Factory 61 are pleased to present ‘Brand New Friend’ for a one-off show at Southern Regional College, in the Armagh Campus music department.

The indie icons who have blessed the North Coast of Ireland for the past 8 years with angsty tunes of youth and raw emotion are set to arrive in Armagh City on Thursday 14th March for an MTV Unplugged-style production of fan favourites, such as their newest album release, ‘Grandstand’, released September of 2023.

“They are one of the best bands in Northern Ireland right now” – John Kennedy, Radio X

From the sandy shores of Castlerock, Londonderry, the band have shared stages with giants such as Lewis Capaldi, Snow Patrol and Two Door Cinema Club to name a few in their almost decade-long tenure and have since toured the UK and Ireland in recent times.

The 5 piece are largely a family band, originating with lead singer Taylor Johnson floating around local bands in his local scene without even the thought of one day leading his own crew in songwriting and singing. Once his sister Lauren had finished her A-Levels, the band was formed, eventually joined by their brother Logan on bass guitar, Aaron Milligan on lead guitar and Luke Harris on drums.

“Grandstand” has been hailed as an exceptional change of scenery as the band have bled into their newfound sound in the aftermath of the Covid pandemic, with heavier and mature overtones in lyric, dreamy guitar riffs and synth sections to top it all off, the perfect match for a drive in the sunset as spring rolls in. The album explores into slower and mellow sounds as a contrast to the release of ‘Seatbelts For Aeroplanes’ (2018) featuring a pop punk theme and direction.

Factory 61 is a student-run production company based in the Armagh Campus of the Southern Regional College who host live studio performances, such as acts from Cup O’ Joe, Joseph Toman and Family and Tribe among many others, as part of a student-run project known as ‘The Factory Sessions’.

Tickets are on sale now on Eventbrite and are available to the public. The event is rated 14+ as a minimum age for attendance, with doors opening at 7.00 PM.

For more information, please visit the band’s page at www.brandnewfriend.co.uk or Factory 61 on Instagram - @wearefactory61. Tickets are available at: https://bit.ly/49JsxS8.


Written by: Alex Loy

Level 3 Music Performance and Production student