14
About This Land of Song Thing…
Posted on 14/05/12, filed under Festivals, Music | Comments OffTags: Festivals, Gruff Rhys, music, Wales
Name: Gruff Rhys
Twitter: @gruffingtonpost
Occupation: Singer
Gruff Rhys is a member of Super Furry Animals and an award-winning solo artist. We can think of no one better to guide us through the festival highlights of Wales.
You may be familiar with the British television comedy character Edmund Blackadder. In his 18th century incarnation as butler to the Prince Regent, he vividly describes visiting Wales in the early 18th century when huge gangs of tough, sinewy men roamed the country terrorising people with their close-harmony singing.
The same could be said 200 years later, particularly if you happen to visit the music venues of Cardiff during the third week in October. The SŴN Festival is an indication of how the contemporary music festival has mutated – in a good way – during the 21st century.
SŴN features countless gigs in numerous venues all over the city, mostly showcasing new bands – raw talent, hungry for action.
Gruff first performed at a festival aged 14, as drummer in a Welsh language band called Machlud (or Sunset in English). They played Pesda Roc, an event inspired by the thriving music scene around Bethesda in North Wales. He played a different incarnation of Pesda Roc in 2011, a mere 27 years after his debut – and there have been countless festival appearances in between.
Of Welsh music festivals he says:
There’s always a chance of experiencing something unexpected and exciting. You don’t always need an itinerary or go searching for excitement. You just have to be there and things will happen…
Hay Festival of Literature & Arts, Hay-on-Wye
The Hay Festival (Image credit: Finn Beales)
The picturesque market town of Hay-on-Wye, within the Brecon Beacons National Park, is famous as the book capital of Great Britain. This 10-day festival is rooted in literature, but the range of subjects covered include politics, music, green issues, economics, history and science.
“All the pubs and venues are full and the atmosphere spills out onto the streets.
“You get a real mix of people like Desmond Tutu, Stephen Fry and Howard Marks and there are musical events all week too.
“There’s nowhere else quite like Hay. There’s a man who runs a second-hand bookshop there who declared it an independent kingdom in the 1970s. He calls himself the King of Hay and made his horse Prime Minister. The place seems quite exotic to me.”
Hay Festival takes place on 31 May – 10 June, for more information visit hayfestival.com.
SŴN Festival, Cardiff
Performer at the Swn Festival
Celebrating new music coming in and out of Wales, SŴN is an urban festival, which takes place across a number of venues in Cardiff across four days. A wristband for the festival guarantees the wearer priority entrance to all the performances taking place and with over 150 artists playing, the opportunity of discovering a new favourite band in the world is just as likely as getting to know the Welsh capital city like the back of your hand.
“A festival doesn’t need to have 100,000 people in a field watching a band while holding lighters in the air. SŴN takes place in various venues all over Cardiff and as I live there it’s very handy for me. The centre of Cardiff is quite compact so it’s a very good city for this kind of festival. You can make a night of it and see three or four bands.
“When Super Furry Animals started out in the mid 90s it was very difficult to find venues in Cardiff to play. There’s much more action now, with promoters bringing in interesting bands from all over the world. In turn they’re inspiring local bands to play interesting music that’s quite leftfield. It’s a brave, confident environment.
“What’s good about SŴN is that it started really small with very little fanfare and it’s a much stronger event for being allowed to grow organically. The organisers’ love of music is what’s driven it and earned its reputation as a great event.”
SŴN Festival takes places in October, for more information visit swnfest.com.
Green Man Festival, Crickhowell
Music in the heart of the Welsh Countryside
This award-winning festival has hopped around the Brecon Beacons National Park before finding its spiritual home in the lush greenery of the Glanusk Estate. The three-day event has a leaning towards artists tinged with acoustic folk and country elements, but is by no means confined to them.
“I went to Glastonbury for the first time when I was about 16. I hitchhiked there. The Green Man reminds me of that experience in some way, almost like it belongs to another age.
“The line-up is usually dramatically different from most festival line-ups, which are becoming more and more impersonal. You know you’re going to see some bands you’ve never seen before at The Green Man and that you’re going to find something new and exciting.
“The festival brings music to Wales that wouldn’t visit here otherwise and that’s very inspiring. The headline acts are never obvious – they take risks and educate people in the process.
“It’s also really good fun.”
Green Man Festival takes place on 17 – 19 August, for more information visit greenman.net.
Carry on reading
Read Gruff Rhys’ full article in the Wales View Magazine, download or request a copy now. If you like the festival atmosphere, find out what other festivals are taking place in Wales in 2012.
Gruff Rhys Image Credit: Liliane Callegari
