Audiences across the UK and Ireland were able to enjoy the best of Northern Ireland’s performing arts talent at 10pm on Monday 13 December 2021, when the landmark Live at the Waterfront! concert was televised on Sky Arts and Freeview.

The concert, funded by the Northern Ireland Office Centenary programme budget, took place at Belfast’s Waterfront Hall on Friday 22 October, and brought together some of Northern Ireland’s finest singer-songwriters, musicians, actors and comedians. The fantastic night of entertainment, hosted by award-winning comedian Patrick Kielty and rising star TV journalist Holly Hamilton, celebrated Northern Ireland’s music and arts - past, present and future.  Among those taking part was Snow Patrol front man Gary Lightbody, who delighted the audience with his surprise appearance and stunning performance.

Over 70% of the concert tickets were given free to key workers in health and social care, food retail and NI charities, representing Northern Ireland’s enormous gratitude to those who have worked tirelessly throughout the pandemic. With the Sky Arts deal, everyone can now experience this remarkable night of entertainment.

In addition to being televised on Sky Arts on Monday 13 December, the concert was also made available on the platform’s on demand services, so people were able to continue to enjoy the great night of entertainment.

Live at the Waterfront! was produced for television by Green Inc Film and Television. The concert event was co-produced by Shine and Snow Water. 

Secretary of State for Northern Ireland Brandon Lewis said:

 “Live at the Waterfront! Is a fabulous show which highlights Northern Ireland’s amazing performing arts talent. I’m delighted that this fantastic night of music, performance and comedy will now be available to a wider audience.

“This event, funded by the Northern Ireland Office’s Centenary programme budget, recognised our key workers’ dedication during the pandemic and I hope it will also provide a platform to showcase the wealth of local arts talent as the industry recovers from the pandemic.

“I look forward to watching the show, and would urge the public across the UK to tune in on 13 December for a great night of entertainment.”

Full line-up for Live at the Waterfront!:

• Abigail McGibbon, who most recently appeared in 'Sadie' (Lyric Theatre/ BBCNI) and the Lyric and Abbey Theatres’ Covid reactive pieces 'Splendid Isolation' & 'Dear Ireland'.
• Platinum-selling Downpatrick rock band Ash, who have had over 18 songs in the top 40 of the UK Singles Chart.
•  The Grammy-nominated Irish Folk band Beoga ("the most exciting traditional band to emerge from Ireland this century" - Wall St Journal) who co-wrote Galway Girl with Ed Sheeran.
•  Meteor award-winning traditional Irish singer Cara Dillon.
• The magnificent, multi-award winning Foy Vance, whose music featured on numerous TV shows and who has recently announced his biggest ever headline show at Belfast’s SSE Arena.
• Northern Irish singer, songwriter, guitarist and lead singer of Snowpatrol Gary Lightbody.
• Glenn Patterson, Northern Ireland’s foremost novelist. In addition to his ten novels and three non-fiction works, he has written plays for Radio 3 and Radio 4 and has also presented numerous television documentaries for the BBC as well as an arts review series for RTE. Glenn co-wrote BAFTA-nominated Good Vibrations, about the music scene in Belfast during the late 1970s, and subsequent play for the Lyric Theatre.
•  Ian McElhinney, best known for his roles as General Dodonna in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, Val-El in the Superman prequel Krypton, and as Ser Barristan Selmy in the HBO series, Game of Thrones.
• NI Music Prize winner Jordan Adetunji who is taking the UK Hip Hop scene by storm.
• Micky Bartlett, A regular feature on BBCNI and the General Banter Podcast and fresh from his third consecutive tour of Australia, Micky has recently sold out several nights at Belfast’s iconic Ulster Hall.
• Northern Ireland Opera will feature NI Opera Stars.
• Multi Arena selling comedian Paddy Raff.
• Ryan McMullan, whose song-writing talent has led to sold-out shows across the world.
• Mercury nominated singer-songwriter Soak who received the Irish Choice Music Prize Album of the Year.
  

About Sky Arts

• Sky Arts exists to bring more art to more people across the UK.
• You can watch Sky Arts for free on Freeview channel 11 and Freesat channel 147.

About Live at the Waterfront!

• Live at the Waterfront! was produced for television by Green Inc Film and Television.
• The executive producers were Stephen Stewart and Creative Director Alan Tyler.
• The concert event was co-produced by Snow Water and Shine.