New tour celebrates Belfast`s musical heritage
New tour celebrates Belfast`s musical heritage
25 February 2009
Music lovers from near and far are being given the chance to explore Belfast`s incredibly rich and diverse musical heritage – in a single afternoon.
The Belfast Music Tour is a bus journey through the heart of a great rock and roll city, from Ruby Murray and Van Morrison to Snow Patrol, by way of Gary Moore, Stiff Little Fingers and David Holmes.
Delivered by the Oh Yeah music centre, the tour is one of a number of new initiatives to profile and promote Belfast reputation as the birthplace of great music, an art form that is defining the new mood of Belfast, a place enlivened by potential and bold gestures.
The city`s industrial heritage has inspired the vigorous style of many local rock bands, while Belfast`s history as a seaport has ensured the enduring influence of the blues and American roots music on local musicians. All of this is reflected in the tour.
As the experience of the likes of Liverpool shows, the love of music can be a primary reason for someone choosing to visit a particular city or country.
Recent research undertaken by Visit Britain shows that 21 per cent of potential visitors are inspired to choose a destination because of the music or bands of that region, and 49 per cent of visitors are very likely to go to live music concerts or events during their stay.
Music and musicians, solo artists and bands are often someone`s first introduction to the unique appeals of a country and Belfast City Council is aiming to capitalize on this by making the city`s music scene more accessible to visitors.
In partnership with the Northern Ireland Tourist Board and Tourism Ireland, and supported by the Arts Council, the council has developed a number of music tourism initiatives, including the Belfast Music Tour, an MP3 tour, a dedicated website and the Belfast Music Exhibition.
The Belfast Music Tour takes place on Fridays, starting on 13 March, beginning at 3.30pm with a tour of the newly refurbished Ulster Hall and its unique new interpretative displays, telling the story of this historic venue.
The bus tour departs from the Ulster Hall at 4pm. Along the route, it tells the story of the founding members of Thin Lizzy and the legend of Pearly Spencer, shows the landscape that inspired classic Van Morrison songs and visits the venues that have made history with visiting acts like Led Zeppelin, The Clash and U2.
The tour finishes at the Oh Yeah music centre in Gordon Street, where, from the beginning of April, there is a chance to check out the Belfast Music Exhibition.
The first tour takes place on Friday 13 March. Tours then take place on Friday 20 March, Friday 27 March, Friday 3 April and Friday 17 April, and then weekly from May onwards, starting on Friday 1 May.
Tickets cost £8 and are available from the Belfast Welcome Centre on 9024 6609, or online at gotobelfast.com
