THOUSANDS of people are descending on Titanic Slipways for a huge weekend of music in Belfast.
Ash, Manic Street Preachers and Orbital are among the line-up of artists performing as part of the BBC's 'Biggest Weekend'.
The event was kicked off yesterday by eccentric crooner Father John Misty, followed by live performances from Orbital, Beck and Manic Street Preachers.
The BBC announced it would host four major music festivals in Belfast, Perth, Swansea and Coventry as a replacement for Glasonbury, which is taking a break in 2018.
It has been billed as "the BBC’s biggest ever celebration of music across TV, radio, online and mobile".
Just hours before yesterday's Belfast gigs got underway, it was revealed that Manic Street Preachers star Nicky Wire had been forced to pull out of the band's performance.
They said he was unable to perform "due to a serious family illness", but the Welsh group went ahead with a stand-in bassist.
Frontman James Dean Bradfield would only say Wire's replacement was called "Richard from Pontypool in Wales"
"Rich has stood in for Nick a couple of times when his mother was so ill he couldn't travel, so he's done it before and he's a brilliant musician," he told the BBC.
"He's very adept at doing stuff like this. He's been with us for over 10 years now and he's cool."
Underworld, Franz Ferdinand and Ash will perform at the event today, with the first acts due on stage at 1pm and the last acts closing at around 10pm.
An estimated 18,000 people are expected to visit the Titanic Slipways for both concerts, with live coverage on BBC 6 Music and BBC 4.
The Gerry Kelly show on BBC Radio Ulster will also be broadcast from the event.
