Boucher Roads Fields, Belfast
Ever since the pandemic forced clubs to shut and festivals to cancel, the music industry has had to adapt to a changing world.
One of the emerging changes within the festival sector, in particular, is the notion of scaling back on booking expensive, international DJs and opting instead for local talent. So far, it’s hard to say how much of this is lip service, but the triumphant return of AVA Festival in Belfast was an example of what this change looks like. And it looked like a lot of fun.
Homegrown talent has, of course, been a key feature of the festival’s ethos since its inception in 2015, when organiser Sarah McBriar welcomed a host of speakers for its inaugural conference, along with a swathe of local selectors including Hammer, Cromby, Swoose, Space Dimension Controller and Bicep – all of whom have continued on to become regular faces at the event. Added to that list were the likes of Sally C, Or:la, Saoirse, Holly Lester, Sunil Sharp and Carlton Doom. The line-up certainly read as a temperature check of Ireland’s most exciting DJs.
-
©️ Hype Factory – Lewis McClay
-
©️ Hype Factory – Lewis McClay
Another difference for this year’s event was the absence of the conference schedule altogether. Organisational hurdles in today’s post-Covid landscape may have forced the festival’s hand with these changes, but in many ways this felt fitting. As two local festival-goers enthused on our way into the festival, a Belfast crowd is second to none in its energy, and whether responding to the time away from dancing or the sight of so many familiar local DJs, this one certainly didn’t disappoint.
Early in the first afternoon, object blue’s set of gnarled breaks and rave stabs was met with the same enthusiastic reaction as Holly Lester’s fierce offering of thunderous techno. The latter filled the Nomadic space: its clear-roofed structure reminiscent of AVA’s old B&Q warehouse home or even a turbo-charged version of Dekmantel’s famous greenhouse.
-
©️ Hype Factory – Lewis McClay