The Glasgowbury Music Festival has won two prizes at the Irish Festival Awards 2008.
Voted for by the public, the awards represent the best festivals, concerts, acts and services provided throughout the musical year.
And Glasgowbury, the home-grown independent festival which nurtures talent from across the country has won the Best Service and Best Family Festival Awards.
Entering its ninth year, the Glasgowbury Festival has strived to offer a sanctuary for local music, delivering an outlet for the best that the country has to offer.
The annual July festival is the culmination of a full year of hard work and determination that sees bands and acts from across the country descend upon Eagles Rock in the heart of Mid-Ulster for an unforgettable music experience.
And each year the festival reaches new heights of expectation delivering dozens of acts – most of who are unsigned – across multiple stages against the picturesque backdrop of the Sperrin Mountains.
Festival organiser Paddy Glasgow has said it is an ‘absolute honour’ to be recognised by the Irish Festival Awards – bringing with it a sense of pride for the festival and the local community alike.
“It’s a brilliant achievement for us to be recognised in league with so many other great festivals,” he said.
“The Best Service and Best Family awards mean so much to Glasgowbury and show that we have firmly put Mid-Ulster on the map.
“To be recognised after nine years of hard work is testament to the dedication of the Glasgowbury committee, the local community and everyone involved – there are so many people doing good things for the festival and I want to thank them all,” he said.
While the awards are proof of the invaluable work Glasgowbury is doing for the music community in Ireland, Paddy is also proud that the festival has boosted the country’s rural image, enhancing its tourism appeal and its standing with the community.
“It gives the festival a great boost and considering we are bringing thousands of people into Mid-Ulster every year for the best that music across the UK has to offer, it’s also something which enhances the appeal of the area to the outside world.”
Glasgowbury has also celebrated knowing it’s the only independent festival recognised by the awards.
“It’s all about the level and standard of music we provide,” said Paddy.
“If we look some of the great acts who have come to play the festival over the years – In Case Of Fire, Fighting With Wire, General Fiasco, And So I Watch You From Afar, Duke Special, Oppenheimer – they’re all going on to some great things, showing that the music scene here is packed full of talent and promise and to be a part of that is just fantastic.”
But it doesn’t stop there for Glasgowbury.
After securing Ash to headline the festival in 2008, 2009 is already shaping up to be the most vibrant year yet for the local home grown music provider.
Details of the festival, line-up and ticket details will be announced in the coming weeks.
