The Out to Lunch festival returns for an eighth year

OUT to Lunch is back. Belfast’s brightest, boldest boutique bespoke arts festival returns for the eighth time to invigorate the extremities with its welcoming, warming stew of music, comedy, theatre and literature.

From January 2-27 the Black Box on Hill Street will extend new year celebrations in a gloriously unseemly fashion and illuminate the darkest month of the year with a programme to stimulate, delight and entertain audiences.

With folk, rock, blues, dub, electronica, opera and soul on the menu, the OTL musical line-up is deliciously eclectic as ever. The jaw-dropping voice of Maria Doyle Kennedy, the storming Godfather of northern-soul, Geno Washington and folk roots legend Arlo Guthrie join with the rhythmically divine Dublin Afrobeat Ensemble, the celebrated rock-hard verse of Scroobius Pip, and the soon-to-be-anointed indie-electronica darling of 2013, Mmoths.

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Ms Hollie Cook and her musical accomplices Prince Fatty and MC Horseman take the Black Box on a journey through their musical roots from dubbed out rhythms and classic reggae through to sparkling tropical pop, all delivered with the attitude and cool you’d expect from the daughter of Sex Pistol Paul Cook.

The astoundingly talented Karine Polwart, returns to Out to Lunch with her new album Traces levelling critics and audiences alike with its wide-screen beauty and Zoe Conway and John McIntyre seamlessly and dynamically blend fiddle and guitar, modern and traditional sounds into irresistible and astonishing musical arrangements.

Out to Lunch’s Comedy Programme leads with the wonder of Hughes - Steve and Sean to be exact.

One a savagely funny and pin-sharp Aussie stand-up and the other a resurgent Irish comedy master, delivering the poignant and hilarious Life Becomes Noises - his acclaimed new show about his relationship with his father.

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The reclusive novelist, campaigner and casual comedy genius that is Robert Newman makes a rare outing to anywhere, the perfectly formed comedy of Lucy Porter makes a very welcome return and Out to Lunch also welcomes Edinburgh star and part-time madman Tony Law who promises an evening of Maximum Nonsense.

Tickets are available now from the Belfast Welcome Centre on 028 9024 6609 or by logging on to the festival website at www.cqaf.com.

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