Belfast’s summer soundtrack is about to get a whole lot louder. From Sunday 27 July to Sunday 3 August the seventh Belfast TradFest will flood 30 venues with more than 500 musicians and 450 events, reaffirming the city’s hard-won status as a UNESCO City of Music. Expect everything from stadium-sized opening concerts to the kind of after-hours sessions where the only ticket you need is a smile and a bodhrán.

Artistic Director Dónal O’Connor says Belfast TradFest has grown from a bold idea into a meeting place for generations, cultures and hearts.

The curtain rises on 27 July with a double bill at the Ulster Hall that pairs global trad titans Dervish and NOTIFY with the 80-strong Irish Concertina Orchestra and MGCE Concert Orchestra—setting an 80-musician benchmark for the week ahead. Just down the Maritime Mile that afternoon, the free Titanic Céilí invites families to dance The Waves of Tory on the very slipways where the great ship was built, sound-tracked by Pólca 4, Belfast Wren Boys and more.

Wednesday brings award-winning quintet Goitse to the Empire Music Hall, while Thursday pairs living legend Iarla Ó Lionáird with master guitarist Tim Edey in a room small enough to feel the fiddle rosin. When the last encore rings out, the party simply migrates to the Festival Club at The Deer’s Head, where trad-disco DJ sets rub shoulders with ferocious session bands until the wee small hours.

Daytimes belong to the Summer School at Ulster University, whose workshops, masterclasses and bursaries nurture the next generation of players. Elsewhere, pop-up “Céilí House” listening sessions light up pubs, Grand Central Station Sessions animate the new transport hub, and a festival-exclusive Dunville’s 1808 whiskey bottling offers liquid memorabilia. Film screenings, talks, taster lessons and children’s art workshops push the official event count past 450.

The festival expects to draw more than 25,000 visitors – nearly a quarter from overseas – injecting millions into the local economy. Economy Minister Dr Caoimhe Archibald praises the organisers for building “a space where tradition evolves, thrives and brings people together in the heart of Belfast.”

Tickets for individual concerts, summer-school places and the full programme are now live at belfasttradfest.com. Whether you’re a reels-and-jigs lifer or just curious to hear the city’s heartbeat, carve out a few days – or all eight – and let Belfast TradFest show you how tradition looks when it’s busy inventing its future.