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music · Wednesday 29 July 2026 · 8:00pm 
Cuas and Barry Kerr with Pauline Scanlon - Belfast TradFest
At The Belfast Empire Music Hall · 42 Botanic Avenue, Belfast, Co. Antrim
At The Belfast Empire Music Hall · 42 Botanic Avenue, Belfast, Co. Antrim
This is a concert worth planning a trip around. On Wednesday 29 July, the Empire Music Hall on Botanic Avenue brings together two of the most talked-about acts in Irish traditional and folk music for a headline double bill that is part of Belfast TradFest 2026. One half of the night belongs to Cuas, the West Kerry four-piece who have been causing a stir since their debut recording captured a live session in an old Cuas a’ Bhodaigh schoolhouse in 2023. The other half showcases Barry Kerr - a singer-songwriter from Lurgan whose album Curlew’s Cry was named Folk Album of the Year 2025, joined on stage by Pauline Scanlon and Gerry O’Beirne, his collaborators on that record. If you care about where Irish music is going, this bill shows you two different answers in a single evening.
Cuas are Méabh Ní Bheaglaoich on accordion and vocals, Nicole Ní Dhubhshláine on concertina and flute, Niamh Varian-Barry on fiddle and viola, and Kyle Macaulay on guitar and bouzouki. Their self-titled debut, released May 2024, drew nominations for Best Emerging Artist and Best Folk Group at the RTÉ Folk Awards. Their playing is rooted in the Gaeltacht traditions of West Kerry but with an ensemble sound that has range and warmth.
Barry Kerr draws from the landscape around Lough Neagh - Curlew’s Cry threads together newly written songs and traditional material, touching on themes of nature, exile and place. It was produced by Gerry O’Beirne, who along with Pauline Scanlon will join Barry on stage, meaning you are essentially getting the core of that award-winning album performed live. The Empire Music Hall is a mid-size seated and standing venue with good acoustics and a long association with both rock and roots music in Belfast - it fits this kind of programme well.
The show is one of the headline concerts in Belfast TradFest 2026, which runs 26 July to 2 August across 40 venues citywide. Over that week the festival brings more than 1,000 artists to almost 600 events - sessions, workshops, céilís, family events and concerts of this calibre.
The Empire Music Hall is at 42 Botanic Avenue in the Queen’s Quarter of south Belfast, about a fifteen-minute walk from Belfast city centre and from Great Victoria Street station. Translink operates regular bus services along the Malone Road and Botanic Avenue corridors; the nearby Botanic train station on the Bangor line is a short walk away. If you are driving from Dublin, it is roughly two hours up the M1 and A1; parking in the Queen’s Quarter can be tight on weekday evenings, so the multi-storey at Queen’s University or park-and-ride options from the outskirts of the city are worth considering.
Botanic Avenue sits at the edge of one of Belfast’s liveliest neighbourhoods, with restaurants, bars and the Botanic Gardens all within a few minutes on foot. A TradFest ticket is a good reason to spend a night or two in the city and explore further afield. There is more to see in Belfast and across Co. Antrim.
Heading to The Belfast Empire Music Hall in Belfast? Antrim has plenty more to see. Read the Belfast area guide, find what else is on, and explore the towns and villages nearby.