The inaugural Shorefest took place at Seaview on Saturday night and it’s fair to say it lived up to its billing.
Over 2,500 ravers braved the rainy conditions to watch 14 local and international DJs take to the stage at the home of Crusaders Football Club in the first edition of this new dance festival in North Belfast, organised by
Northern Irish Trance Family (NITF) and Digital Nation.
Both of the promoters had come together from across the divide to run the cross-community aimed event and those in attendance were treated to sets from some of the biggest names in dance.
From left to right: Niall McKernan – Digital nation, Hugh Kirkpatrick – NITF, Paul Woods – Digital nation, Ed Heaney – NITF and Paddy Gormley – Digital nation
Headlining the show was Belfast born and well-renowned trance DJ Simon Patterson, who flew in from Miami to be at the Shore Road after years of playing to thousands across the world. He dazzled the crowd with a typically strong set and was joined on the main stage lineup by local dance icon Shugz, Scottish trance DJ David Rust, Chris Schweizer from Buenos Aires, Argentina, Ciaran McAuley, Ed Heaney, Paddy Gormley and Paul Woods. Each enchanted the crowd with their own blend of trance and techno music as well as great visuals.
Shugz, whose real name is Christopher Kirkpatrick, is a DJ on the rise and one of the hottest talents in Northern Ireland at the minute. He grew up just minutes from the stadium and closed the show with his stellar set. He later took to Instagram after the event to express his delight saying, “It really doesn’t get better than that. Closing the stadium that you grew up beside to a capacity crowd of legends. Unbelievable.”
Promoter Ed Heaney, who himself took to the stage on the night, had previously said, “For years we have wanted to bring an event of this size to North Belfast and in particular to the Shore Road where we grew up. This year we’re delighted to have the support of Crusaders and have a fantastic line-up for what is set to be one of the biggest outdoor dance music parties Belfast has ever seen” and it proved to be just that with the energetic stage presences of many of the DJs as well as the uplifting trance mixes on show from the various artists proving to be a huge hit with the large crowd on the pitch at Seaview.
As it was Champions League final night those in attendance not only got to experience great music at the heart of their community but also the final itself as the organisers had kindly agreed to show the match on the big screen.
Event co-promoter Hugh Kirkpatrick had some exciting news for dance fans who enjoyed Shorefest and those across the province as he said, “We’ve already started planning the next big event, so watch this space.” If it is anything like Shorefest them I’m sure that it too will be a rip-roaring success.
