that unmistakable live Oasis “wall of sound”. Headlining the opening night will be Belfast’s very own Maurice Jay’s Pleasuredome – the six piece 80s tribute band who will be taking the audience back in time to revisit the iconic hits of Blondie, Duran Duran, Wham and many others.

 

Belfast’s greaser kings The Sabre Jets will get the party started on Thursday 5th August followed by critically acclaimed festival favourites The Lost Brothers. Next up will be The Human Touch – an eight-piece band from Northern Ireland who will get the crowds rocking with a selection of classic Bruce Springsteen hits. Making a return to Taste Fest for the second consecutive year is Rumours of Fleetwood Mac performing the ''Ultimate Celebration Concert'' to Fleetwood Mac. With over 400 major theatre concerts behind them to date the British rock anthology concert production ''Rumours of Fleetwood Mac'' has now performed to over 250,000 Mac fans Worldwide and tours with Mick Fleetwood's golden seal of approval.

 

Friday 6th August will see rising stars of the local music scene John D'Arcy’s Great Bunch of Lads performing their own quirky brand of pop and rock music. The band are recording a new album this summer with the legendary Terri Hooley and boast a number of celebrity fans including Gary Lightbody of Snow Patrol and Country star Nanci Griffith. The Dutch Kate Bush - Maaike Brijman and her five piece European touring band will be making their first Irish appearance in the afternoon followed by The ELO Experience – a tribute act to one of the world's best known and greatest recording bands. Kicking off the weekend will be Les McKeown’s Bay City Rollers performing some of the bands classic 70s hits including ‘Bye-Bye Baby’ and ‘Shang-a-Lang’. Get set for a night of flares, tartan and more than a little ‘Summer Love Sensation’!

 

Talented jazz singer and session vocalist Siobhan Pettit will be performing on Saturday 7th and is guaranteed to delight Saturday afternoon crowds having made her name recording and performing with many world-renowned artists such as Brian Kennedy, Van Morrison, Michael Bolton, Leo Sayer and Michael Ball. Next up is Ronnie Greer’s Almost Big Band and visitors can expect an exciting mix of blues, roots and jazz based musical styles featuring material from the likes of Muddy Waters, Big Joe Turner and Jimmy Reed, played with style and conviction. Botanic Gardens will be rocking as Con Jovi performs in a Blaze of Glory delivering a set of blistering rock vocals delivering all the hits of one of the most successful rock bands in the world – such as Living on A Prayer, Always, You Give Love a Bad Name, Bed of Roses. Topping off Saturday’s entertainment is Flash Harry - quite simply the best tribute show to one of the world’s greatest rock acts. The band will be performing hits from Queen’s music legacy.

 

Brothers Brendan and Declan Murphy from The Four of Us - one of the biggest bands to come out of Northern Ireland – will be getting festivities underway on Sunday 8th August. Double platinum winning The Four of Us were voted one of the Top 10 Best Irish Bands of All Time, along with the likes of U2 and Thin Lizzy, in a recent TV3 series. Mary Coughlan - Ireland’s answer to Peggy Lee is next on stage followed by The Jive Aces - the UK's top Jive & Swing band. The Jive Aces brought the house down at thousands of festivals, theatres, and dance halls throughout the UK, Europe, the USA and beyond, also making hundreds of TV and radio appearances world-wide. This in-demand six piece have worked with Van Morrison, John Travolta and Isaac Hayes and many others as well as performing for HRH Prince Philip. The Taste Fest grand finale is the world renowned The Rat Pack Vegas Spectacular who will be bringing the sound and feel of Las Vegas to Botanic Gardens as they perform the timeless favourites ‘Come Fly With Me’, ‘Under My Skin’, ‘Mr. Bojangles’, ‘Lady is a Tramp’, ‘Mack the Knife’ plus many more.

 

“It gives me great pleasure to bring this event back to Belfast,” says event organiser, Connie Cunningham. “We are very proud of the fabulous entertainment line up which will feature at this year’s event and are confident that the very talented acts will keep people of all ages and tastes entertained while they enjoy the culinary delights that our fine local chefs have cooked up.”

 

For further information on the full entertainment line up and to pre-book tickets and ‘Taste Fest Packages’ online visit www.belfasttasteandmusicfest.com