BELFAST'S Out to Lunch festival will return for its 17th year this January, with over 50 live events taking place at the festival's traditional partner venue The Black Box and elsewhere in the city between January 8 and 30.
The 2022 Out to Lunch programme is packed with the usual selection of music, comedy, theatre, film and spoken word, many served up in the afternoon with a free hot lunch (hence the name) and all staged under appropriate Covid-safe measures.
"The 17th Out to Lunch Festival is a landmark festival for us and for Belfast," says festival director Sean Kelly.
"For one thing, Out to Lunch is back in venues where it belongs. And in the current social and political gloom, we hope we can offer good cheer, top entertainment and even a bowl of something hot for people throughout the longest, darkest month of what seems set to be an uncertain year.
"We'll also be taking all the necessary safety precautions to ensure that our audiences can enjoy Out to Lunch with minimum fuss and maximum delight."
Musical highlights for 2022 will include folk legends Fairport Convention (January 28, The Black Box, 1pm/8pm), Martin Stephenson & The Daintees (January 15, The Black Box, 8pm), Teddy Thompson (January 16, The Black Box, 3pm), 1980s pop heroes the Blow Monkeys (January 15, The Empire, 8pm), 2-tone pioneer Hazel O'Connor (January 22, The Black Box, 8pm), DJ Norman Jay MBE (January 8, Ulster Sports Club, 10.30pm), Andy White (January 8, The Sunflower, 8pm), piano virtuoso Ruth McGinley (January 13, The Black Box, 1pm), the nimble-fingered String Ninjas (January 14, The Black Box, 1pm) and The Dodge Brothers featuring bull fiddle wrangler and film critic extraordinaire, Mark Kermode (January 8, The Black Box, 2pm/8pm) – plus a celebration of the late great David Bowie's 75th birthday with Bowie 75 (January 8, The Deer's Head, 9pm).
Malojian (January 29, The Black Box, 2pm), BC Camplight (January 14, The Black Box, 8pm), Roddy Woomble (January 20, The Black Box, 8pm) and Amethyst Kiah (January 23, The Black Box, 8pm) will also be appearing at this year's festival, along with Jane Weaver (January 29, The Black Box, 9pm), Erland Cooper (January 27, The Black Box, 8pm), Rory Nellis (January 29, The Sunflower, 8pm), Brigid O'Neill (January 22, The Sunflower, 4pm), Ciara O'Neill (January 22, The Sunflower, 8pm), Crowd Company (January 29, Oh Yeah, 8.30pm), Mirenda Rosenberg (January 29, The Deer's Head, 2.30pm), The Swing Gals (January 21, The Black Box, 1pm), AJA – The Music of Steely Dan (January 22, The Black Box, 2pm), Junk Drawer (January 27, The Deer's Head, 8pm) and the first ever OTL artist in residence, Myles McCormack.
Comedy turns for the 2022 event include Lucy Porter (January 30, The Black Box, 8pm), Grace Petrie (Sunday January 9, The Black Box, 8pm), Robin Ince (January 11, The Black Box, 1pm/8pm), Tadhg Hickey (January 18, The Black Box, 1pm/8pm) and Holly McNish (January 15, The Black Box, 2pm), while the OTL Film Programme promises an eclectic range of screenings from music documentary premieres to cult classic comedies.
Highlights include Freak Scene: The Story of Dinosaur Jr (January 25, The Black Box Green Room, 8pm), St Vincent and Carrie Brownstein's surreal collaboration The Nowhere Inn (January 26, The Black Box Green Room, 8pm), Todd Haynes' new Velvet Underground documentary (January 21, The Black Box, 7.30pm) and Road Runner (January 16, The Black Box Green Room, 7.30pm), which chronicles the life of late lamented chef Anthony Bourdain.
As well as bringing mockumentary classic Waiting For Guffman back to the big screen, this year's festival will mark the 50th anniversary of the 'black Woodstock' with a screening of the new Wattstax (January 23, The Black Box Green Room, 3pm) documentary.
"This festival is an annual highlight in the Belfast events calendar and this year's programme is packed with exciting and interesting events," says Sonya Whitefield, development officer for the Arts Council of Northern Ireland.
"The festival also offers a valuable platform in supporting local artists and this year it's great to see classical contemporary pianist Ruth McGinley on the programme as well as singer songwriters Brigid O'Neill and Ciara O'Neill who will be launching new music at the festival.
"Why not gift yourself or a loved one this Christmas with tickets to the festival, a fantastic way to 'support local'."
:: Tickets and full festival programme details available at cqaf.com.
