Music fans asked to bring food to concerts during Sound of Belfast festival

One show in particular will be free of charge so long as attendees bring non-perishable items with them to be donated to food banks.

Talking to the News Letter this afternoon Paul Doherty, founder of Foodstock, said: “I’ve just come from Foodstock this morning and we’ve ran out of food, such is the demand. That’s the reality of the cost of living crisis.

“Up ahead we’re going to see a lot of people falling into difficulty, many people for the first time in their lives. Our aim is to be there for people throughout this.”

Paul, who was a member of indie group The Vals, said: “We’ve set up a Foodstock event in the Mandela Hall on November 19, it’s a free event, there’s a great line-up including John Power from Cast and The La’s.

“The idea is that people come to the event and we raise awareness of what’s going on in our communities, and practically they bring food to the event and that food will be used to support food banks and similar organisation right across the city.

“There shouldn’t really be a need for food banks in this day and age, but at the minute they’re providing a real life line for many individual and families right across the city and across Northern Ireland.

“We’ve linked in with Sound of Belfast and we’re going to have volunteers at every event, giving people the chance to bring food items to show solidarity and support to the many people right across our city this winter.

“Now is the time for coming together as one community to try and get people through this winter. There’s no better community than the music community.

“We’ve seen in the past how the music community has stepped up and I believe they will do again this winter.”

Paul was at the launch of the Sound of Belfast in the Oh Yeah Music Centre today.

Now in its ninth year, this annual celebration, dedicated to the sounds of the city will be live and reverberating across Belfast from November 10 to 20.

The festival starts with ‘Get On It’ to mark the second birthday of Yeo magazine. Oh Yeah is also hosting its own 15th birthday bash with DJs, cake and more and there’s the annual NI Music Prize, which will see a presentation to and performance from Barry Devlin and Horslips friends.

Other festival highlights include Dana Masters, Winnie Ama and Siobhan Brown who will mark a very special event at the Mandela Hall highlighting the legacy and impact of Ottilie Patterson and ‘We’re all in this’ featuring performances from Ferna, Robin Price, Anselm O’Donnell, Cheylene Murphy, Stephen Loughran and Brigid O’Neill.

Charlotte Dryden of Oh Yeah said “We are really proud of our UNESCO status, it proves beyond doubt that music plays a significant role in our community life, is woven into the fabric of our vibrant and welcoming nightlife and demonstrates the rich heritage, present strength and future potential of our music scene.

“The Sound of Belfast festival is about being proud of what we offer as well as taking the time to talk about the challenges. Thanks to all that have contributed to this year’s events, it’s a fantastic snapshot of a thriving music city.” Full details of all of the events can be found at www.soundofbelfast.com