Alright kids. There are a couple of COOL THINGS happening this weekend around Cardiff, so I’m doing a mini events guide. This is by no means exhaustive so please ADD YOUR EVENTS IN THE COMMENTS THANKSBYEEEEE.
A great chance to visit the “new” location on Barrack Lane (okay not so new anymore but I haven’t been there yet, soooooo). Anyway. A great independent venue, go along and support – this is a FREE EVENT supported by Cardiff Council. Yes you heard!
Perennial classic which launched Danny Dyer directly into the hearts of the British public after his fabulously awkward wanking scene. Go watch it and lament miserably over how you saw it when it came out and how are you nearly 50 now??
HOFFI 4 – LUCAS ALEXANDER / MACE THE GREAT + GUESTS @ BUNK HOUSE
Some of you might remember the Bunkhouse on St Mary Street running banging nights in their basement waaay back in the day. They closed off the basement to non-residents for years, but suddenly they seem to be smashing out massive grimey nights again. Lovely little underground venue with a great line up, go headbutt the speakers and have a wonderful bubble.
I know Jacobs are getting a double entry but what you gonna do they’re a total gem in the city. If you’ve not seen it, this classic retains its claim as the quintessential Welsh film (buy yer own feckin glue). Go buy a ticket NOW.
A full day of fun on the water and fun out of the water! Live music from Live Lounge, local food from the Farmers Pantry, coffee from Coffie Pass. This year’s Paddlefest features the first ever Welsh Championships Kayak Cross (an event that will make its Olympic debut in Paris this year) alongside the GB SUP and GB Canoe Slalom races. If you’re going along for the day, there’s a load of taster sessions for you to book – Indoor Wave, Air Trail and SUP Tasters. The white water will be flowing all weekend.
MONDAY 5 MAY
CARNEDD OPEN DAY @ Ty Wilcox, Dunleavy Drive, CF110BA, Cardiff; 12:00-21:00
If you, like hundreds before you, ever temped for Cardiff Council in the 90s or 2000s, chances are you might have humped printer paper around or spilt tea pon de replay while wearing ill-fitting brown office shoes somewhere around the maze of dim corridors in Ty Wilcox. Today, this empty monument to 1980s instant coffee Welsh brutalism has been reimagined as a CREATIVE SPACE FOR GIGS. No really. The Carnedd collective is holding an open day there on Monday 5 May (the collective comprising of SHIFT, tactileBOSCH, Umbrella, and Dyddiau Du). Thanks to Xavier Boucherat’s Through the Night newsletter for the tip on this event).
We’re pretty sure we didn’t spot Uncle Bryn himself in the audience sadly but maybe if James Blunt appeared during the GlastonBARRY Festival, Bryn would be first in line for tickets.
On tour with James Blunt was Lucy Spraggan. You might remember her from The XFactor singing about Tea and Toast. The funny thing about her performing alongside Blunt is that she tried to reach out to his management a few years ago about touring with him and assumed she’d been ghosted. It was only recently that Blunt found that email in his spam so brought her along on tour with him!
The audience for James Blunt all sat in anticipation as the sarcastic comedic artist came onto stage opening with Beside You. The third song on his setlist would’ve had Uncle Bryn crying with enjoyment as he started singing Wisemen. He played a few classic tracks that filled the room with nostalgia such as Goodbye My Lover and You’re Beautiful and ended the night with 1973.
James Blunt is continuing to tour the world for the rest of the year but so far there are no announced plans for any more UK shows yet!
From a small phone screen on Tik Tok to a nominated BRITs Rising Star, 21 year-old Caity Baser is bringing a new era of pop to the forefront.
Despite its growing popularity, we all know that Tik Tok was likely the most used app during lockdown. Caity started posting videos during the first lockdown and hasn’t looked back since. Her attitude towards her music is inspiring. She knows she’s got a talent, she has fun doing what she’s doing and she doesn’t care what anyone thinks about it. As long as she’s thriving, we’ll continue to see her running around confidently through the streets screaming about her music.
If you attended Depot in the Castle in 2023, you probably remember seeing Caity Baser on the line-up. She made sure that she would be unforgettable. Singing songs about no longer having friendly sex, slut-shaming and haters, Caity’s lyrics are filled with honesty throughout and we love her for that.
The release of her new mixtape, Still Learning, had Welsh fans flocking to Cardiff’s Great Hall and filling the venue. Caity gave bundles of energy from start to finish to the point that she had to remove part of her outfit from sweat.
Fans were treated to some songs with story openers. ‘Everything Everywhere All At Once’ was introduced with the quote “if you have to question if they like you, then they don’t like you. And that’s a hard pill to swallow.” Her favourite song of the mixtape ‘Oh Well’ included lyrics like “Everything’s f–ked, but it’s okay. Sometimes you just have to say, oh well.” Caity definitely hit us all with some hard truths in Cardiff but we all know it’s exactly what we needed to hear.
Cardiff has been greeted by some fantastic artists already this year but we were able to catch Witch Fever and Big Special as April kicked in last week! Witch Fever were supporting Cassyette at The Globe and Big Special were joined by Grandmas House and Slate on their Clwb Ifor Bach tour stop.
If you haven’t heard of Witch Fever, where have you been? This band is a new era of music made up of four musicians from Manchester; Amy, Alex, Alisha and Annabelle. Screaming confrontational lyrics into crowds of moshers before Amy jumps into the action, Witch Fever are one band that should be on your Spotify playlist.
A personal favourite I’ve managed to catch live a couple of times is Blessed Be Thy. It’s the perfect ‘scream at the top of your lungs’ song. Unfortunately, Amy may have sung too heavily and has recently caught a batch of tonsillitis. They’ll hopefully continue their tour with Cassyette once it’s cleared up – you can find future dates here: Witch Fever on Tour with Cassyette Tour Dates
Making up punk duo Big Special, Joe Hicklin and Callum Moloney, the two started their DIY NOW tour in Cardiff. If we needed one word to best describe these two it’s ‘energetic.’
They’ve been described as wanting us to dance through the darkness and that’s exactly what it felt like they were achieving upstairs in Clwb Ifor Bach. Back last year, Big Special were on stage at 2000 Trees and it’s great to see that they’re only continuing to thrive. With influences from different genres, you’re likely to find a song just for you from this duo.
There’s more chances to catch Big Special as they’re just over the bridge in Bristol next month. They’re also on the line-up for Reading & Leeds this year. You can find all the information you need here: Big Special Tour Dates
A fun, free, family-friendly weekend celebrating all things print! Making its debut last summer, PRINTED FESTIVAL landed in Cardiff with a bang. Dreamed up by seasoned printers, Tom Whitehead (The Printhaus, Ed & Flo) and Aidan Saunders (Print Wagon, Prints of Hay), their mission is simple: to build on the existing print culture in South Wales, and make the art-form accessible to the masses.
With this solid foundation to build from, as well as the myriad of members who constitute The Printhaus community, PRINTED FESTIVAL couldn’t be more perfectly placed. It’s all hands on deck to make the festival the success that it is!
“We were blown away by all the positive comments from last year’s event, it was quite humbling! We begged, stole, and borrowed from everyone involved, who threw themselves into it with boundless passion! This year we want to expand and connect with more creatives and create an even better experience for visitors.” Tom – The Printhaus
PRINTED FESTIVAL 2, with the brilliant tagline – ‘Print Harder!’ – promises much of the same that made last year so good; stalls, activities, games, talks and community workshops.
Also being introduced to the line-up, will be an exciting panel discussion from print professionals, and an exclusive publication dubbed the HOLY GRAIL OF PRINTED FESTIVAL intel!
“Printed Festival went far better than I could have ever dreamed! After years of planning with Tom and Jude, we succeeded in creating an inclusive, interactive print festival that educated and inspired people to participate in creative practices. As soon as it was over, we realised Printed was but the foundation of a larger project, and we were inspired, compelled (!) to think of new and innovative ways in which we could engage the Welsh public and get them excited about printmaking. So this year we are going bigger and bolder, with more of what went well last year and some new and interesting tricks up our sleeves for this year. You can’t miss it.” Aidan – Print Wagon
A joyous celebration of print for creatives and the wider community alike, PRINTED FESTIVAL is not one to miss!
A hoy hoy friends. Today’s post is one I’ve been wanting to write for aaages, about a newsletter I signed up to a while ago that’s brought me much joy, as it covers ‘weirdo music’ in and around Cardiff. It’s called Through The Night and writer/curator Xavier was kind enough to spare me some time and some words on it. If weirdo music is your thing (and there’s all sorts of great stuff on there, so it really should be) please do sign up for Through the Night.
So, ready? Here we go!
WAC: Hello. Please introduce yourself.
I’m Xavier, from Cardiff. Since moving back in 2014 I’ve been putting on and playing shows here, initially as part of the Hotel de Marl collective, and now under the Sgarab Tapes moniker. I used to be a freelance music writer but am thrilled to say those days are behind me
WAC: You’ve been writing the Through the Night (TTN) newsletter for a while now. What inspired you to start it up?
Just before lockdown I felt we were seeing an especially fruitful time for weirdo music in Cardiff, culminating in a sell-out show in Tiny Rebel for Special Interest, a New Orleans-based outfit who play a sort of mutant no-wave dance-punk. Wild shit, largely the work of Luke Penny from Cardiff punks Cankicker. Happily, the pandemic failed to take the wind out of things, and so in Jan 2022 I threw together some listings in an effort to signpost things. There was once an outfit called ‘The Joy Collective’ who, along with putting on a tonne of leftfield stuff in Cardiff, ran a vital blog that did a similar thing, and I’m picking up where they left off.
I know that ‘Weirdo music’ is a pretty unhelpful catch-all, and I’d be lying if I said it didn’t basically boil down to stuff I like, including projects I’m involved in. But fundamentally, this is a free, artist-led newsletter with no allegiances, least of all to pissant music monocultures of the sort which Cardiff Council loves to flaunt, if not actually support (see the presumably defunct ‘Music City’ project, for example), and which commercial venues are required to continuously indulge. Basically, TTN is dedicated inches for noise and drone, ambience and electronics, industrial, improv and weird jazz, anything that runs the risk of failing to draw an audience. At the same time I’m also open to including artists that are perhaps more easily pigeon-holed on paper, but in practice push boundaries, musical or otherwise, and that’s why I’ll still include certain punk & hardcore, weird metal, or club music. Ultimately I want to help anyone taking a chance, including the DIY promoters and venues; Lesson Number 1, Subvert Power Control, Paradise Garden, and on the performing arts side of things there’s TactileBOSCH.
I should point out another thing I don’t owe any loyalty to, which is publishing deadlines: in theory it’s once a month, but this doesn’t always happen since right now I am retraining as something with far, far more social utility than music-writing. Along with Cardiff I also do my best to cover similar stuff in Newport (home of Le Pub and more recently The Cab, which has quickly established itself as a righteous DIY space for punk and hardcore) and Swansea, (which is frequently the site of the excellent NAWR Music, led by the incredible Rhodri Davies, an improvising harpist from Aberystwyth), but am always concerned I might be omitting the real gear in these locations and am always keen to hear from punters on the ground
WAC: You also run a record label called sgarab tapes. Can you tell us a bit about that, and your own music production?
‘Label’ is a bit grand, for now it’s just a cassette and digital imprint for music I’ve made, on my own and with other people, but this year there will be some releases from artists whose music excites me and hopefully a Cardiff-focused compilation. Some people have asked about the logo, it’s the Summoner from the Canterbury Tales, whose job was to bring people before the church to answer for their crimes and face punishment, which is sort of what it’s like coming to our gigs
Of course, it’s a stupid time to be doing any of this; venue closures and rising costs make things like rehearsing, equipment, touring and getting people out of the house a struggle. Strangely though, it feels like things have never been better in Cardiff for adventurous sounds, at least in my time. Personally I think this is largely thanks to SHIFT, a performance space buried deep in the remains of the Capitol Centre which many, many hands have helped transform into a vital hub of experimentation, cultural solidarity and, I stress, real, actual fun. It’s been a riot, and I’ll be gutted when someone somewhere decides it’s got to go (presumably when the council finally decides to demolish the centre and replace it with unaffordable flats). A lot of highlights there over the last two years (Tara Clerkin Trio, Elvin Brandhi and Yeah You, Lo Egin, Viridian Ensemble) but a recent one that I think underlines what it’s all about was a residency by the Dutch performer Svartvit, who I suppose you could describe as an extreme noise artist. He’s also an extremely nice guy who, as part of the residency, ran a free, open workshop in which he described the processes by which he makes music, which embrace things like chance and situation, and by no means rely on expensive tech. Two of us ended up using what we learned to perform as an improv duo on the final night of his residency. I loved the name of the workshop, which was ‘democratising and de-quantising sound’, which I think is what it’s all about for me (de-quantising is a fancy way of saying working outside of traditional parameters or guidelines)
As for my own music, I perform solo as Beauty Parlour, which I normally describe as an extended exercise in world-building that looks to capture the ‘air of calamity’ I think hangs over South Wales a lot of the time. The music itself takes a few forms, from flooded ambience to manic, industrowave stuff that you can sort of dance to. I also play alto sax and sampler / synth in a band called ‘The Panama Papers’, which began as a hopelessly convoluted in-joke and has since expanded into a jazz-not-jazz-electronics outfit
WAC: Who are your favourite local musicians / artists that you’ve featured? Anyone you’d like to pick out for us to listen to?
I’ve mentioned Cankicker (goth-adjacent dirge-punk from Splott, really looking forward to their second LP which should be out this year) and Rhodri Davies (awe-inspiring improvising harpist, also plays in Hen Ogledd; last time I saw him he was supporting my favourite band of all time The Ex at Clwb Ifor Bach, and the performance was him simply going hell for leather on a smaller harp until all but two or three of the strings had snapped, it was special). A few more from across Wales who I’ve featured these past couple of years are Ardal Bicnic (duo of Rosey Brown and Heledd C Evans, no music online but whose shows have featured everything from scorching violin and clarinet loops to mic’d-up gelatine desserts), Sachasom (deranged, Machynlleth-based beatmaker; what if J Dilla had been made to watch S4C?), Ordeal By Roses (South Wales’s premier power electronics act, ‘And Darkness…’ is my favourite) Somatic Responses (prolific modular synth and electronics producer), and Ash Cooke (improvising guitarist from North Wales, currently putting on some very interesting stuff in Aberystwyth)
WAC: Any hopes / dreams / ambitions for your work for 2024?
Only that I can find the time to carry on doing this stuff. If the newsletter actually helps anyone, that’s mission accomplished. There are a couple of Sgarab releases available now:
Okay kids. We don’t often do last minute TONIGHT style announcements, but here you go. TONIGHT (22/3/2024) at CultVR Lab, don’t miss this unique live performance.
Das Koolies, returned to their rave roots last year with their expansive debut album DK.01 taking an extended road trip through the former Super Furry Animals’ techno, pop, krautrock and psych influences before hitting the road for real on a sold out UK tour.
Now, Huw Bunford, Cian Ciarán, Daf Ieuan and Guto Pryce are back in Cardiff for a unique live performance, in collaboration with immersive studio 4Pi Productions and Dah Dit Dit, the creative minds behind their groundbreaking music videos.
Supported by Welsh Government, Cardiff Council and Cardiff Music Board, the Soundspace Session on Friday 22nd March will see the bands’ sonic adventures and poignant beats bound songwriting enhanced by immersive visuals, under the dome at experimental digital arts centre, CULTVR.
Das Koolies:
“Home sweet home, yet unfamiliar territory to all of us, as we turn the Das Koolies’ sounds into something altogether otherworldly at only our second Cardiff live outing. Our album, DK.01, recorded in the secrecy of our HQ in Cardiff Bay, is made of our shared imaginations and experiences but, beyond our own imaginations lie possibilities unexplored. Something unexpected. For perhaps one night only, DK.01 becomes an immersive experience at CULTVR and together we’ll find out what that world looks, sounds and feels like.”
Matt Wright, Artistic Director of 4Pi Productions:
“Over the past decade, 4Pi has been at the forefront of innovation in immersive creativity and live performance. Through this live XR experience, we aspire to offer audiences a deeper insight into the band’s artistic vision.”
Welsh band Punk Rock Factory, recently completed a round of intimate shows across the Welsh valleys and made a stop off in Cardiff’s own Clwb Ifor Bach.
Each night of their tour, the band would showcase a different support act depending on what venue they were in. For their sold out show in Clwb Ifor Bach, the audience were thrilled to welcome Edit The Tide to the stage. High energy and charismatic, this alternative rock band from South Wales were a great way to get the crowd hyped up and sweaty. They have recently released a new single called ‘Ambience’ and have a new debut EP coming out in April called ‘Reflections in Sound’ so keep an eye out for these boys – they have big things on the horizon!
Starting with an absolute banger for all the nerds in the crowd, the boys from Punk Rock Factory came thundering onto stage with a punk rendition of the Pokemon theme song. They then continued into The Little Mermaid’s Under The Sea for all the Disney kids in the crowd. There was even a section where they showed up a lot of us older generations by rocking out to Power Rangers, Gladiators and Thundercats all one after the other.
Moving back into the generation of 2000/2010’s kids, the boys covered the Phineas and Ferb theme song. A couple of weeks prior, they joined Bowling For Soup on stage at Cardiff’s Utilita Arena in front of 7,500 people and performed the theme song there too. Frontman Peej said that they originally asked the boys in Bowling For Soup for AAA passes to enjoy the show, and instead the band were invited on stage to perform and it was an incredible experience for them all.
There was a small point in the show at Clwb Ifor Bach where bassist Benj needed a quick break to sort out his bass. This point of the show came just as the band were about to play the Spongebob Squarepants theme song, and boy… did one audience member know. One woman in the audience was very excited to hear this theme song that the boys continued to wind her up by starting the song but not actually play it.
“Whoooooooo…… thinks this person really wants to hear this song?”
“Whooooooooooooooo….. seriously thinks this person reeeeally wants to hear this song?”
The boys in Punk Rock Factory never fail to disappoint and will be returning to Cardiff on November 2nd to The Great Hall. Find tickets here.
The Blackout, a Welsh rock-band from Merthyr Tydfil, said their farewells back in 2015 leaving many young emo hearts broken. But in the year 2024, they have reunited once more and gone on the road to mend those broken hearts.
Joining the boys on the road were Dead Pony and for their Cardiff show, they welcomed De’Lour to the stage to open the set. Each night a local band open the show and for Cardiff the five-piece band were selected. They thrashed out banger after banger with the songs, Suncrusher, Cold Decisions and Crown. We recommend giving these guys a listen! Dead Pony were second on. They are a Scottish rock-band from Glasgow. Sean Smith said on stage that he is in awe of their chosen band name as it sounds incredibly punk rock. These are another band to keep an eye on – their new single RAINBOWS is out now!
Uproar and nostalgia filled The Great Hall in Cardiff, the moment The Blackout jumped onto stage. Opening the set with This Is Why We Can’t Have Nice Things, the boys had the audience eating from the palm of their hands immediately. Frontman Gavin Butler, injured his achilies during the Manchester stop on the tour so performed the show in a boot, but props on his for continuing the tour despite the circumstances!
Cardiff successfully made Sean Smith cry three times in total and had poor Bob (James Davies) sat on the floor as he patiently waited for the crowd to stop chanting We Are The Dynamite. During I’m A Riot, You’re a F**cking Riot, there were actual riots in the crowd. The mosh pits got heavy and security intervened at one point but everyone kept each other safe and made sure they were all having the best night. They ended their set as they always do with Save Our Selves (The Warning). It’s usually at this point where Sean Smith would ask the audience to get down but the crowd knew exactly what was expected of them.
We’re so glad to see The Blackout’s return and feel like society has been restored in South Wales. We look forward to see where the boys continue and how they perform at Slam Dunk this year!
Is your Cardiff street like my Cardiff street? Littered with an assortment of kebab wrappers, empty baggies, and recycling bags stuffed full of actual waste that your neighbours keep leaving out? Keep Wales Tidy have got you.
They’re arranging Spring Clean Cymru on 15-31 March 2024 – and calling on people across Wales to join forces to collect and safely dispose of litter from our streets, green spaces and beaches.
The plan? Join in and pledge to pick up as much litter as you can during the campaign. You might choose to pick up just one bag, or you could set yourself a goal of collecting as many as you can.
Last year, an incredible 7,000 #LitterHeroes collected more than 4,000 bags of litter and recycling. Can we do even better in 2024? I could probably do that just from my street in Butetown. COME ON CARDIFF WE GOT THIS!
Whether you’re an avid litter picker or this is your first time joining for a community litter pick, pledge to pick up a bag – or more – today!
After having the privilege of seeing Dream State support Funeral For A Friend in Cardiff’s Utilita Arena, we needed to take the opportunity to see them live their dreams on tour with As December Falls. We managed to catch them during their show in Bristol SWX with other support act Lizzy Farrall.
Lead singer, Jessie Powell, has only been with the band for approximately a year since taking over CJ Gilpin. She has achieved incredible things in this past year and 2024 is looking even brighter for Dream State. The band had a reshuffle of members with CJ Gilpin and Rhys Wilcox’s departure, leaving Aled Evans as the remaining original member. He gathered together a team which included Jessie Powell, Jake Bowen and Tom Connolly. Dream State are a Welsh power force not to be reckoned with.
During their set with at Bristol, the band got the crowd worked up. The energy in the room was static and electrifying. As the music pulsed through the venue, crowd surfer after crowd surfer rode over the barrier channeling the adrenaline of the night ahead.
The physical manifestation of the collective energy and shared passion for the music in that room was incredible. You could see as every person that surfed to the front, they felt safe to do so in that environment and that Dream State felt adored and impassioned by the fans were so involved. Both Aled and Jessie also got involved by hopping into the audience to continue their set. Aled with his guitar to create a circle pit around him as he shredded out the song, and Jessie opening up the crowd with the audience admiring her eclectic vibe. Jessie looks sweet and innocent but then she brings out that devilish powerhouse scream and it’s a completely different aesthetic. It’s incredible to say the least!
Dream State have recently announced some very exciting things for 2024 including a featured slot on a stage at 2000 Trees and a headline tour! They’ll be on tour in March and April followed by 2000 Trees in July. Find tickets for The Dream State tour.
Still Dreaming UK Tour 2024
March 28 – Swansea – Patti Pavilion March 29 – Bristol – Lost Horizon March 30 – Exeter – Cavern April 1 – Oxford – The Bullingdon April 2 – Liverpool – District April 4 – Newcastle – Xerox April 5 – Glasgow – Cathouse April 6 – Sheffield – Corporation April 7 – Manchester – Canvas April 9 – Nottingham – Rescue Rooms April 10 – Norwich – Waterfront Studio April 11 – Northampton – The Black Prince April 12 – Birmingham – Asylum April 13 – Portsmouth – Takedown Festival
Nadolig Llawen to all you lovely, lovely folks out there. There have been a couple of useful posts in the Cardiff subreddit this week which I thought I’d share (and pull some info from) in case you’re looking for something to do on Christmas Day, a place to get coffee or food, or if you’re looking for something to eat and you’re on a low income or unwaged.
Here’s what we’ve found:
Lovely lovely Queer Emporium is open 16:30 – 19:00 for a couple of hours, for folks looking for somewhere warm and welcoming
The amazing Pink Kiwi is open and serving breakfast and lunch, coffee and cake free of charge 08:00-15:00.
Another amazing local organisation – Aubergine Cafe – are hosting Queersmas in Cathays, 14:00-20:00 – free to attend but you’re encouraged to book a ticket through their site (link in their Instagram)
Here are the two posts (more info about places that are open tomorrow on there. We also hear the following Cardiff Wetherspoons are open from 11-15:00 – The Ivor Davies, The Ernest Willows, The Aneurin Bevan, The Mount Stuart):
We Are Cardiff 