Music event set to attract 40,000
Paul Weller will take part in Belsonic this week at Custom House Square
Belfast's largest music festival begins this week with a record 40,000 people expected to attend.
Paul Weller, DJ David Guetta and Biffy Clyro are among the headliners at Custom House Square.
An unprecedented eight nights of gigs will also feature Welsh rockers Stereophonics and highly-rated local bands General Fiasco and Cashier No.9.
A spokesman for the organisers said: "It is the biggest of its kind in Northern Ireland. No one has ever done this before in central Belfast, running a festival like that over eight nights, hence the calibre of the artists and the different genres."
This is the third year of Belsonic and it has grown every time.
Paul Weller, the English solo artist and songwriter behind bands The Jam and The Style Council, is set to headline on Friday August 27 at Belsonic, his first Belfast appearance since his 2008 show at the Odyssey Arena.
Weller, nicknamed "The Modfather", penned rock classics like Town Called Malice, Going Underground, You Do Something To Me and The Changingman. He released Wake Up The Nation this year, his 10th studio solo album to date. He is joined by The Courteeners, who made an impact in the UK charts with their second album Falcon.
Scottish rock artists Biffy Clyro headline Belsonic on Saturday August 28. Having risen from relative obscurity with their 2007 album Puzzle, the band have established themselves as one of the UK's largest mainstream rock acts. Their latest album in 2009, Only Revolutions, has been their most successful, spawning the singles Mountains and Bubbles.
French DJ David Guetta produces commercial dance music. He has collaborated with Britney Spears, Lil' Wayne, Kelis and Madonna along with the Black Eyed Peas.
Special traffic arrangements will be in place in Belfast city centre.
Press Association
