Congress 2022 will be kicking off with a choice of afternoon walking and bus tours on Wednesday 8 June. When all tours have been confirmed, Wednesday attendees will be invited to book their preferred tour. Below is one of the tours that will be on offer, with more to be announced.
Take a bus journey through the Heart of this Newly appointed UNESCO Rock and Roll City. Sit back, relax and enjoy tunes and tales from Them and Van Morrison, by way of awesome guitar players, traditional and folk to punk and Hollywood sound tracks.
The Belfast Music Tour is a journey across the city that reveals the music, the artists and the landscape that have brought character to the city. The two hour trip starts outside Oh Yeah in Gordon Street and makes its first stop at the beautifully restored Ulster Hall, home to the Ulster Orchestra and also host to Led Zeppelin in 1971 for the world premiere of ‘Stairway to Heaven’.
The Tour takes in the site of the Maritime Hotel, where Van Morrison and Them made their debut in 1964. The Bus then heads south to remember the amazing career of Ruby Murray. West Belfast is home to the folk dynasty the McPeake Family and their timeless ballad ‘Wild Mountain Thyme’ and also the late fiddle champion Sean McGuire as well as Bap and Brian Kennedy. The bus then crosses Shore Road, former stomping ground of the flautist James Galway.
East Belfast has been celebrated in a score of Van Morrison songs – Hyndford St and Cyprus Avenue, passing Orangefield and the six bells of St Donard’s Church and also crossing the haunts of Gary Moore. Blues talent Eric Bell and songwriter David McWilliams are also appreciated on Route.
The final leg of the tour takes you down Ormeau Road, former haunt of David Holmes, who provided the soundtrack to Ocean’s Eleven and many other films. You’ll pass the Belfast Waterfront, scene of the pivotal ‘Yes’ concert in 1998 with Ash and U2. The final moments pay tribute to the harpers convention of 1792 and the location where The Undertones recorded Teenage Kicks in 1978. The tour finishes at Oh Yeah Music Centre and its music exhibition.
There will also be City of Music Walking Tour.
