Other Voices Returns to Derry for First Time in a Decade to Mark Festival's 25th Anniversary
The Other Voices festival returned to Derry on 25 and 26 September for the first time since 2014, marking the event's 25th anniversary with a city-wide Music Trail, intimate performances at St Columb's Hall, and a new discussion strand called Soundings — in a homecoming that festival founder Philip King described as the beginning of a three-year cycle of Other Voices events in the city.
Background
Other Voices began in Dingle, County Kerry, in 2002 as an intimate music festival that brought together Irish and international artists for performances in the town's St James's Church. The festival's distinctive format — small venues, no barriers between artists and audience, a focus on the music rather than the spectacle — quickly established it as one of the most respected music events in Ireland, and its television broadcasts on RTÉ and BBC introduced its unique atmosphere to audiences across the island and beyond.
Over the past quarter century, Other Voices has expanded beyond Dingle to host events in Dublin, Ballina, and — on two previous occasions — Derry. The festival's 2014 Derry edition was part of the city's year as UK City of Culture, and it left a lasting impression on the local music community and on the audiences who attended. The return in 2026, twelve years later, was therefore a genuinely anticipated event, carrying the weight of expectation that comes with a long absence and a significant anniversary.
Derry's music scene has continued to develop in the intervening years, producing artists who have achieved national and international recognition and building a network of venues and organisations that provide a strong foundation for events of this kind. The city's designation as a UNESCO City of Music in 2023 reflected the depth and diversity of its musical culture, and the return of Other Voices was seen as a validation of that designation and of the work that has been done to develop the city's cultural infrastructure.
Key Developments
The 2026 Other Voices Derry programme was built around three main strands. The Music Trail, which took place across venues including The Nerve Centre, Sandinos, The Guildhall, Cultúrlann, The Playhouse, and The New Gate Arts and Culture Centre, featured a diverse lineup that included Kate Nash, Bleech 9:3, Westside Cowboy, Muireann Bradley, Brògeal, The Marra, Debbie, and Basht., among many others. The breadth of the lineup — spanning indie rock, traditional music, electronic, and folk — reflected the festival's commitment to representing the full spectrum of contemporary Irish and international music.
St Columb's Hall hosted the intimate, livestreamed performances that are the heart of the Other Voices experience. Access to these sets was managed through a ticket lottery, with Music Trail wristband holders automatically entered into a draw for "Golden Tickets" — a system that maintained the exclusivity and intimacy of the St Columb's Hall performances while ensuring that the wider festival remained accessible to as many people as possible.
Soundings, making its debut in Derry, took place at The Playhouse on 26 September. The new discussion strand brought together artists, writers, and thinkers to discuss themes of community, identity, and the future — a format that reflects the festival's growing ambition to be a cultural forum as well as a music event. The opening concert, featuring Martin Hayes and Brian Donnellan at The Guildhall on 24 September, set the tone for a weekend that balanced the intimate and the celebratory.
Why It Matters
The return of Other Voices to Derry matters for several reasons. It is a recognition of the city's cultural vitality and of the strength of its music scene, which has produced artists of genuine international quality while maintaining a distinctive local character. It is also a demonstration that Derry can host major cultural events of national and international significance — a demonstration that is particularly important at a moment when the city is seeking to build on its UNESCO City of Music designation and to position itself as a destination for cultural tourism.
The festival's economic impact — projected at nearly £1.5 million for the local economy, with approximately 24,000 visitors — is also significant for a city that has faced considerable economic challenges in recent decades. Cultural events of this scale generate spending in hotels, restaurants, bars, and retail that benefits the wider local economy, and the media coverage generated by Other Voices introduces Derry to audiences who may not otherwise have considered visiting the city.
Local Impact
For Derry's music community, the Other Voices return was an opportunity to showcase the city's talent and its venues to a national and international audience. The inclusion of local artists in the Music Trail lineup — alongside established names from across Ireland and beyond — provided a platform that is difficult to replicate through any other means. The Nerve Centre, which has been at the heart of Derry's music scene for decades, played a central role in the festival's programming, and the event reinforced the centre's position as one of the most important cultural institutions in the north-west. The Guildhall, which served as the venue for the opening concert, demonstrated its capacity as a world-class performance space in a setting that is unique to Derry. Philip King confirmed that the 2026 event is the first of a three-year cycle of Other Voices events in the city, meaning that Derry can expect the festival to return in 2027 and 2028.
What's Next
Other Voices will return to its Dingle home for its winter edition in December 2026, before the next Derry event in 2027. The festival's television broadcasts — on RTÉ and BBC — will bring the highlights of the Derry weekend to audiences across Ireland and Britain in the coming months, extending the reach of the event well beyond those who were able to attend in person. Philip King has indicated that the 2027 Derry edition will build on the success of the 2026 event, with an expanded programme and additional venues. The festival is also exploring the possibility of a collaboration with the Derry Jazz Festival and other local cultural events to create a broader autumn cultural programme for the city.
