Belfast’s underground music scene is full of talent, but it doesn’t always get the spotlight it deserves. Neighbourhood Belfast is on a mission to build a meaningful platform in the city with a pop-up community radio experiment.
Neighbourhood Belfast is a community-powered radio platform spotlighting Belfast's underground electronic scene. Founded by Rudimentary Records label owner Andy McHugh, they transform underused spaces into pop-up broadcasting hubs – bringing music, conversation and community connection into overlooked corner's of the city.
Belfast Stories – a vacant building in the city centre | Photo by @ganeshalockhart
The pop up model is about making creative infrastructure mobile, accessible and deeply rooted in community – giving underrepresented voices a platform and audiences fresh ways to engage with Belfast’s music culture.
Raw Secret Warehouse Party in Belfast | Photo by @ganeshalockhart
"Neighbourhood began as a small club night and over time grew into a pop-up radio experiment and platform to share's the city's talent and music culture. At its heart, it's about creating space for artists, DJs and communities to celebrate what's happening in Belfast's music scene" Andy McHugh, Neighbourhood Founder
Curator Kwame Daniels DJing with Kaidi Tatham at Belfast Culture Night | Photo by @ganesha Lockhart
Together with Studio Monkey Shoulder, Neighbourhood Belfast invested in the equipment they needed and organised a series of broadcasts across Belfast – showcasing the sounds, stories and communities shaping the city's underground – guided by music journalist Emma Warren, author of manual Document Your Culture.
Photo by @rachelmccarthy.picturejournal
Social Sounds with Emma Warren Belfast Stories Neighbourhood Pop Up | Photo by @rachelmccarthy.picturejournal
Each show was curated by a different leading local Belfast voice including Marion Hawkes, event promoter & owner of record shop Sound Advice; Timmy Stewart, producer part of duo Black Bones and founder of The Night Institute and Kwame Daniels, DJ and founder of Bounce Culture.
Gilles Peterson, Andy McHugh & Timmy Stewart at Belfast Stories Pop Up | Photo @ganeshalockhart
Worldwide FM founder Gilles Peterson travelled to Belfast for Neighbourhood's second pop-up broadcast of the series, hosted at Belfast Stories – a vacant building in the city centre waiting development. He chatted to Andy on air about the importance of community radio in uplifting music scenes and on the way stopped in to Marion's record shop Sound Advice.
Curator Marion Hawkes with Gilles Peterson & Magdalena Moursy at Sound Advice Record Shop in East Belfast
“It’s so important that these new waves of energy in the city are given a platform and support. Community radio plays a vital role in building a scene. Seeing Neighbourhood in action was inspiring, it has it all – community, collaboration, energy and storytelling at its heart.” Gilles Peterson
Gilles Peterson chatting to curator Timmy Stewart at Belfast Stories | Photo by @ganeshalockhart
Watch this video here to learn about what inspired Andy to set up Neighbourhood and why it's important for him that Belfast's music scene is given a proper platform to bring people together and showcase what's happening in the city beyond what people see in the news.
This project is part of Studio Monkey Shoulder – a music initiative by Worldwide FM and Monkey Shoulder Whisky dedicated to empowering and celebrating innovate grassroots music communities around the world.