Two weeks to go until Belfast Tradfest – returns on Sun 26 July / Sun 2 August 2026

With just two weeks to go until Belfast TradFest 2026, excitement is building for a week of world-class traditional music, song and dance as more than 1,000 artists come together in Belfast from 26 July – 2 August.

Taking place across 40 venues with almost 600 events, the festival will once again transform Belfast UNESCO City of Music into a vibrant international hub for traditional arts and cultural exchange.

The festival opens on Sunday 26 July with two standout concerts in Mandela Hall, showcasing some of the biggest names in traditional music.

Kicking off the afternoon, the Grammy-nominated Irish-American ensemble Cherish the Ladies return to Belfast TradFest following their sold-out 2024 performance. Led by the renowned Joanie Madden, born in New York in the Bronx to Irish parents, the group has spent four decades at the forefront of traditional music, earning an international reputation for outstanding musicianship and vocals, lively step dancing and their trademark wit on stage.

That evening, the Michael McGoldrick Big Band makes its long-awaited return to Belfast for the first time in more than 20 years. Led by flute, whistle and uilleann pipes master Michael McGoldrick, the all-star ensemble features Donald Shaw, Alan Kelly, Dezi Donnelly, Parvinder Bharat and many more acclaimed musicians from the traditional, folk and jazz worlds for a rare large-scale collaboration.

Other headline concerts throughout the week include Solas, Four Men and a Dog and Flook, alongside a packed programme featuring acclaimed artists including Barry Kerr, Pauline Scanlon, Gerry O’Beirne, CUAS, Bríd Harper, Sylvain Barou and Mary Bergin. Festival highlights also include Flutopia, Na Máistrí, Ceol na bPíob, Ómós Sean Maguire fiddle concert and Harps Alive | An Chruit Bheo | Harps Leevin’.

As Ireland’s fastest-growing traditional music summer school, the festival will welcome around 1,000 students from around the world. Audiences can also enjoy the free Titanic Céilí, more than 130 free pub sessions, over 80 talks and screenings, workshops, céilís, late-night festival clubs and a host of free events across the city.

The festival nears conclusion with another major highlight as Diane Cannon launches her new book and album Mín na Craoibhe on Saturday 1 August. Joined by an exceptional ensemble of musicians – fiddler, pianist and Mín na Craoibhe producer Dónal O’Connor, multi-instrumentalist Darragh Murphy and Belfast’s acclaimed Arco String Quartet – Diane will bring the songs and stories of north-west Donegal to life through music and conversation.

Following a record-breaking 2025 which welcomed more than 30,000 attendees from 34 countries, Belfast TradFest continues to cement its reputation as one of Europe’s leading celebrations of traditional arts.

Belfast TradFest is generously supported by key funders and partners including the Arts Council of Northern Ireland, Belfast City Council, Tourism NI, Ulster University, Maritime Belfast, National Lottery Dormant Accounts Fund, Cathedral Quarter BID, Linen Quarter BID, Cruit Éireann | Harp Ireland, Reclaim the Enlightenment, Department of Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht, Foras na Gaeilge, Department of Culture Communications and Sport, An tOireachtas, RTÉ Supporting the Arts, Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann, The Sober Irish, Love Belfast & The Noah Donohoe Foundation. 

Two weeks to go until Belfast Tradfest returns

Festival welcomes more than 1,000 artists across almost 600 events across Belfast UNESCO City of Music

Sunday 26 July – Sunday 2 August 2026

Visit belfasttradfest.com to view the full programme and book tickets.