Kristen Sinclair

‘The Fight Is Not Over’ reads the slogan emblazoned across the jackets of Strange New Places onstage at the Ulster Hall at the end of their electrifying set at the NI Music Prize in November. “As much as the small victories are meaningful and worth celebrating, our work is not done. While injustice persists, we won’t shut up,” lead vocalist Ashley Jones tells the packed-out venue and live radio broadcast over Northern Ireland, “Until a sea-change in our society affords us autonomy rather than oppression, we will not be satisfied. We aren’t there yet, which is why we’re still here. The fight is not over. Join us in it.” Whilst activists in Northern Ireland had fought for years to finally achieve the equal marriage and abortion rights that the rest of the UK and Ireland enjoys, Strange New Places’ message was clear: now is not the time to stop fighting – we have not reached the end goal. Over six months later, the quote adorns the back of a new vinyl compilation The Fight Is...

The dark upstairs room of an old sports bar in Belfast is an unassuming venue for a revolution. Against a backdrop of silver streamers and placards from the pro-choice rally that has just taken place, a small crowd gathers as Sister Ghost blast out a rendition of Nirvana’s ‘Love Buzz’. Vocalist Shannon Delores O’Neill sings in impassioned yelps, continually falling to her knees, eyes closed, and dropping the microphone at the end of the song. Nirvana played the track at the first ever Rock for Choice benefit in Hollywood, California, in 1991. Sister Ghost are performing it at a fundraiser for the same cause. One of many placards in the Ulster Sports Club Amid the threat posed by Brexit, civil rights struggles and a paramilitary resurgence, the political situation in Northern Ireland remains fragile. The country is gasping in a political vacuum without a functioning government since 2017, after disagreements between the two main parties, the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) and ...

A small, rough-and-ready zine I made at GRSNI & UsFolk: Zine Workshop as part of Belfast's International Women's Day celebrations (9th March 2019). The zines made in the workshop were based on the theme of women that inspire you, so I chose to focus on some of the wonderful female acts on the local NI music scene.