Guest article from: “FOCUS Wales”
Four of Wales’ best-loved festivals – Festival of Voice, FOCUS Wales, Other Voices Cardigan and Aberystwyth Comedy Festival – have joined forces in lockdown to create Gŵyl 2021; a free, online festival packed with unforgettable music and comedy, embracing diversity and dialogue. Filmed or recorded over recent months in Wales and internationally within Coronavirus guidelines, Gŵyl 2021 will be broadcast online on www.bbc.co.uk/gwyl2021 across the weekend of 6-7 March 2021.
An extraordinary digital gathering for these exceptional times, Gŵyl 2021 shines a light of determination and resilience from the creative scene in Wales. Following almost a year of physical distancing, Gŵyl 2021 marks an emotional moment of unity – of artists and audiences, from Wales and the world. It recognises that our collective voice is a powerful sum of its parts.
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In true festival style, Gŵyl 2021 will be a celebration of the established, and a discovery of the eclectic and the emerging, in Wales and further afield. The line-up includes contributions from Cate Le Bon in collaboration with Gruff Rhys, the award-winning Kiri Pritchard-McLean, Tim Burgess’ Listening Party, and Catrin Finch; plus BERWYN (BBC Music Sound of 2021), Carys Eleri (Adelaide Fringe Festival winner), Arlo Parks and Dani Rain, the drumming force behind Neck Deep.
Other highlights confirmed include Charlotte Adigéry, post-punk Welsh Music Prize winners Adwaith, Irish poet and art rock pioneer Sinead O’Brien and Edinburgh Comedy Award winner Jordan Brookes; Welsh Language Album of the Year winner Ani Glass, Dublin four-piece Sprints, Cardiff-based Guinean griot musician N’Famady Kouyate and sketch group Tarot. Dance company Jukebox Collective have also curated performances from reggae artist Aleighcia, RnB/soul artist Faith, singer and rapper Reuel, spoken word artist Jaffrin Khan and more.
There’s an exclusive, one-off performance by Brett Anderson, Charles Hazlewood and Paraorchestra, featuring special guests Nadine Shah, Adrian Utley & Seb Rochford, plus special episodes of the comedy podcasts Welcome to Spooktown and I Wish I Was an Only Child, featuring guest appearances from famous Welsh faces.
The festival also makes international links as FOCUS Wales hosts artists from across Canada as well as exclusive, interactive performances, and S4C broadcasts exclusive highlights from Other Voices Cardigan.
All rehearsals, filming and recording have taken or will take place within local Coronavirus guidelines. All content made in Wales has been created entirely in consultation with Welsh Government.
The full line up and schedule will be confirmed, and the festival itself will be broadcast across the weekend, on www.bbc.co.uk/gwyl2021 and on BBC Radio Wales and BBC Radio Cymru. Content from the festival will be available to view again for seven days on the BBC platform.
Quote from Graeme Farrow, Artistic Director of Wales Millennium Centre: “Festival of Voice has been the highlight of our calendar since 2016, and last year’s festival was shaping up to be no exception. The exciting and ambitious plans we’d made were dashed by the pandemic, but we’re all delighted to be able to work with such outstanding partners to deliver Gŵyl 2021 in March. It brings together the very best of all four festivals, and our shared spirit of curiosity and passion for great performance. We hope it brings a bit of much-needed joy to audiences to blow away the cobwebs.”
Quote from Henry Widdicombe, Aberystwyth Comedy Festival: “We couldn’t be more delighted to be working with three other amazing Welsh festivals to deliver this online event in March. Whilst the past year has been an unprecedented challenge for the events industry, an event like this shows that the arts community has also come together as a result of that challenge. The programme of events being curated is astonishing and we can’t wait to be a part of it.”
Quote from Neal Thompson, FOCUS Wales: “We are delighted that FOCUS Wales has been able to work in partnership with three of Wales’ best known festivals to create Gŵyl 2021. After what has been a dark and difficult year for us all, we look forward to a brighter future and to coming together and celebrating Wales’ rich and diverse cultural offering, with a programme of outstanding music and comedy.”
Quote from Dilwyn Davies, Other Voices Cardigan: “Other Voices and Mwldan are super excited at the prospect of an extraordinary weekend of music and comedy from Wales, created and shared by our wonderful festival partners. During a time of separation, distance and lockdown, it’s all the more important that we – artists, audiences and crew – join together to share and celebrate the riches of our diverse culture.”
Quote from Rhodri Talfan Davies, director of BBC Cymru Wales: “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.”
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