The Glasgowbury Music Group have just announced the date for the Glasgowbury Music Festival 2009. The date has been set for Saturday 25th July, and once again it all takes place in the stunning surroundings of Eagles Rock just outside Draperstown.

For those of you who don’t know, the Glasgowbury Music Festival continues to be the largest independent music event in Northern Ireland. Last years festival was the biggest and most successful yet, with the likes of Fighting With Wire and ASH amongst the acts.

If you’re in an up-and-coming unsigned band, and you think you’ve got what it takes, then you’ll be pleased to hear that the Glasgowbury Music Group are now accepting submissions from artists and bands for this years festival. As you’d expect, as the festival continues to grow year upon year, competition for slots on the bill is becoming increasingly intense – so get your demo CD’s and presspacks in early. The address to write to is:

Festival Submissions,
Glasgowbury Music Group,
5 Cahore Terrace,
Draperstown,
Co. Derry,
BT45 7LT

You can also get in touch with the folks at Glasgowbury HQ via email: smallbutmassive@gmail.com

More updates as and when we get them….

Glasgowbury HQ have been in touch to let us know that a G Session will take place in the Cellar Bar on Saturday 21st February. First up are a band who’ve played a few gigs in the Cellar Bar now and making their G Sessions debut – Jumping Orbit. Next up are musical four-piece who have been recording in London and Northern Ireland recently, they are The Stetz. To cap the night off are a band who have made a previous appearance at the festival in 2007 and 2008, they are none other than Oppenheimer – which is great because they played the one and only G Session that we’ve missed so far back in February last year (we were busy trying to catch a Space Shuttle launch in Florida as it happens), so we’re chuffed to bits that they’re back for another stint.

Doors open at 9pm and all this for just £3!

For information about additional upcoming G Sessions, why not pop over to the official Glasgowbury Music Group website.

Having been in the running for no less than 6 separate Irish Festival Awards, the hard-working folks at the Glasgowbury Music Group have gone up against the big boys and managed to come away with two awards – Family Festival Award and Best Service Award – recognition of the fact that it’s not just about selling tickets and packing them into the venue – its also about people enjoying themselves in a safe environment whilst not costing an arm and a leg for a wee bit of sustenance throughout the day.

We’re sure this is only the tip of the iceberg and there will be plenty more silverware sitting on the mantlepiece in the years to come! Congratulations!

Glasgowbury HQ have been in touch to let us know that a G Session will take place in the Cellar Bar on Saturday 7th February. First up is an individual who has already made their mark on the main festival and G Sessions – John Gribbin. Next up are Limivady-based rock band Furlo. To cap the night off are a band who have made a previous appearance at the festival in 2007 and 2008, they are none other than Panama Kings

Doors open at 9pm

Regular visitors to ballinascreen.com will know that the Glasgowbury Music Festival has gone from strength to strength in recent years and blazed a trail for a substantial proportion of unsigned Irish musical talent – so much so that it has received no less than 5 nominations in the Irish Festival Awards. So, without further ado, in true music award ceremony style, the nominations are:

• Best New Festival
• Best Service Award
• Best Toilets (we kid you not!)
• Best Lineup
• Family Festival Awards

So, why not show your support for Northern Ireland’s fastest growing independent outdoor festival, pop on over to the Irish Festival Awards website and let your fingers do the talking. Note: You may have to scroll down in a few of the nomination categories to see all the nominees, including Glasgowbury.

Voting closed at the end of January – you need to submit your email address as part of the voting process, but you can opt out of the Newsletter subscription if you don’t want to receive further emails. Get to it!

The local PTAA December Dance will be held on Friday 12th December in St. Mary’s Primary School, with entertainment supplied by Jericho. Dancing from 9pm until midnight. Supper served. Everyone is welcome.

Glasgowbury HQ have been in touch to let us know that a G Session will take place in the Cellar Bar on Saturday 29th November. First up are a band who have already made their mark on the main festival and G Sessions – they are the Beatpoets. To cap the night off are a band who have made a previous appearance at the festival in 2006, just after supporting Bon Jovi (you may have heard of them) on stage in Croke Park – they’ll now be able to add a G Session to their CV, so give it up for Jaded Sun.

Doors open at 9pm and admission is five of your shiniest credit-crunch gold coins.. Sure you couldn’t beat it!

It was a chilly Saturday night in October 2004 (October 2nd to be precise) when the Cellar Bar played host to the Glasgowbury Music Festival’s younger and smaller sibling, the G Session. Hard to believe, but the G Sessions have now (technically) been running for four years – or five years if you count from 2004 – 2008 inclusive.

In any case, its sure to be another good night of entertainment with sets from Swanee River and Here Comes The Landed Gentry

As a special treat, Bobby Gordon from the Nerve Centre will be showing film footage from this years music festival. Things will be kicking off at 9.30pm and doors will be closed during the film screening – to be followed by the bands. Admission is £5

Glasgowbury HQ have been in touch to let us know that the first post-festival G Session of 2008 takes place in the Cellar Bar on Saturday 6th September. First to play for your musical affections are a six-piece band going by the name of Boathouse with their own brand of folky/poppy/rocky music! – they also made their mark at the recent Glasgowbury Music Festival – so fair play to them for coming back to entertain us at a G Session. To cap the night off are a few lads who’ve made a number of appearances both at the festival and G Sessions and are surely on their way to bigger and brighter things, they are – General Fiasco.

Doors open at 9pm and admission is five of your shiniest gold coins.. Sure you couldn’t beat it!

Well, the eighth annual Glasgowbury Music Festival is almost upon us (Saturday 26th July for those sleeping at the back!). I know it sounds like a well-worn cliché, but it really is shaping up to be the most successful year in its relatively short history with close to 50 acts, showcasing a diverse selection of home-grown talent.

This time around the festival is headlined by none other than ASH, hailing from Downpatrick, and Northern Ireland’s biggest selling band of all time. To accommodate the growing number of acts, the festival has spawned an extra stage this year – bringing the total to four. They are:

• ‘Small But Massive’ Main Stage
• ‘Spurs of Rock’ Stage
• ‘G Session’ Stage **NEW**
• ‘Eagles Rock’ Acoustic Stage

Whilst the highlight for many will undoubtedly be the music festival, its worth pointing out that there are one or two other things going on throughout the weekend before and after the festival. On Friday 25th July (Glasgowbury Eve) the spiritual home of the G Sessions, the Cellar Bar, will host a live broadcast from Radio Ulster’s Alan Simpson from 3pm – 5pm, followed by Late Show with Stuart Bailie from 10.03pm (precisely) until 11.55pm – we’ll be watching to see what he does with those other 8 minutes. If you aren’t able to make it to the Cellar Bar, or have already pitched your tent at base camp, Eagles Rock, then remember to tune your radio dials to Radio Ulster (92-95fm), and crank up the volume. Both Alan and Stuarts show will feature music and chit-chat from those taking part in the festival. There will be free pints of Carling from 8pm – 9pm (we kid you not!)

Finally, to round things off, if you’re still in a fit state to crawl back to Draperstown on Sunday afternoon, you can nip in to the Cellar Bar which hosts the Aftermath – a sort of festival wind-down, and a chance for a bit of lively banter with your mates to discuss the festival vibes from the night before. Entry is reserved for people with festival wristbands – so don’t loose them alright!

As usual, we’ll be trying our best to get a few photos throughout the day, so feel free to say hello!

Oh – we should also point out that tickets for the event are still available – you can snap them up here. Deadly!