Stendhal Festival Sees Return Of First Ever Headliners for 2023

Stendhal Festival 2023

Thursday 6th to Saturday 8th July 2023
Ballmully Cottage Farm, Limavady, Roe Valley, Northern Ireland, BT49 0NQ, Northern Ireland MAP
From £40 without camping

Daily capacity: 4,000

Last updated: Mon 19th Jun 2023

Times were very different in 2011. Nobody knew what a Brexit was. Donald Trump was filming the 7^th season of the apprentice and the idea of the realities of a pandemic were still confined to the silver screen with the movie ‘Contagion’ starring Jude Law and Kate Winslet released to cinemas.

In Limavady, the idea of a new music festival was capturing the imagination of some, the consternation of others but general feeling was that the people trying to get Stendhal Festival off the ground might be living in imagination land.

Thirteen years and multiple awards later, the team behind the event have been looking back to that very first year in 2011, specifically because this summer they are welcoming back a band who they say are one of the main reasons the event succeeded and why they are now the largest independent music and arts camping festival in Northern Ireland.

“Without Turin Brakes as the headliner that first year, we might have been a one and done,” says event Director Ross Parkhill.

“They brought us credibility and a headline act that set us aside from some of the local festivals at the time as they were a good name from mainland UK. They had had top selling singles and albums and most importantly, they were, and remain, a phenomenal live act.”

Ross concluded: “We had really hoped to get them back on the bill for our 10^th anniversary show a couple of years ago but post covid things didn’t work out but we are so, so pleased to be bringing them back this year. Their new album is brilliant, their live performances are better than ever as witnessed by anyone who was at their Belfast show in January and it’s just a really happy occurrence for us at Stendhal that we can get to see these guys take to the stage at the farm once again.”

Since 2011 Turin Brakes have continued crafting beautiful folk, rock albums and touring the world. Their latest record Wide Eyed nowhere is an amalgamation of a glorious quarter of a century in the industry and a collection of songs which show the bands progression in that time, while also holding on to some of the subdued acoustic excellence that brought them to prominence in the first place.

The band have seen and done it all when it comes to festivals, from the Pyramid Stage at Glastonbury to The Isle of Wight Festival and right the way around to Stendhal.

The band will be bringing a special festival moment to Stendhal this summer with a potential set list of songs spanning almost a quarter of a century.

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