Sŵn turns 10 this year, with the festival set to take over venues across Cardiff this weekend for three days of new music, familiar faces and a few surprises along the way.
The celebrations kick off with a special show at Tramshed on the Friday night, with Sŵnrise set to feature Crows and Pumarosa alongside the up-and-coming Spring King, who released their debut album, ‘Tell Me If You Like To’, in June. The bill will be topped by former Racehorses frontman Meilyr Jones, who put out his solo bow, ‘2013’, back in March to critical acclaim. At the same venue on Saturday, meanwhile, Lonely The Brave, who released ‘Things Will Matter’, in May, will headline a line up also featuring Fatherson, Max Raptor, Casey, Black Foxxes and Muncie Girls.
Sŵn’s organisers have also teamed up with Turnstile Records to put on a great line-up at Buffalo on Saturday, including a special intimate performance from Cate Le Bon. Cult American indie project Love Of Everything, meanwhile, will headline Fuel on Saturday and Canadian art-pop trio Braids will do the same at Gwdihw. On Sunday, London jazz funk punk band Melt Yourself Down will close the night at O’Neill’s and Australian garage rockers Scott and Charlene’s Wedding will headline at the Moon Club.
The schedule (which we’re hosting here) also teases three secret shows across the weekend. Two will take place at the Moon Club on Saturday (UPDATE: One of them is Estrons!) and one at Undertone on the Sunday. There will also be a world exclusive screening of Kieran Evans’ new Manic Street Preachers’ documentary, Be Pure. Be Vigilant. Behave..
As always, alongside the more well-known bands Sŵn is a great place to check out new music. Here’s a list of 10 sets that have caught our eye and might also catch yours.
Bossy Love - Clwb Ifor Bach, Downstairs, Saturday (3pm)
Bossy Love are a duo, consisting of Amandah Wilkinson and John Baillie Jnr, who in a past life were members of indie bands Operator Please and Dananananaykroyd. Switching musical directions, the pair have now teamed up to create smooth pop tracks with tropical beats and R&B vocals.
Palace Winter are Australian singer-songwriter Carl Coleman and Danish producer and pianist Caspar Hesselager, who together create country-influenced synth-pop. The duo released their debut album, ‘Waiting for the World to Turn’, in June.
Fleur de Lys - O’Neill’s, Saturday (4pm)
Fleur de Lys are a Welsh-speaking four-piece from Anglesey who make infectious and uplifting indie-pop songs. The band were one of 12 acts chosen for this year’s Horizons/Gorwelion, a scheme run by BBC Cymru Wales and Arts Council Wales, to develop new music.
Shame - Clwb Ifor Bach, Upstairs, Sunday (1:30pm)
Brand new post-punk band Shame channel the sparse and bleak melodies of the Fall, with poetic and political lyrics delivered by frontman Charlie Steen. The London band have supported Fat White Family and have introduced themselves with their debut track, The Lick.
Girl Ray - The Moon Club, Sunday (2:30pm)
Girl Ray are a garage-pop trio from north London, who released their debut single while still at school and have recently signed to Moshi Moshi. The group’s lo-fi sound enhances Poppy Hankin, Iris McConnell and Sophie Moss’s group vocal harmonies which intertwine seamlessly.
Jordan Mackampa - O’Neill’s, Sunday (4:00pm)
Jordan Mackampa’s soulful acoustic music reflects his Congolese heritage and his British upbringing. The smooth and rich tonality of his vocals is backed by delicate guitar work and prominent but simple percussion. He released his debut EP, ‘Physics’, in September.
Let’s Eat Grandma - The Moon Club, Sunday (5:30pm)
Let’s Eat Grandma caused a buzz earlier in the year when Rosa Walton and Jenny Hollingworth seemingly appeared out of nowhere. The young duo create atmospheric, psychedelic dream pop. After signing to Transgressive Records, they released ‘I, Gemini’, back in June.
She Drew The Gun - Clwb Ifor Bach, Downstairs, Sunday (6:45pm)
She Drew The Gun is the project of singer-songwriter Louisa Roach who, alongside her band, creates psych-indie rock with a political punch. The Merseyside group released their debut, ‘Memories of the Future’, in April 2016 through James Skelly of the Coral’s Skeleton Key label.
The project of Norwegian singer-songwriter and producer Koen van de Wardt and his band, Klangstof have made a stir this year with their ethereal alt-rock. They merge post-rock soundscapes with elements of synth pop and van de Wardt’s quiet, breathy vocals.The band released their first album, ‘Close Eyes to Exit’, in September.
All Tvvins are Irish alt-pop duo Conor Adams and Lar Kaye, who have a background in math rock bands Adebisi Shank and the Cast of Cheers. They create spirit-lifting dancefloor fillers that showcase their musicianship on guitar and drums. After signing with Warner Music the duo released their debut album, ‘llVV’ in August.
Swn Upcoming Tour Dates are as follows:
Fri October 21 2016 - CARDIFF Various Venues
Click here to compare & buy Swn Tickets at Stereoboard.com.
We don't run any advertising! Our editorial content is solely funded by lovely people like yourself using Stereoboard's listings when buying tickets for live events. To keep supporting us, next time you're looking for concert, festival, sport or theatre tickets, please search for "Stereoboard". It costs you nothing, you may find a better price than the usual outlets, and save yourself from waiting in an endless queue on Friday mornings as we list ALL available sellers!
