Belfast TradFest has “something for everybody”, O’Connor explained.
The eight-day festival offers concerts, céilís, music masterclasses and more.
“We have some incredible bands,” O’Connor said, with the Michael McGoldrick Big Band, featuring 11 musicians, opening the festival on Sunday at the Mandela Hall.
Irish-American band Solas is returning to Belfast to play their first show in almost 20 years.
The Anglo-Irish instrumental band Flook is performing and Irish folk band Four Men and a Dog are returning to the festival.
But for O’Connor, it’s not just the headliners that make TradFest special.
“Aside from the big moments in the big halls, it’s small little asides that really make this festival what it is,” he said.
“A little shared conversation at the edge of a session in a backroom bar or a late night tune at the festival club, with a young musician getting to sit beside one of their heroes, they’re the moments that really last long in the memory.”