This year’s festival opens with a nod to one of the most important chapters in the city’s musical history. Stuart Bailie’s photography exhibition, Alter Your Native Land: Punk In The North 1976–2026, marks 50 years of punk in Northern Ireland, and the opening night at Oh Yeah on 5th November features The Outcasts, Tramp and Éabha, with DJ sets from Terri Hooley and Stuart Bailie himself.
There’s plenty more to mark in the diary. Duke Special performs Songs From The Deep Forest in full at the Mandela Hall on 14th November to celebrate its 20th anniversary, with special guests. Ten years after his death, the festival also hosts the launch of Bap Kennedy: Dreams Of A Boy, written by his wife Brenda.
New for 2026, the Budvar Music Trail brings live music to venues across the city, with Piaras Ó Lorcáin, Rarewitch, Conor Mallon, Blackmoon Disco and Leo Miyagee among those taking part. Alana Henderson and Ryan Vail both launch new albums during the festival, and Timmy Stewart and The Fully Automatic Model unveil a new phase of their immersive audio-visual collaboration, VANTA. The festival closes on 15th November with The New Wave, an immersive reimagining of a traditional Irish session featuring Gráinne Meyer and Atóg, led by Hana Abri Smith.
For those working in music, there are speed-networking sessions and producer meet-ups across the week, making it one of the best chances of the year to meet people across the industry here.
This year’s festival opens with a nod to one of the most important chapters in the city’s musical history. Stuart Bailie’s photography exhibition, Alter Your Native Land: Punk In The North 1976–2026, marks 50 years of punk in Northern Ireland, and the opening night at Oh Yeah on 5th November features The Outcasts, Tramp and Éabha, with DJ sets from Terri Hooley and Stuart Bailie himself.
There’s plenty more to mark in the diary. Duke Special performs Songs From The Deep Forest in full at the Mandela Hall on 14th November to celebrate its 20th anniversary, with special guests. Ten years after his death, the festival also hosts the launch of Bap Kennedy: Dreams Of A Boy, written by his wife Brenda.
New for 2026, the Budvar Music Trail brings live music to venues across the city, with Piaras Ó Lorcáin, Rarewitch, Conor Mallon, Blackmoon Disco and Leo Miyagee among those taking part. Alana Henderson and Ryan Vail both launch new albums during the festival, and Timmy Stewart and The Fully Automatic Model unveil a new phase of their immersive audio-visual collaboration, VANTA. The festival closes on 15th November with The New Wave, an immersive reimagining of a traditional Irish session featuring Gráinne Meyer and Atóg, led by Hana Abri Smith.
For those working in music, there are speed-networking sessions and producer meet-ups across the week, making it one of the best chances of the year to meet people across the industry here.
The NI Music Prize
At the centre of it all is the NI Music Prize, at the Ulster Hall on Wednesday, 11th November. This year’s shortlists are among the strongest yet.
Album of the Year: Ash, Ad Astra; Barry Peak, Read Like Lisa; Skate Like Bart; Beauty Sleep, The Whole Damn Cake; California Irish, The Mountains Are My Friends; Careerist, Silver Birch Lodge; CHALK, Crystalpunk; Dani Larkin, Next of Kin; Dea Matrona, Hate That I Care; Foy Vance, The Wake; Huartan, Huartan; Joshua Burnside, It’s Not Going to be Okay; Kneecap, Fenian; Shamrock Showband, Shankill Road Mission; The McKenna Family, The Boys of Carrickroe; Wynona Bleach, Animal Style.
Single of the Year: AOIBHA and Ciaran Lavery, “Albatross”; Arborist, “Looking 4 Love”; CHALK, “Pain”; Joshua Burnside, “Something Else”; Morgana, “I’m Not Going Anywhere”; Róise, “Television”.
Live Act of the Year: And So I Watch You From Afar; CHALK; The Divine Comedy; Huartan; Joshua Burnside; RÓIS.
PRS NI Creator of the Year: Eoin O’Callaghan; Hannah Peel; Huartan; Kaidi Tatham.
The BBC Introducing in NI Artist of the Year will be revealed on the night.
Supported by Belfast City Council, the Arts Council of Northern Ireland, Arts & Business NI, PRS for Music, PPL, IMRO, the PRS Foundation, the Musicians’ Union and many more, Sound of Belfast is a brilliant showcase of just how much is happening in music here right now. The full programme and tickets are available here, and NI Music Prize tickets are on sale here.