Arlo Parks, Cate Le Bon and Super Furry Animals frontman Gruff Rhys are among the headline names set to feature at Gŵyl 2021 – a new two-day music festival taking place on 6th and 7th March. The free online showcase – which is being supported by the Welsh Government, BBC Wales, S4C, the Arts Council of Wales and other partner organisations – is the result of a collaboration between four existing Welsh festivals: the Wales Millennium Centre Festival of Voice, FOCUS Wales, Other Voices Cardigan, and the Aberystwyth Comedy Festival. Gŵyl 2021 will be broadcast via the BBC website, and on BBC Radio Wales and Radio Cymru.
BBC Wales is delighted to support Gŵyl 2021!
A free, online festival packed with music, comedy and conversation from Wales and the world.
March 6 & 7, 2021@FOVCardiff @FocusWales @OtherVoicesLive @AberComedyFest
Visit https://t.co/KGcxoJVvHm for more info. pic.twitter.com/M5UuDsZy3T— BBC Wales (@BBCWales) February 10, 2021
BBC Cymru Wales’ Director General Rhodri Talfan Davies told Wales Online that the festival would provide the public with a welcome escape from the mundanities of lockdown . He said “BBC Wales is delighted to be working with Gŵyl 2021. We all need a blast of creativity, comedy and music right now and this unprecedented partnership with four brilliant Welsh festivals promises to be a real gem.”
Arlo Parks‘ performance at the festival comes on the back of a flurry of glowing commercial and critical successes over the last few months. The Londoner – who was awarded the BBC’s prestigious Introducing Artist of the Year prize for 2020 – saw her debut album Collapse in Sunbeams reach number 3 in the Official UK Albums Chart last month. Reviews for the LP were near-universally positive, with NME hailing the record as “a universal collection of stories that’ll provide solace for listeners of all ages and backgrounds for decades to come.”
As was the case for so many artists, Cate Le Bon was forced to sit through a frustrating succession of postponed live dates in 2020 – including a mammoth North American tour with former War On Drugs guitarist Kurt Vile. The Carmarthenshire-born indie-folk musician is expected to treat Gŵyl’s virtual festival-goers to some of the highlights of her five-album back catalogue; included her most recent offering, 2019’s acclaimed Reward. The singer-songwriter – who collaborated beautifully with compatriots Manic Street Preachers on their 2013 track 4 Lonely Roads – will line-up at Gŵyl alongside another of Welsh rock’s big hitters in Gruff Rhys. The musical partnership dates back to 2008, when Le Bon featured on Neon Neon’s single I Lust For You.
Other names on the eclectic Gŵyl roster include Suede and The Tears frontman Brett Anderson (appearing alongside conductor Charles Hazlewood and the Bristol-based Paraorchestra); 2019 Welsh Music Prize winners Adwaith; Romford-raised BBC Sound of 2021 nominee Berwyn; up-and-coming Neath rapper Luke RV; Wrexham indie-rockers Kidsmoke; harpist Catrin Finch; Cardiff hip-hop merchant Reuel Elijah; and Welsh Language Album of the Year winner Ani Glass. Glass’ 2020 debut LP Mirores – which features vocals in Welsh, English and Cornish – was praised by the Wales Arts Review as “a transcendental work of Welsh electronic music that showcases both mass appeal and artistic integrity.”
