A local's guide to Northern Ireland

Belfast-based Naomi Hamilton is a singer-songwriter performing under the moniker Jealous of the Birds. She has toured around the US, UK, and Ireland, been featured on the soundtrack of BBC’s Normal People, and in 2021 was music mentor for Northern Ireland’s 21 Artists for the 21st Century cultural program.

This interview is part of The World Made Local, a global collaboration between the seven international editions of Condé Nast Traveller in which 100 people in 100 countries tell us why their home turf should be your next destination.

What drew you to Belfast?

I'm originally from Portadown, which is about 30 miles outside the city. I first experienced it properly as a student; but when I started getting into music and gigging, that's what really sparked my love of Belfast. I was playing shows and going to different venues and pubs, exploring a lot of the nightlife and art and culture here, and I moved about three years ago.

What was it like starting your music career here?

Northern Ireland is quite grassroots, and in one sense it can be frustrating because everything feels super small and insular, but in another sense it gave me a really nice foundation and a platform to experiment with performing and learn my craft. You get to know other artists and bands quite quickly because you're on the same kind of circuit, and that could have gone down a very competitive route, but here it’s almost the opposite. There's more of a camaraderie than competitiveness.

Is there a particular piece of art or artist that you think captures Belfast?

I want to recommend this artist Jack Coulter, an abstract expressionist painter from Belfast. He has synesthesia, where sounds invoke an experience of colour, so a lot of his paintings are inspired by popular music and he's done commissions for the Freddie Mercury estate and Paul McCartney, Harry Styles, people like that. But I see him and his work as a really big ambassador of the kind of creativity and drive that can come out of Belfast; I think that dynamism in his work is something that encapsulates Belfast in a lot of ways, as well as the potential of the city.

What would you tell people to do if they were visiting Belfast?

If I was planning their day, I’d tell them to visit the Ulster Museum to take a look at the exhibitions there; there are four or five floors of art and natural history. Then pop next door to the Tropical Ravine house. It’s a beautiful red-brick building, built in 1889, which has all kinds of rare plants and really old ferns – it’s really cool. And then get the Glider bus and have dinner at this amazing little Asian restaurant, Jumon – try their vegan and vegetarian dishes – and then to go to the Cathedral Quarter to the Duke of York or the Spaniard and grab some pints.

What do you miss about Belfast when you leave?

The more I've been able to tour and travel, the more I appreciate Belfast. I miss the people most when I leave. It's that kind of down-to-earth, self-deprecating humour that I think is really grounding to me, and I guess it funnels into my music and approach to doing music as a career – kind of keeping that humble way of being. I love that about Belfast; it's so unassuming and it doesn't claim to be anything like miraculous, but at the same time, that's what makes it really charming.

Why should people come to Belfast?

I think it's one of those charming, really friendly places that you can explore pretty quickly. It’s almost like a little pocket city – in 24 hours you could get a real sense of what it's like, so it's a great weekend city break.

What excites you most about Belfast right now?

The potential. In the past few years it feels at least a little more diverse; there are more people of colour, there's a thriving queer community, and just more different kinds of arts and culture. And I've noticed that every year there are more small businesses in the city centre and things are becoming more diversified, not just for the tourist industry but for people who call this place home. I think over the next two years, it'll be interesting to see how Belfast grows and develops and where that goes.