Martin Hayes & the Common Ground Ensemble

Rooted in the classical, folk and contemporary worlds, Hayes is the founder of the seminal Irish-American supergroup The Gloaming, and has collaborated with everyone from Bill Frisell and Yo-Yo Ma to Sting and Paul Simon.

Bringing his latest project to Belfast International Arts Festival, Hayes has cherry picked some of his favourite musicians as the core players in The Common Ground Ensemble; pianist Cormac McCarthy, cellist Kate Ellis, multi-instrumentalist Jim Higgins,  and bouzouki, harmonium and concertina player Brian Donnellan. Their common ground is a deep love of Irish traditional music, but each artist takes the form in new and exciting directions: jazz, avant-garde and cutting-edge contemporary classical.

“In the decades to come, we’ll surely talk of having seen this man in the way others talk of Miles Davis or Jimi Hendrix or John Coltrane.” – The Irish Times

Duration approx 1hr 50 (including 20 min interval)

Tickets also available from Visit Belfast Welcome Centre (Open 7 days a Week) | 028 90 246 609

Please note:

The Northern Ireland Executive has removed social distancing restrictions for theatres, and The Grand Opera House will therefore be operating at full capacity.

For the protection of all audience members and staff, and in line with the latest guidance from the NI Executive, they would encourage you to wear a face covering at all times, including while seated in main auditorium or in The Studio, unless you are eating, drinking or exempt.

Hand sanitisers are readily available throughout the building, and screens are in place at all bars and at the box office. To minimise contact between staff and theatregoers, contactless payments are available throughout the Theatre, and the Theatre is cleaned thoroughly between performances.

If you or a member of your party are displaying Covid symptoms or are required to self-isolate, you must not come to the Theatre. All tickets in your booking will be exchanged or a credit note given, as long as you let us know before 11am on the day of the performance.

The Grand Opera House keep their Covid-secure measures under regular review and will update our procedures in line with any new guidance or requirement issued by local or central government.