BEOGA
WITH FRIENDS….
THE EMPIRE, BELFAST
DEC 02ND
W/ HUARTAN
DEC 04TH
W/ PAULINE SCANLON & BARRY KERR
DEC 06TH
W/ BRIAN FINNEGAN & DUKE SPECIAL
TICKETS ON SALE WEDNESDAY OCT 7TH AT 10AM VIA BEOGAMUSIC.COM
Irish folk favourites Beoga are bringing a trio of headline shows to The Empire, Belfast, this December, with each night featuring a different special guest. Expect a stellar line-up of Irish talent, including Huartan, Pauline Scanlon, Barry Kerr, Brian Finnegan and Duke Special, joining Beoga for three very special nights of live music in the city.
Beoga are one of Ireland’s leading and most influential traditional music bands, renowned for their virtuosic musicianship, their powerful upbeat live performances and innovative approach to music. With an adventurous spirit and a passion for charting the road less travelled, Beoga have never been ones to sit still and throughout their journey they have shown that Irish traditional music can continually take fresh new directions.
Formed in the north of Ireland, the five-piece have spent more than two decades taking their music to audiences around the world. Their career highlights include a Grammy nomination for The Incident, international touring, and their celebrated collaborations with Ed Sheeran on ÷, subsequently joining him on a record breaking Irish stadium tour in 2018 and then the 2026 Loop world stadium tour.
Emboldened by the experience, Beoga have taken some of that influence into their own music and this was most present in the mini album “Carousel” released in 2020 where they enlisted Grammy-nominated producer Jonny Coffer, Irish artists Foy Vance, Ryan McMullan and Niall McCabe alongside some fresh creatives in the shape of Lissie and Devin Dawson. Beoga put together a wealth of new material during sessions at Foy Vance’s studio in the Highlands, at multi-instrumentalist Seán Óg Graham’s home studio in County Antrim and at Angelic Studio in Northamptonshire.
Accordionist Damian McKee notes, “We were making music like we’d never done before. It was like starting again from scratch.”
The result saw Beoga step into new musical territory uniting the worlds of American and Irish contemporary folk, alongside embracing elements of pop production into their sound – as seen on “Carousel” singles “Let You Go” ft. Anderson East and “In A Rocket” ft. Lissie.
The band will say it was a good opportunity to travel and have fun, but it was clear that something special was emerging. Before joining the band on fiddle and vocals, Niamh Dunne was already a fan. “Their first album [2004’s ‘A Lovely Madness’] was its own thing,” she remembers. “They weren’t trying to be like other bands that were around. They were breaking new territory and it was exciting.”
In the years that followed, Beoga toured the world, released several albums and experienced things they’d never dreamed of doing, such as performing at BBC’s Proms in the Park. The Wall Street Journal even heralded them as, “The most exciting new traditional band to emerge from Ireland this century.” At times, says Graham, their leftfield take on the sound didn’t fit the biggest Irish-American festivals – yet that singular style has since found devoted audiences around the world.
More recently, Beoga’s live reputation has continued to grow on their own terms. The band have sold out headline tours of the US, Australia and New Zealand, and have been welcomed at some of the world’s most prestigious festivals, including Port Fairy Folk Festival, WOMADelaide and Perth Festival.
Beoga’s latest release “Phases” arrived at a pivotal moment for the band, who had been joining Ed Sheeran on stage each night on his Loop Tour. In September, Beoga announced that they would be departing the tour. In a statement the band said: “We are a traditional Irish band who never saw ourselves playing in stadiums of that size and that opportunity is not lost on us. As musicians, playing to those crowds every night is the stuff of dreams but to play in venues that silence anyone advocating for a Free Palestine is simply not an option for us.”
As founding members of Irish Artists for Palestine, the band’s decision to stay true to their values was met with an outpouring of support from fans and the wider global music community, and these Belfast shows – on home turf, with a different special guest each night – promise to be a celebration of the band, the music and the people who support them.
Phases’ also arrived at a time when the band felt hugely excited by the music they were making as a 5 piece. After several years of working on their own individual and diverse musical projects they are energised to be back as Beoga.
On Phases, the band revisit their traditional roots and original, classic sound scape, whilst continuing to explore new ground in production and instrumentation.
As Murray concludes, “It felt at times like we were knocking our heads against the wall, but looking back at it now we realise we are being more creative than we’ve ever been. We know our strengths and that’s a fortunate position to be in.”
Regarding the Irish music scene today Niamh Dunne of Beoga commented: “There is a wealth of incredible Irish musicians on the scene right now and it’s a very exciting time for traditional Irish music. It’s really great to be back making new music and adding our own voice to the cannon, and I really feel like this album [Phases] is a reflection of who we are as a band, and an amalgamation of all the different influences we have encountered and explored in the last 2 decades.