Belsonic, one of the biggest summer festivals in Northern Ireland, returns to Ormeau Park this month with nine headline acts set to take to the stage between 12th June-28th June.
Now in its 11th year as an outdoor festival, Belsonic has quickly become one of the standout events of the year and never fails to attract the best artists from around the world. This year is no exception with Slash, Dimitri Vegas and Like Mike, Stormzy, Ben Nicky, George Ezra, The Killers, Marshmellow, Hozier and Tiesto all on the bill.
Thousands of fans are expected to flock to the south of the city once again for this year’s edition and as a countdown to these highly anticipated shows, each day here at BAM we will give you a preview of each show with everything you need to know about the artists in question from what to expect, to support acts and ticket prices.
It all gets underway next Wednesday with Guns N Roses lead guitarist Slash playing his largest headline show in Belfast. He enjoyed huge success with the American rock band in the late 1980s and early 1990s and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame along with the other members of the group in 2012.
He is joined at Belsonic by regular collaborators Myles Kennedy and the Conspirators, with whom he released an album ‘Living the Dream’, with in September last year. The new album is Slash’s (real name Saul Hudson) fourth solo effort and third record with Myles Kennedy and the Conspirators following on from ‘World on Fire’ in 2014 and ‘Apocalyptic Love’ in 2012. ‘Living the Dream’ led to Slash embarking on a new tour which began in America last year and has already taken him to various cities in the UK such as Manchester, Glasgow, Doncaster and London even before his Belfast show next week
Other support in the capital comes in the form of Blackberry Smoke, No Hot Ashes and Screaming Eagles. Blackberry Smoke are also a rock band from America who released their sixth studio album ‘Find a Light’ in April of last year. Their previous album  ‘Like an Arrow’, released back in 2016 landed at number one on the Billboard Country charts as well as the UK Rock charts.
Discofunk English four-piece No Hot Ashes are also on the line up after releasing their debut EP ‘Skint Kids Disco’ in March 2018. They have amassed over 2 million streams on Spotify and are no strangers to summertime festivals, having already played Kendal Calling, Y Not Festival and Neighbourhood Festival, well renowned outdoor events across the UK.
The final act accompanying Slash on what is sure to be a fabulous night for all those who love rock music is Banbridge band Screaming Eagles who will be playing their most high profile gig to date next week with over 10,000 rockers expected to pack into Ormeau Park. They are currently working on their third album, which is scheduled to be released at the end of this year, an amazing feat considering that all members of the band still have full-time jobs.
It promises to be a great night of rock and roll and you can still get your hands on tickets from Ticketmaster where they are priced at £30.