GUINNESS WANTS NI MUSIC ACTS TO JOIN ARTHUR’S DAY CELEBRATIONS

Not content with Arthur’s Day expanding to other Irish cities, GUINNESS & CO is also looking for 100 up and coming Irish acts to be part of the Arthur’s Day line up on 23^rd September.  GUINNESS & CO is inviting emerging talent from Northern Ireland to get involved and be part of the worldwide celebrations.

Every Thursday from mid July through to early August, GUINNESS & CO. will be running music events, called ‘Our Thursdays’, in pubs across the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland, giving emerging Irish music acts the opportunity to showcase their talents.

From the 100 emerging acts, three will be chosen to play in Galway, Cork and in Hopstore 13 at St James’s Gate Brewery on Arthur’s Day alongside amazing international artists including Snow Patrol.  Bands that want to be part of ‘Our Thursdays’ should log onto www.guinness.com/ourthursdays

Arthur’s Day honours the remarkable legacy of Arthur Guinness, the pioneering brewer and philanthropist who signed the 9,000 year lease on the St.James’s Gate Brewery in 1759 and introduced GUINNESS to the world.

.The worldwide celebration will begin at 17:59 (GMT) in Ireland, when Arthur’s Day will once again see the nation witness some of the world’s most established music artists play in great pubs and venues, while raising a glass to Arthur Guinness and his lasting legacy. GUINNESS fans around the world will join in on the celebrations at 17.59 local time in the Caribbean, Africa, USA, Asia and throughout Europe.

This year’s celebrations will see one-off performances in unique locations from some of the worlds most established recording artists, including home grown global phenomenon Snow Patrol, multi-platinum artist Paolo Nutini, the internationally acclaimed José González, crowd favourites The Magic Numbers and Sharon Shannon and some of the best emerging stars of today including The View, Jay Sean, The Hoosiers, Slow Club, The Maccabees, and We Have Band. Over the summer months there will be over 40 more amazing acts announced.

Last year’s Arthur’s Day celebrations captured the imagination of the entire nation with thousands of people joining artists and celebrities to celebrate the peak of the Guinness 250^th Celebrations at St James’s Gate Brewery and in pubs and music venues in Dublin and around the world. Thousands more signed an online petition to make Arthur’s Day a public holiday, while others organised their own celebrations in pubs all over the country

Speaking at the launch of Arthur’s Day 2010, Tanya Clarke, Head of Guinness Marketing, said, “Arthur’s Day was designed to recognise a remarkable man with a remarkable legacy but we never imagined that so many people would embrace it in the way they did. From Donegal to Kerry, people made a huge effort to mark the day in their own special way.

Clarke continued, “Arthur’s Day is a celebration with substance. One million people helped to create the Arthur Guinness Fund in Ireland, which has already assigned one million euros to support social entrepreneurs who are helping to drive sustainable social impact around the country. A further €1.5 million will be used to support future Irish social entrepreneurs in the coming years. We are delighted to announce details of Arthur’s Day 2010, which includes exciting organised music events all over the country this year and I look forward to raising a glass to the man himself on the day.”

Also speaking at the launch, Snow Patrol’s lead singer Gary Lightbody said “We really wanted to be part of Arthur’s Day this year. Our pub will be filled with some amazing acts and we’re looking forward to stripping things back and playing in an intimate setting ourselves. Ireland has, and has always had, one of the best music scenes in the world, so we’re really excited about helping to find emerging bands to play around the country on the day, one of whom will play alongside us in Dublin.”

People will get the opportunity to see some of the music industry’s biggest names play together in studio venues in Dublin, Galway and Cork, while those people attending the 29 pub venues across the three cities will have the unique experience of seeing surprise performances from international artists in the intimate surroundings of a traditional pub.

Proceeds from all Arthur’s Day ticket sales will be donated to the Arthur Guinness Fund and ticket information will be announced in mid July.

CONFIRMED ARTISTS SO FAR:

Our Thursdays
This year, GUINNESS & CO. has teamed up with Snow Patrol to give emerging Irish acts the incredible opportunity to be part of the Arthur’s Day artist line up on 23^rd September. To be in with a chance to showcase their talents, Irish hopefuls are asked to upload their music to www.guinness.com/ourthursdays. The top 600 bands will then be chosen to play in 100 local pubs every Thursday from mid July through to early August in the Republic of Ireland andNorthern Ireland in a series of music events called “Our Thursdays”.  100 of these Irish emerging acts will get the opportunity to perform at various pub locations around the country on Arthur’s Day.

GUINNESS & CO will be running more regional showcases in late August from which industry experts will choose the top three bands to play with international artists on Arthur’s Day. From the 100 emerging acts, three lucky bands will be chosen to play at organised music events in Galway, Cork and in Hopstore 13 at St James’s Gate Brewery on 23^rd September alongside amazing international artists including Snow Patrol.