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music · Friday 28 August 2026 · Evening 
The Tallest Man on Earth - Open House Festival
At Bangor Castle Walled Garden · Bangor Castle, Bangor, Co. Down
At Bangor Castle Walled Garden · Bangor Castle, Bangor, Co. Down
Swedish singer-songwriter Kristian Matsson has been performing as The Tallest Man on Earth for nearly two decades, building a reputation for shows that strip everything back to voice and guitar - and leaving audiences completely quiet in the best possible way. This August he brings that kind of performance to the Bangor Castle Walled Garden as part of Open House Festival 2026, the festival’s 13th year. It is a rare chance to see a genuinely distinctive folk artist in an outdoor setting that suits him perfectly: intimate, unplugged, unhurried.
Matsson’s sound is hard to categorise neatly - he draws from American folk and blues traditions, playing in fingerpicked open tunings with a raw, grainy voice that carries far more weight than the spare arrangement might suggest. His most recent album, Henry St, continues in that vein. The Bangor show is a seated performance, which means the audience sits with the music rather than standing around it - a format that rewards the kind of close listening his songs are built for.
Open House Festival has been drawing world-class acts to Bangor since 2014, working across music, comedy, literature and the arts. The festival is supported by the Arts Council of Northern Ireland and Ards and North Down Borough Council. The Walled Garden stage is one of its key venues: a sheltered, enclosed outdoor space within the grounds of Bangor Castle that gives performances a warmth and focus that a larger stage would lose. There is no bar at the Walled Garden but you are welcome to bring your own refreshments. All ages are admitted; anyone under 18 must be accompanied by an adult.
Bangor sits on the south shore of Belfast Lough, roughly 20 miles east of Belfast city centre along the A2. By train it is one of the easier gigs in the north to reach - Bangor station is on the main Belfast - Bangor line with regular services from Belfast Lanyon Place, and the castle grounds are a short walk from the station. By car, the M3 from Belfast feeds onto the A2 coast road. Parking is available in the town centre; the venue is within easy walking distance of the main pay-and-display car parks on Quay Street and Abbey Street.
Bangor’s seafront, marina and castle grounds are worth an hour or two before the gates open. There is more to see in Bangor and across Co. Down.
Heading to Bangor Castle Walled Garden 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.