Beyond Noise Team
AVA Belfast has evolved into what is undoubtedly one of the most important festival events in Northern Ireland’s ever-expanding cultural calendar. Across the 3rd + 4th June for the 2022 edition, AVA invites international icons from the live and electronic worlds to the heart of Belfast city to play alongside the grassroots Southern and Northern Irish talent that inspired AVA from day one
In what will be an emotional affair, Belfast’s biggest electronic export BICEP returns to AVA for their largest homecoming show to date. BICEP’s meteoric fame saw the duo rise from party planners and bloggers to 2x BRIT Award nominees with a UK Number 2 album, ISLES. BICEP’s productions are the soundtrack to Belfast city, and AVA are ecstatic to have them back.
Also on board is 3x Grammy-nominated producer, Mura Masa aka Alex Crossan, making his AVA debut. Known for his optimistic productions, Mura Masa has won international recognition and Platinum-selling records. His list of collaborators includes A$AP Rocky, Charli XCX, Slowthai and more. Repping for the leftfield is Jon Hopkins, esteemed composer crafting sounds for the nighttime mind, body and soul. Jon joins June’s event with a DJ set that will be a celestial interpretation of techno with a powerful visual show by Dan Tombs. Irish rapper / singer Biig Piig aka Jess Smyth has rocketed to fame with her smooth take on rap and neo-soul. Already having racked up millions of plays on Spotify, Biig Piig’s slick and sedative sound has seen her recognised as one of Ireland’s most important current live exports.
Experimental electronic sounds come from Bristol’s vibrant punk x techno crossover duo Giant Swan, whilst harder techno explorations come from I Hate Models and a beacon of the genre and recent Mixmag cover star – VTSS. Dancefloor drama in the form of Baltimore club, breaks and ghetto house comes courtesy of LSDXOXO, with break-through party-starters Logic1000 and Bklava also set to thrill. Of course, there’s plenty more to keep an eye out for – soulful house from Floorplan, plus high BPM, rave NRG from Kessler, Calibre and Hooversound Records boss, Sherelle. Overmono, Soichi Terada on a new album tour, Ross From Friends will all perform live electronic sets in what will be a serious weekender for all electronic music fans.
After the success of 2021’s ‘The Grasses’ stage, AVA again invites rap, soul, RnB, Punk and crossover live names for 2022 who add different energy. Last year saw moshpits at Kojaque and singalongs with Gemma Dunleavy who will return to the festival – and this year ups the ante with Biig Piig, Enola Gay, Mango x Mathman, Monjola all performing live shows.
Irish talent from both the North and South play a vital role in the programme. The motivation behind AVA was to highlight the incredible talent coming out of Ireland, and that will always be at the heart of the festival. Crews and collectives like Twitch, EVE and Plain Sailing, upstarts like Jordan Nocturne, Holly Lester and Cartlon Doom, and of course – long term legends will all be representing the Irish contingent in 2022.
“Excited to announce our festival lineup for 2022 which includes bringing 13 Belfast debuts to our new home at the Titanic Slipways. We’re proud to be continuing to support Irish talent including Bicep, Biig Piig, Calibre, Gemma Dunleavy, Kessler, Enola Gay, Mark Blair, Holly Lester & ELLLL, and diversifying our lineup with international artists across genres like Jon Hopkins, Mura Masa, Ross From Friends, LSDXOXO, Sherelle, TSHA, Soichi Terada + more.” – Emmett Costello, Head of Programming, AVA Festival
‘There is something very special about bringing together many minds, energies and artists in a City like Belfast. It’s an explosion of joy, an atmosphere wrapped up in yeo’s and arms punching the air from the moment we open the doors. Our City, our people, is as much a part of the lineup, as each artist we put on the bill, and we can’t wait to bring it back all together again.’ Sarah McBriar – Founder, AVA Festival
AVA is a community affair, and outside of the quality programme, there’s a tonne of other reasons to get involved. A visit to the city itself, or the chance to experience one of the liveliest set of festival-goers on the planet; the Belfast craic is the best. For anyone wanting to visit Belfast, AVA allows visitors to experience the local creative culture from an insider’s angle. AVA is a key part of the city’s fabric, working with Tourism Ireland and Arts Council NI each year to make the event possible, as well as creating hundreds of opportunities, jobs, and resources through their events.
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