Features
AVA Festival Belfast Looks Back On 10th Anniversary
AVA Festival Belfast celebrated its 10 anniversary, May 31–June 1, bringing together 10,000 guests per day, and more than 70 local and international artists, hundreds of staff, local creatives, and more at the Titanic Slipways in the Northern Irish capital.
“AVA 10 was a testament to the strength of the Irish music community, and those who have worked tirelessly to elevate AVA into a global movement. The theme for AVA 2024 was Unity – and that was felt fiercely across the weekend,” a press release from the promoters states.
Belfast’s own Bicep brought their “Chroma” show to the main stage, which also saw Ross From Friends, and Kerri Chandler headline. The so-called Pumphouse hosted Horsegiirl, Neffa-T, and Flow Dan; The Boiler Room stage, hosted by Belfast’s MC Emby across the weekend, saw Anz and Special Request perform B2B, with other memorable moments from KI/KI, and MCR-T.
AVA has been at the forefront of unifying artists from the North and South of Ireland, from Sloucho’s Live Set with guest dancers, and Space Dimension playing “Ayla” – 10 years on from the viral moment that blew him and AVA up online in year one.
Belfast legend Timmy Stewart played an emotional set to his home crowd, dropping Orbital’s classic “Belfast”, among other memorable moments. The Lookout stage championed local artists including Jordan Nocturne, Ponyhawke’s Marion Hawkes, David Holmes, and many more.
The whole site had received an upgrade for the 10th anniversary: production was levelled up with a new design, and a sound upgrade. Said AVA Festival founder Sarah McBriar, “We are blown away by this year’s festival, the atmosphere, the artists, our team, partners, suppliers and most of all the crowd. We feel incredibly humbled by the last few days, and want to thank everyone involved this year and across the last ten years of AVA’s journey.”