Following the overwhelming success of the sell-out Lush! Classical shows at the SSE Arena Belfast and Ebrington Square, Derry/Londonderry for the Clipper Yacht Race celebrations, Lush! are now taking things to the next level with their Biggest classical show to date…taking the ‘Lush Classical’ concept outdoors with the North Coast’s stunning coastline as its backdrop. The event is in celebration of Kellys 50th year providing top-class entertainment for music fans across Northern Ireland…bringing it home to Portrush…
Lush! Classical Live at the Beach will be staged on August 10, 2019, at Portrush’s famous East Strand and will feature some of the hottest dance acts on the planet collaborating with Northern Ireland’s most accomplished classical musicians. The event is part of a three-day music festival event in partnership with LSFX Productions.
For generations of music-fans in Northern Ireland, Kellys in Portrush has always been synonymous with the biggest stars of the local and international dance scene filling the floors every weekend for the most enthusiastic revellers.
The newly revamped Kellys venue is also renowned for innovation and pushing the boundaries of genre, while pioneering new forms of dance music.
Despite the fact it’s celebrating 50 years providing top class entertainment, for 2019, the team at Kellys is planning the biggest and best celebration to date.
The Lush! Classical Live at the Beach event will see a 55-piece Ulster Orchestra, produced by Kylie Minogue’s musical director Steve Anderson combined with the genius of DJ and musical producer, Dave Seaman and featuring ‘Ibiza’s favourite saxophone player’ Lovely Laura and Maria Nayler.
Special guests include Seb Fontaine, Tall Paul, K Klass, Ben Santiago, Dee Montero and Junior J and tickets are expected to sell out quickly for what’s set to be Northern Ireland’s biggest ever beach party.
Peter Wilson (48) is the second generation of his family to take over running Kellys, originally set up by his late uncle James Kelly in 1969.
What started as a cowshed for staging barn dances 50 years ago has developed into one of the best-known nightclubs in Europe and this summer’s event will the most ambitious to date.
“This is going to be a golden year for Kellys as we celebrate our 50th anniversary, so we really wanted to pull out all the stops and give our loyal fans the party of their life,” Peter said.
“We intend to build on the success of our previous classical meets dance events, which actually started as a one-off three years ago to mark Lush’s 20th anniversary.
“Such was the success of Lush! Classical events held in previous years at SSE Arena in Belfast, that we wanted to bring it all back home and recreate an Ibiza-style beach party on the North Coast to celebrate a landmark year for Kellys.
“Demand for an even bigger and better event has been such, that we decided to use the fantastic coastal venue on our doorstep to host a party worthy of Kellys’ five decades as the North’s premier entertainment hub.”
Given the nature of the dance/classical mash-up, these events attract people from 18 to 60 as many of the greatest dance tunes of all time are reinterpreted for the 21st century by superstar DJs, supported by the 55-strong Ulster Orchestra.
To date, Lush! has entertained over one million partygoers, with people travelling from all over the north and beyond every week to enjoy fresh and classic beats, with many top DJ’s citing the atmosphere in the club as the best in the world.
“This is event going to be big,” Peter says. “We took a chance in 2016 with what admittedly sounds like a bit of crazy idea as the Ulster Orchestra backing some of the world’s biggest house music DJs didn’t sound like it would work.
“The last three years have seen us stake our reputation and invest a lot of capital into something that had never been done in Northern Ireland before.
“Lush! Classical was born out of an idea presented to me by Col Hamilton, our co-founder and resident DJ of Lush. He had seen the fantastic success of the Ibiza Proms and had the idea to run an even better version using our own Ulster Orchestra in the SSE Arena.
“Col has been with us since Lush! started back in 1996 and I am glad I trusted his judgement as fans have loved it and fully supported every ‘classical meets dance’ event we have organised over the last three years.
Col Hamilton continued: “We are so excited this event which we have been planning for many months.
“It’s now reached the stage where clubbers are actually in anticipation of what we are going to do and we certainly have no intention of letting them down.
“So, this year we are delivering an extraordinary event that’s set to be THE legendary party on the North Coast,” he added.
“Production values are always key to running such events as so much of our marketing depends on word of mouth and that in turn depends on people having a fantastic experience, so we don’t scrimp when it comes to providing the very best infrastructure for such an event.
“The first year we ran the Lush! Classical in 2016 we sold out the 5,000 capacity of the arena, and the following years we doubled the numbers with over 10,000 revellers gathered in the SSE Arena. That proves we are doing something right.
“This year is going to be even bigger and better, and I am delighted that we are bringing jobs and investment into my home town.
“But even more than that, the whole team is already working very hard to ensure Lush! Classical Live at the Beach 2019 is going to be simply epic.
“Based on the speed of ticket sales for Lush! Classical in previous years, my advice to dedicated music-lovers who want to be part of this unique experience is, get your tickets right now to avoid disappointment as the countdown to Northern Ireland’s biggest and best beach party has officially started.”
Lush! Classical Live at the Beach will be staged on August 10, 2019, at Portrush’s East Strand from 5pm to 11pm.
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