BBC
Music Live in Northern Ireland
For
11 days Northern Ireland becomes the music capital
of the world - 23
April to 3 May 2004
Northern
Ireland is set to be the stage for a great line-up of top-flight
musicians and performers, playing live to an audience of millions
throughout the UK and beyond, when it hosts the BBC's acclaimed
live music festival – Music Live – in April and
May this year.
Home-grown
star Cara Dillon, singers Michael Ball
and Petula Clark, Latin supremo Horacio
'El Negro' Hernandez and
jazz virtuoso Brian Irvine are amongst the performers
hitting Northern Irelands stages and concert halls for an
event-packed 11 days.
With
more artists and events signing up each day, there will be more
than 100 concerts from over 50 venues.
Events
are already spilling into other UK cities and beyond the border
into Cork and Dublin, as all the great Northern Ireland venues are
getting booked up!
A special
floating stage is being constructed on the River Lagan at Lanyon
Place, outside the Waterfront Hall in Belfast, to accommodate more
concerts.
And
this is only the beginning many more events and artists will
be revealed as the festival date approaches.
The
festival, celebrating music of all kinds, will be based throughout
the region and will feature on BBC Radio, TV and BBCi in scores
of special national and local broadcasts.
There
will be more than 100 hours of broadcast output, with Radios
1 and 2 and the floating stage on the
River Lagan providing platforms for new bands and musicians to showcase
their music.
In
the past, BBC Music Live has visited Birmingham, Manchester, Glasgow
and Yorkshire, plus hosted special festivals to mark the Millennium
and Her Majesty The Queen's Golden Jubilee, and is now very proud
to be coming to Northern Ireland.
With
its rich cultural heritage, legendary music scene and eclectic range
of venues, Northern Ireland provides the perfect match for the great
musical mix promised by the festival programme.
Radio
2 is proud to be presenting Michael Ball and Petula Clark
in a world-exclusive In Concert version of Andrew Lloyd Webber's
Sunset Boulevard, plus a fast-paced Latin extravaganza featuring
Horacio 'El Negro' Hernandez and Giovanni Hidalgo.
A special
evening celebrating the music and lyrics of the great theatre music
composer Stephen Sondheim guarantees Radio 2 will get the audience
up and singing and dancing as the festival progresses.
Some
events will also be broadcast on the digital television channel
BBC FOUR.
World
music, jazz, contemporary and early music, plus world calibre orchestral
concerts, are brought by Radio 3 to venues throughout
the Music Live region.
Cara
Dillon, Janice Wallace, Tamsin Little, jazz legends Julian Joseph
and Brian Irvine, Karlheinz Stockhausen and Steven Isserlis are
just a few of the world-class performers coming to town.
With
live music from Altan and L'Arpeggiata, Radio 3 has something to
thrill every music lover.
Radios
4 and Five Live will be at the festival
with arts programmes that feature the festival, worship and Church
music, and cracking comedy shows to provide an entertaining counterpoint
to the musical programme.
Radio
Five Live will report on events, people and performances.
Digital
channels BBC 6 Music and 1Xtra
make their debut at Music Live this year with a huge range of events.
A
joint concert between the networks will be the first of its kind,
bringing listeners the best talent in modern music.
A
BBC Music Live FM radio station will be set up
for the festival to enable more people to benefit from the output.
6 Music
will broadcast for three weeks and then hand over to 1Xtra to continue
the project after the festival has finished.
Top
DJs Steve Lamacq, Craig Charles and Bob Harris will bring the best
of new and established bands to local clubs and pubs.
BBC
Radios Ulster and Foyle will bring their
listeners as many programmes over the 11 days as they can.
Local
favourites Hugo Duncan and Gerry Anderson will be out and about
around Northern Ireland, reporting on the festival and from the
venues and streets hosting the very best of the province's country
music, local music talent and live performances.
Just
as important as the world-class performers packing top venues, the
festival takes live music to audiences who may not have experienced
such a breadth of performances before.
It
embraces a huge range of events that are free to attend, with
large capacities at most venues.
The
festival provides an opportunity for the whole community to share
in the celebration and party atmosphere.
Supported
by local councils, people can get involved in all kinds of musical
activities to bring the festival to their doorsteps, and many groups
have already registered their events as part
of Music Live.
Music
education projects also play a large part in Music Live.
Radios
1 and 2 will be holding a series of workshops, seminars, demo-listening
and music business advice sessions at various locations in Northern
Ireland across the week of Music Live
all for free.
The
BBC Singers will also be out and about in the community
more information on this and other initiatives to follow.
Anna
Carragher, Controller, BBC Northern Ireland, says: "This is
a huge BBC event which will see world-class talent pouring into
all parts of Northern Ireland for a week of live music.
"Our
audiences have a great reputation for the warmth of their welcome
and we look forward to bringing them an unforgettable festival."
Bill
Morris, Festival Director, adds: "BBC Music Live promises to
be a wonderful, 11-day musical festival for everyone.
"It
draws on the most amazing richness of musical talent and tradition
from Northern Ireland and adds a large measure of
world-class performers flying in especially.
"Northern
Ireland will become the world's music capital for 11 days!"
Music
Live 2004 website
www.bbc.co.uk/musiclive
Music
Live 2004 press pack
 The
Music Live 2004 press pack is available below, as a complete pack
or in sections, in PDF
format.
You
may require Adobe Acrobat Software to read PDF files which can be
obtained here.
Full
press pack (492 KB)
Radio
2 and BBC FOUR at Music Live (79 KB)
Radio
4 and Five Live at Music Live (67 KB)
6
Music at Music Live (93 KB)
Radio
Ulster at Music Live (91 KB)
Music
Live on BBCi (64 KB)
Community
activity at BBC Music Live (149 KB)
All
the BBC's digital services are now available on Freeview,
the new free-to-view digital terrestrial television service, as well
as on satellite and cable. Freeview
offers the BBC's eight television channels, interactive services
from BBCi, as well as 11 national BBC radio networks.
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