THE OLD TOWN PROJECT – MUSICIANS AGAINST AI - LIVE SHOWCASE

Thursday 24 September | 7–9pm
The John Hewitt, Belfast
Free Entry

The Old Town Project comes to Belfast for its first major live showcase, bringing together an incredible line-up of musicians and songwriters for a night celebrating original, human-made music.

The idea behind the project is simple: every artist is challenged to write an entirely original song with exactly the same title ; The Old Town. No other rules, no creative brief. What has emerged is a growing collection of completely different songs, each shaped by the writer’s own memories, experiences, relationships and sense of place.

The project was created by Cormac Neeson and California Irish in response to the growing presence of AI-generated music and the wider conversation around creativity, copyright and the future of musicians and the creative industries. Rather than simply arguing about what AI can create, The Old Town Project asks what happens when you give the same starting point to a group of human songwriters.

On Thursday 24 September, we’ll hear the answer.

The John Hewitt will host a special live showcase featuring artists from across the project, including The Bonnevilles, Aqua Tofana, California Irish, Vera, Edelle McMahon, Julie & Julie, Eve Belle, Charlie Hanlon, Brigid O’Neill, Donal Scullion, Rowan McSorley, Brendan Kerr, Catherine McCrystal, Henrique Franco & Jai, with more still to be announced.

Each will bring their own music, their own story and, of course, their own Old Town.

Come along, discover some brilliant original music and hear what happens when different writers, different lives and different stories all begin with the same title.

Every songwriter has an Old Town. And every song comes from somewhere.

#ThisOldTownIsReal