Holly Lester

Holly Lester is an electronic dance music disc jockey from County Armagh, Northern Ireland. Lester is co-founder of the Free The Night advocacy organisation aimed at boosting the night-time economy in Northern Ireland.

Holly Lester
Origin	Hamiltonsbawn, County Armagh[1]
Genres	House, Techno[2]
Occupation(s)	Record producer, Disc Jockey
Labels	Terrazzo, Duality Trax[3]
Website	www.onehouse.com/artists/holly-lester

Career

Lester first started to beat-match at age 14, while growing up in County Armagh.^[1] She first came to prominence working as a disc jockey in dance venues in the north-west of England, has been a regular "homegrown" performer at the AVA Festival in Belfast, and was in the top 50 of the Guardians pick of the best new music for 2019.^[2][4][5][6] Lester has gone on to achieve wider recognition, playing sets across Europe, and in Australia and Indonesia.^[2][3][7]

In 2019 Amy Fielding of DJ Magazine called Lester "one of Northern Irelands' most exciting selectors".^[8] She was also nominated for a DJ Mag award in 2021 in the Underground Hero category.^[2] Lester has been featured on BBC Radio a number of times, including performing mixes in both 2021 and 2022.^[9][10] Her sound has been described by Resident Advisor as "raw analogue jams" that "rub shoulders with dreamy trance tinged melodies and swirling breakbeats".^[2]

Lester set up the Duality Trax record label in 2020, which has released music for artists including Abdul Raeva and Tifra.^[3] In August 2021 the label released a compilation, "Visions Vol. 1", in aid of Doctors Without Borders, which was described by DJ Magazine as a "globetrotting, genre-hopping affair".^[11] In 2023 Duality released the follow-up compilation, "Visions Vol. 2", with all proceeds aiding the Palestine Children's Relief Fund.^[12]

Free The Night

Lester, along with Boyd Sleator, is the founder of Free the Night, a non-profit organisation which started in 2021 with the aim of improving the night-time economy in Northern Ireland, including making it more "safe, progressive and culturally diverse" and campaigning for improved public transport.^[1][13][14]