Let’s Connect at Your Roots Are Showing Conference!

Thinking of attending Your Roots Are Showing this year? 🎻🇮🇪 This international folk and roots music conference brings artists, industry pros, and tastemakers together in Belfast for a week of connection, conversation, and live music. Here’s everything you need to know before you go…

Everything You Need To Know Before Attending Your Roots Are Showing Conference

📆 When: January 14 – 18, 2026

📍 Where: The Waterfront / ICC Belfast, Belfast, Northern Ireland, UK 

About Your Roots Are Showing

Your Roots Are Showing (YRAS) is Ireland’s premier international folk, roots, and traditional music conference, and for its fourth year, it’s headed to Belfast’s ICC and Waterfront Hall for a week of panels, showcases, workshops, networking, and cultural programming.

Over five days, the city comes alive with opportunities to connect with global industry professionals, emerging artists, and heritage artists alike while exploring discussions on craft, business strategies, touring, cultural preservation, rights, and more. More than 100 artists from over 20 countries are expected to perform and showcase across multiple stages, with over 60 speakers and mentors leading sessions on practical, creative, and community-centered topics.

Your Roots Are Showing isn’t just a conference… It’s a community hub for artists and industry leaders who care about evolving the roots, folk, and Americana scenes. With panel programming and music trails spanning Belfast, it’s one of the most immersive gatherings of its kind anywhere in the world.

How To Prep 📚

Before the conference, it’s important you plan ahead. We recommend making a schedule of the events, workshops, and performances you want to attend so you can make the most of your time. In addition, be sure to bring all your networking and promotional essentials like business cards, a notebook, a pen, some merch items if you have ’em, demo CDs, or whatever else you think will help you make a lasting impression and perform your best.

Try to attend as many events as you can, and take notes you can look back on later. After the conference, make sure to follow up with all the cool people you connected with via email or socials. Speaking of socials, it won’t hurt to post about your experience and engage with other attendees who’re posting about it too. The more connections you make, the better!

Madison Vanderhorst (Associate, A&R & Client Development) and Gui Morais (Manager, A&R & Client Development) from Symphonic will both be participating in a panel you won’t want to miss. 🎤 See details below…

📆 January 14, 2026 @ 11:15 AM – 12:15 PM

📍 Room 2

Cracking the Code on Distribution:  Global distribution leader Symphonic will break down modern music distribution and unpack some of the biggest challenges artists face today. This session will cover navigating hundreds of DSPs, cutting through the noise of constant releases, and effectively capturing audience attention. Attendees can expect practical solutions and strategic insights for maximizing visibility, expanding audience reach, and increasing revenue, followed by an interactive Q&A.

We’ll see you in Belfast! 👋