Open House Bangor returns with month-long summer Festival

25th April 2024

Open House has announced the initial programme for this year’s annual Bangor Festival. The focal venues for ticketed events will be Bangor Castle Walled Garden, and the award-winning Court House on Bangor seafront. And for the first time since the covid pandemic, there will be at least one event every day throughout the month of August. 

Acts performing at the stunning Walled Garden under a stretch tent canopy include the eleven-man Whitehorse Guitar Club from Cork, comedian Jarlath Regan, known for his Irishman Abroad podcast, and English Indie soul band Skinny Living. Comedians Diona Doherty and Micky Bartlett are appearing under the same bill, and this year’s film will be last year’s big summer hit, Barbie. 

The Court House, an independent music and arts venue that is owned and operated by Open House, will play a much bigger role in this year’s Festival. Since opening its doors eighteen months ago, it has been awarded two major accolades: The National Lottery Project of the Year Award, and the Heritage Angels Award, both of which were attained by public vote. During the festival the venue will host This is the Kit, aka English musician Kate Stables and her band, acclaimed Irish singer-songwriter Oisín Leech, comedy harpist Ursula Burns, and County Down singer, Wilfie, who has become something of a legend in his own lifetime. There’ll be a host of other music events, many of which are free, as well as comedy, poetry, book clubs, wine tastings, and cinema - including a Colin Bateman trilogy – plus a special celebration of Bangor’s famous 1980s nightclub, The Matinee Club. 

While the core festival runs during August, other fringe events will be held throughout the summer. The popular Picnic in the Park free music events at Ward Park return every Sunday afternoon in July and August. This year’s line-up includes Belfast soul band The Gold Tips, Bangor’s own Wasted Talent, and bluegrass band Broken String Band, who will perform at the now legendary Bluegrass Picnic on Sunday 25th August. And this year’s Seaside Revival Vintage Festival will take place on Bangor seafront on Saturday 29th June. 

“With around eighty events currently programmed and more to be announced, this is our biggest Festival since 2019,” said Open House Director, Kieran Gilmore. “Covid changed the trajectory of the August festival, but we’ve enjoyed a really great couple of years in the Walled Garden. And now we can celebrate the success of the Court House, and integrate it into the festival too - something we spent years dreaming about and planning. The venue has already proven to be enormously popular with the people of Bangor, and we’re hoping that others from further afield will visit and enjoy the building during August.”
 
Since the first Open House Festival Bangor in 2013, the city has become a go-to cultural destination for artists and audiences alike. To date there have been over 1,100 festival events (a third of which were free) to a combined audience of 362,000, with an estimated input of £13.6m to the city’s economy. This year’s festival is expected to attract around 52,000 people to Bangor, and will once again have a positive impact on the wider local economy. 

The Mayor of Ards and North Down, Councillor Jennifer Gilmour, said: “The packed programme of live events sounds exciting and I am really looking forward to this year’s Open House Festival. Combined with Picnic in the Park and the Seaside Revival, as well as a series of events held in our beautiful Bangor Castle Walled Garden and in Bangor’s historic and award-winning Court House venue, there will be something for everyone to enjoy. This will attract an influx of visitors to our Borough, helping to boost our local economy, and I wish all those participating a very successful Festival.”
 
Additional festival events and further details about Seaside Revival and Picnic in the Park will be announced in due course. 

Tickets go on sale at 10am on Friday 26th April.

To purchase tickets and view the full programme go to: www.openhousefestival.com