Category: Events

Details of the conference portion of this year's AVA Festival have been announced.

Previous years have seen contributions from such luminaries as Jeff Mills, Juan Atkins, Leftfield's Neil Barnes, Renaat Vandepapeliere, Adam Smith, and Psychatron.

In keeping with the high standard established, June will feature a keynote address and Q&A with legendary Chicago house figure Larry Heard (aka Mr. Fingers); a chat with AVA mainstays Bicep, who will reflect on what has been a whirlwind 12 months; and Bulgarian DJ, producer, and remixer extraordinaire, KiNK.

As before, there will also feature drop-in panels, tech workshops, a record fair, and many more attractions. Full participatory engagement is encouraged, with emphasis on the importance of networking to up-and-coming and existing producers and DJs.

Tickets for the weekend and free conference (which will take place at The MAC on Friday, 1st June) sign-ups are available here:

http://avafestival.com/tickets/ 

Dance legends Orbital will make a return to Belfast in May as part of BBC's Biggest Weekend extravaganza, which will take place on Friday 25th, and Saturday 26th at Titanic Slipways.

The Hartnoll brothers named one of their most iconic tunes after the city following a crazy night at the Art College in 1990, and the piece is closely associated with Belfast's uniquely special nocturnal atmosphere.

Also featured are, among others on a stunning line-up, Downpatrick indie stalwarts Ash, angular art-rockers Franz Ferdinand, electropoppers Little Dragon, Swedish Americana sisters First Aid Kit, and drum 'n' bass royalty Goldie.

Tickets go on sale on Monday via Ticketmaster, and will be priced at £18 (plus booking fee).