Your Roots Are Showing 2026 Brought Nashville Energy to Belfast (Exclusive)

What’s the craic on the Emerald Isle? Well, in Belfast, from Jan. 14 – 17, it was Your Roots Are Showing.

For a select few days in the capital of Northern Ireland, a unique merger of itself and its sister city across the pond, Nashville, occurred. Bringing together droves of musicians, industry leaders and fans from across the globe, Your Roots Are Showing (YRAS) crossed border and genre lines to provide a truly unique conference experience, earmarked by the most important aspect of it all: the music.

“This feels essential, especially for younger musicians, artists, finding their way in the landscape of music right now. It feels essential,” Amy Grant tells PEOPLE in conversation in Belfast amid the conference. Though she was a new addition to the YRAS family, she quickly warmed up to its participants and the Belfast landscape.

Those who attended YRAS, which was held between the adjoining Waterfront Hall and ICC Belfast, were treated to a cornucopia of insightful and creatively enlightening experiences. The event kicked off with the Folk iN Fusion concert, which amounted to a world-class ensemble of the finest musicians in folk, bluegrass, trad, Americana and beyond, including Wyatt Ellis, Jim Lauderdale and Grant herself.

“It’s just so special to come and be a part of representing the roots of the music that we play,” Ellis, a 16-year-old mandolin prodigy taking the world of bluegrass by storm, tells PEOPLE.

Lauderdale agrees, echoing, “I really appreciate this festival because there are people from so many countries here and we all have this thread of roots music.”

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Initially slated to take part in the show as well was the legendary Crystal Gayle, though she had to back out due to a torn meniscus, which left her unable to travel.

“I haven’t canceled that many dates through the years from just illness and things that … but when you have something that happens, I mean, it takes a toll on you mentally and physically,” Gayle tells PEOPLE via Zoom about her feelings towards being unable to attend YRAS 2026.

Despite Gayle having to hang back in the U.S., Nashville still harmoniously merged its energy with Belfast for the week. Attendees were able to check out a whopping 105 artist showcases, as well as panel discussions from veteran journalists, public relations experts and musicians themselves. Standout performances from the wide array of showcasing artists included the likes of Aysanabee, Yellofox, James Keegan, Steve Ray Ladson, Georgia Mooney, Ollee Owens, Davin McCoy and Lorraine Nash, though every artist in attendance brought their own unique flair to the conference as a whole.

Even icons such as Sugarland’s Kristian Bush offered insightful takes on his creative process and what makes a hit, a hit.

“This is not the part of the tree you see. This is the part that holds it to the ground where it actually grows from. Not what you hear out in culture. It’s before that,” Bush tells PEOPLE of the conference’s ability to gather the latest and greatest from a vast swath of genres.

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It isn’t just Grammy winners who have taken something away from YRAS, though, as the festival equally benefits those with decades of experience as it does rising artists such as Slapout, Ala. native Dee White, who is already having success opening for the likes of Corey Smith and releasing his rousing new track, “Sugar,” which showcases the artist’s outstanding vocal range in the form of the perfect soundtrack to a honky-tonkin’ night.

“I think it’s a big deal for any artist to take their music out on an international level,” White tells PEOPLE. “It’s something you dream about when you first start writing music … also, from a touring standpoint, this is my foot into the pool of Europe [and beyond].”

As a whole, Belfast’s iconic backdrop of Titanic history, Irish and British roots, stunning nature, architecture and lively pub scene (think Bittles Bar for arguably the best pint of Guinness in the city) was the perfect home for a conference that is only growing by the year, and welcoming more and more icons and newcomers alike.