Two acts from Fermanagh will take to stages at Stendhal Festival this weekend as the popular festival returns for round two this summer following the success of its first festival post-lockdown back at the beginning of July.

The Pat McManus Band, an Irish power trio led by former Mama's Boys and Celtus guitarist/violinist, vocalist and songwriter Pat McManus with drummer Paul Faloon and bassist/vocalist Marty McDermott will perform during the weekend as well as fellow Fermanagh band Laytha, an Indie-Folk duo featuring Philana Nolan (guitar and vocals) and Niamh Carney (vocals). This is the second Stendhal performance this summer for Laytha, who previously performed at the festival on Saturday, July 10, where they graced the Henry McCullough Stage, delighting audiences with their beautiful harmonies.

The two Fermanagh acts will join an eclectic line up of performers at Ballymully Cottage Farm from August 12 to 14, including Ash, Ryan McMullan, And So I Watch You From Afar and Kila.

Also featuring on the music line up are; Jordan Adetunji, Ports, No Oil Paintings, Losta Plot, Soda Blonde, Dani Larkin, Waldorf and Cannon, The Ocelots, Lonesome George, Benjamin Amos, Lauren Ann, Aonair, Sarah Toner and Sinister Pete.

The Family programme will delight and inspire kids of all ages. The Replay Theatre Company will present ‘Curtains’ a high energy (some might say hyperactive), interactive, socially-distanced outdoors show designed to give families a chance to have fun together, let off some steam and maybe, just maybe, become the stars of the show and save the day.

Echo Echo Dance will be performing ‘Let’s Play’, an interactive dance piece which will get all the family on their feet and dancing together joyfully.

In your Space Circus will showcase their ‘Land Synchro Swimmers’ while the Brothers Dimm Puppet Show, Pantomime Drag Story Time, Clay workshops, dancing ribbon making, print workshops, Kids Drumming circles, Eco workshops and loads more, will provide hours of artistic entertainment for all the family.

Also on site will be a breast-feeding support station and plenty of other family related goodness.

The Comedy Line-up is choc-a-bloc with indigenous Northern Irish talent. Shane Todd, Dave Elliott, Mark McCarney, Diona Doherty, Conor Keys, Alan Irwin, Jordan Robinson, Heather Anderson, Ronan Linskey, Chicken Box Comedy and Ruairi Woods.

Festival Director Ross Parkhill said he is looking forward to welcoming all the acts back to Ballymully Cottage Farm as the revival of live music and entertainment in Northern Ireland continues.

“We are so, so pleased with how our August line-up has shaped up across the board,” he said.

“We have a diverse and exciting music line-up that covers loads of different styles and genres and acts like Ash, Ryan McMullan, And So I Watch You From Afar, Kila, David Keenan, Paddy Casey, Duke Special, Ciaran Lavery, Macka B and Jordan Adetunji (I could go on) ensures that we have a really high calibre of performance scheduled right throughout the event.

He continued: “Our comedy line-up is stacked with indigenous talent who are growing from strength to strength all the time. Shane Todd in particular is an act we have had at the farm several times and to see his current career growth with shows on the BBC and the like is really heartening to see.

Ross added: “Our Family programme offers a host of different shows and workshops for kids to enjoy and more importantly get involved with. We are always very keen to help introduce the arts to kids and our line-up this year will certainly help us achieve that in a really fun way.”

Ross concluded: “It’s so great to be able to give all these artists, from all these different artistic disciplines the platform and the opportunity to get back to doing what they do best. We are proud to be once again leading the way in the recovery of the Northern Irish music and arts sector post lockdown so if you haven’t done so yet, grab a ticket to Stendhal this August and support all our wonderful indigenous artists, musicians and performers, it would mean the world to us.”

For tickets and more information visit www.stendhalfestival.com

This event was enabled by funding from Causeway Coast and Glens Borough Council