OH YEAH! Over 100 Local Performers Make Music at Victoria Square

Over 100 performers from local schools, choirs and community music groups came together for a series of pop-up performances in Victoria Square to mark Make Music Day on Friday 21 June.

The special event is one of a series of fundraisers being spearheaded by Victoria Square and its new charity partner, Oh Yeah Music Centre to support grassroots music initiatives in Belfast.

For one day only, a special line-up of pop-up performances took place throughout the centre with everything from toe tapping trad to operatic and orchestra performances right through to rousing renditions of pop hits from local choirs on the programme.

With performances from budding and experienced musicians aged from seven to 70, between 12-6.30pm, there was something to suit every taste, as the groups performed a series of rousing performances. As part of the line-up, a special event for tots and their parents took place in Victoria Square’s interactive children’s play area, as Oh Yeah’s popular ‘Acoustic Picnic’ family went ‘on tour’, with Over The Hill Collective playing sing-along hits and encouraging little ones to sing, dance and play instruments.

Shoppers were given the chance to win big prizes when they donated, with each donation made to Oh Yeah enrolling doners into a special Oh Yeah raffle. Prizes up for grabs will include concert tickets, Oh Yeah gig tickets, and five £100 Victoria Square Gift Cards. Prizes include concert tickets, Oh Yeah gig tickets, and five £100 Victoria Square Gift Cards. All donations made to The Oh Yeah Make Music Day raffle up until noon on Monday 24 June will go into the draw. Donations can be made online here and further information can be found at ohyeahbelfast.com/raffle

Make Music Day is a global celebration of music that has been celebrated for over four decades. The initiative is designed to be open to all, inviting people from all backgrounds, experience and genres top join in, make music and host performances, to fill cities around the world with uplifting music for everyone to enjoy.

Michelle Greeves, centre manager, Victoria Square Centre said: “We are proud to partner with Oh Yeah to celebrate Make Music Day in 2024 with a day of inspiring and uplifting performances that will support music in Belfast. The incredible genre and generationally expansive line-up featured orchestras, school groups and community choirs that showcased some of the incredible talent supported by our 2024 charity partner, Oh Yeah Music Centre. We’d like to thank everyone who came along, or who donated online – all donations will support Oh Yeah’s award-winning projects in the future.”

Commenting on the partnership, Charlotte Dryden, CEO, Oh Yeah Music Centre said: “We were excited to kick off our partnership with Victoria Square with this special fundraiser on Make Music Day. Oh Yeah is committed to ‘opening doors to music’ and we are proud to join forces with Victoria Square to shine the spotlight on some of the incredible community groups supported through our award-winning grassroots programmes. From school kids right through to seniors, our incredible collection of young people and experienced musicians, show that making music is an incredible and powerful way to bring people together.”

Funds raised from the Make Music Day event and from Victoria Square’s partnership with Oh Yeah throughout 2024 will be directly reinvested into Oh Yeah Music Centre programmes to support local musicians and music projects.

It will all bands on deck throughout 2024 at Victoria Square as the centre has pledged to offer a platform for local artists through its partnership with the Oh Yeah Music Centre. Over the next 12 months, local musicians and performers will have the opportunity to perform in the centre, which attracts over 200,000 weekly visitors.