Clare Sands

Clare Sands plays The Belfast Empire Music Hall on Sunday 18 October, part of the Belfast International Arts Festival and presented by Moving On Music. She's a sixth-generation fiddle player and bilingual singer from Cork, and she describes herself as a voice in Irish folk that draws on the music of her ancestors to weave traditional roots with contemporary sounds. Her songs are rooted in place and inspired by folklore, language and activism.

She's been building a name for herself over the last few years. Her eponymous debut was named one of the Irish Times' Top 5 Folk Albums of 2022 and earned her a Best Folk Singer nomination at the Irish Folk Awards. Since then she's released the Tírdhreacha agus Fuaimdhreacha (Landscapes & Soundscapes) EP and Gormacha. She's also shared stages with Hothouse Flowers, Paul Brady, Susan O'Neill and Sharon Shannon, and played festivals like Glastonbury, Cambridge Folk Festival, Fête De la Musique, Festival Cervantino and Port Fairy Folk Festival.

There's a new record to look forward to as well: They Tried To Bury Us, written across Ulster with producer Seán Óg Graham, is due out in autumn 2026. This show is presented by Moving On Music in association with the Belfast International Arts Festival, and it's for over-18s only.

Doors open at 7pm, and tickets are £17.50, with a £12.50 concession.