Considering the DUP’s obsession with getting one over on the Papist Republic, it’s a wonder they haven’t been all over the North’s head start on gigs reopening over the last few weeks — especially the likes of the electronic music weekender AVA, while Dublin is still in test event territory.
Then again, we can’t imagine Jeffrey Donaldson, Nigel Dodds and co will be partaking in the midday to 11pm underground rave vibes at the Boucher Road venue tonight and tomorrow. Sammy Wilson might stretch a trip to Dublin for Garth Brooks, though.
For AVA’s seventh edition, they’ve gone fully open air, with dozens of acts over four stages tonight and tomorrow.
You can dip into a range of beat concoctions over the weekend, from hip-hop and R&B courtesy of Kojaque and Gemma Dunleavy, to sci-fi electro from Space Dimension Controller and Helena Hauff, anything-goes deep dives from Optimo, virtuoso machine-tooled techno from KiNK and some spellbinding, pummelling techno from Sunil Sharpe. And all the rest of course.
AVA runs tonight and tomorrow at Boucher Road in Belfast. See avafestival.com.
Moo Kid 