Omagh Music Festival takes place in Strule Arts Centre, Omagh from today (Thursday, September 29) to Sunday, October 2. The music festival will celebrate the best of local talent from the Showband era to Folk and Trad music.

The weekend launches tonight at 8pm with the opening of a dedicated exhibition ‘Presenting the Omagh Showbands’. The displays will tell the story of the Omagh Showbands and an interesting audio-visual presentation will bring the era to life. The evening will be made more special with a performance by St. Eugene’s Brass and Reed Band, who played a huge part in the social story of the Showbands and the town.

On Friday, September 30 enjoy ‘Omagh’s Trad Folk’ concert with MC Tom Sweeney. The concert will feature a performance by Tom and All Ireland Fleádh champion musicians including The McGlinchey Family, The McKenna Family, Shane McAleer, Mark McCausland, Jerome McGlynn, Matt McGlinn, Ciara Fox and more. The evening will highlight Arty McGlynn’s musical history and the great wordsmith Felix Kearney.

On Saturday, October 1 you can take a step back in time and enjoy ‘The Showband Concert’ hosted by Frank Galligan. The concert has been coordinated by Dominic Kirwan and Ray Moore, the audience will hear hits from Showbands such as The Melody Aces, The Plattermen, The Polka Dots, Brian Coll and the Buckaroos, Derrick and The Sounds, with performances from Frankie McBride, Ray Moore, The Coll Brothers, Tony Hutchinson, Dominic Kirwan and more.

The Omagh Music Festival ends with a Vintage Tea Dance on Sunday, October 2. The afternoon tea dance will be a fitting end to a wonderful weekend of nostalgia as well as bringing the Story of Omagh’s Musical history to a new generation.

Other events as part of the Omagh Music Festival include free guided walking tours of the Omagh Music Heritage Trial, which will take you on a dander around Omagh to hear about the dances and memories from the showband era.

Sweet Omagh Town Radio will air interviews of local musicians and singers throughout the weekend.

St Eugene’s Brass and Reed Band will play a special pop-up performance in Omagh Town Centre on Saturday, October 1.

Enjoy ‘A conversation with….’, facilitated by Paddy Hunter, to listen to stories from those who performed in and those that enjoyed the Showbands.

And that’s not all, you can enjoy an additional pop-up Showband Photo Exhibition in Omagh Library presented by Philip Darcy as a part of this special weekend of activities.

Don’t miss this special weekend. To book your tickets please visit www.struleartscentre.co.uk