Ulster Bank Belfast Festival at Queen's

Various venues, Belfast (see listings) Until Oct 31 www.belfastfestival.com 048-9097-1197

The 47th Belfast Festival at Queen’s is justifiably a flagship arts festival with a broad reach and range. Music-wise, it usually pulls a few surprises, and this year is no different. It’s bad news about the postponement of concerts from Richard Hawley (rescheduled for December 2nd) and Seth Lakeman, but it’s time to be cheerful about a gig from one of the best of the original 1970s UK punk bands.

Buzzcocks (above, Saturday) will perform tracks from their first two classic punk/pop albums Another Music in a Different Kitchen and Love Bites. It's a series of Buzzcocks gigs; they also play Dublin tonight. Also appearing in Belfast are Cornershop (Tuesday), whose latest album, Judy Sucks a Lemon, is one of the year's best.

Factor in appearances by Seamus Heaney and Noam Chomsky (among many others), and you have art for the feet as well as the head and the heart.

CAN’T SEE THAT? CATCH THIS

Martha Wainwright, Saturday, Sligo