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music · Friday 21 August 2026 · Various 
Bangor Guitar Weekend
At Studio 1A · 1A Hamilton Road, Bangor, Co. Down
At Studio 1A · 1A Hamilton Road, Bangor, Co. Down
The Classical Guitar Society of Northern Ireland takes over Studio 1A on Hamilton Road for a three-day mini-festival, Bangor Guitar Weekend, from Friday 21 to Sunday 23 August 2026. It pairs two evening concerts from touring players with a free recital from workshop participants to close the weekend, a format aimed as much at the county’s own guitar students as at a general concert audience.
Scottish guitarist Matthew McAllister opens the weekend with a concert on the Friday night, followed by Irish guitarist Manus Noble on the Saturday, both ticketed at £15. The society runs workshops around the two headline concerts, and Sunday’s programme is a free recital from the people who took part, giving local players a stage in the same room the visiting professionals played in days earlier. Studio 1A is a small, purpose-built performance space rather than a pub venue, so the sound favours the acoustic detail classical guitar depends on. Supported by Ards and North Down Borough Council, the weekend is part of a wider push by the society to bring touring classical guitarists to Northern Ireland audiences outside Belfast, and Bangor has become one of its regular stops.
Studio 1A is on Hamilton Road in Bangor, close to the town centre and a short walk from Bangor railway station, the terminus of the line from Belfast. The workshops and Sunday recital move to the nearby Hamilton Road Community Hub.
Hamilton Road sits just back from Bangor’s seafront and marina, so it is easy to take in the harbour before or after a concert. There is more to see in Bangor and across Co. Down.
Heading to Studio 1A in Bangor? Down has plenty more to see. Read the Bangor area guide, find what else is on, and explore the towns and villages nearby.