The 330 Banbridge Busy Bus was the place to be on Saturday past with a surprise performance from previous BuskFest winner, Matty Rea.
Matty, who won BuskFest in 2016, jumped aboard to entertain passengers during the day as they travelled on this important Banbridge bus service, helping get the County Down town warmed up ahead of this year’s competition, which kicks off this Saturday!
A big festival highlight and showcase for Banbridge, the hugely popular event attracts thousands of visitors, lifting spirits in a town famous for great local music, food, and a warm and friendly welcome.
With only days to go until the streets of Banbridge come alive with the sound of music once more, Lord Mayor of Armagh City, Banbridge & Craigavon, Alderman Margaret Tinsley commented:
“A massive thank you to Matty for hopping on board the 330 Banbridge Busy Bus on Saturday to give the passengers a taste of what’s in store for the town this weekend during BuskFest 2023 and highlighting this valuable bus service that transports locals to and from the Boulevard and the town centre.
“Taking place annually, through the support of council, local community, business and artistic groups, the feel-good competition will see the Banbridge sing and dance along to an amazing local line-up of budding musicians, singers, bands, solo artists, and street performers! The perfect day out for the whole family, you’ll not want to miss out!”
With a total prize pot of £3,000 up for grabs, the overall competition champion will get to perform at the Stendhal Festival in July, while the Best Junior winner will have the opportunity to take part in a mentoring session with The Oh Yeah Music Centre in Belfast, and the Best Individual winner will receive a recording session in the AmmA centre in Armagh! And if that isn’t reason enough to enter, just have a read of what Matty had to say about winning the competition.
“It really helped fund my career in music and opened new doors with people and businesses. Thanks to the incredible prize I was able to head to London and record some of my own music which led me to playing festivals around Ireland and even in Indonesia!”
Find full details on BuskFest, which gets underway this on Saturday 24 June from 1pm and runs until 4pm, at buskfest.com.
