Anna's Number: Busking band on journey from streets of Belfast to Ulster Hall

From stopping people in their tracks at Cornmarket to taking on one of Northern Ireland's most iconic venues, busking band Anna's Number are making moves on the local music scene.

The five-piece band, comprised of Jamie Hewitt, Matt Evans, Zacc McGloughlin, Peter Close and Matty Burke, are preparing for a headline show at the Ulster Hall on June 28 - a momentous moment in the band's career.

What started as a few school friends looking for an extra few pounds has grown into a local success story, with the demand to see Anna's Number taking them to some of NI's most popular music venues.

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Ahead of their big Ulster Hall show, singer and saxophonist Zacc McGloughlin stopped in with Belfast Live to chat all things Anna's Number and what fans can expect from their upcoming gig.

Zacc said: "Anna's Number sort of came about as originally a busing band - we used to busk in the streets and stuff in Cornmarket all the time.

"It came about because myself, Peter, the bass player and Burke, the guitar player, were friends at school and we decided we're like how do we, how do we make money because we're broke.

"We were like 15 and we were like we'll try do some busking."

After getting together with their drummer Jamie eight years ago, the band continued to take to the streets where they found their groove together before being approached to ask if they played weddings.

"You just say yes to everything and just pretend, you know what you're doing," he laughed.

"So we said yes and we had to come up with a name and a couple of bucks later, a girl chucked in her number into the coins and her name was Anna

"We were like let's just call Anna's number and kind of move from there."

From selling out their headline show at The Limelight on the same night Ed Sheeran was in town to a showstopping performance at the Ulster Hall, Belfast can't get enough of Anna's Number and their funky mash-ups setting them apart from other cover bands.

Zacc continued:: "It's really cool to get a reaction of 'oh my gosh you guys are from Belfast'. That's like the best compliment you can get.

"There's so much talent in this city and to be a part of that just feels really cool even in the likes of the Dirty Onion and the wee pub gigs we do.

"It's really cool to take what you do and just show something a bit different and people can't believe whenever we're in the middle of a tune and then we quickly switch to another one and they're like 'how do they do that' - seeing the look on people's faces is incredible."

Venturing into a new side of the industry, the band have released their first original single Figure You Out and are excited to be able to work and collaborate with more people in the industry both north and south of the border.

Anna's Number fans can experience a show like no other when they play the Ulster Hall on June 28, with Zacc promising an electric atmosphere, unmissable production and even better tunes.

You can listen to their new single here and find out more about their Ulster Hall show here

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