Excit­ing and inno­v­a­tive new Welsh fes­ti­val Gŵyl 2021 stretch­es over eight days and from the 8th to 12th March, the pro­gramme offers some exclu­sive and unique events. Pre­sent­ed by music-indus­try fes­ti­val Focus Wales, this is a unique oppor­tu­ni­ty to lis­ten to live pan­el ses­sions fol­lowed by live show­case per­for­mances. And on Thurs­day, Focus Wales 360° Ses­sions brings a new kind of per­for­mance to the online gig­ging expe­ri­ence (details below). The fes­ti­val is set to close on a lit­er­ary note on the 12th with a lit­er­a­ture review. 

The idea for Gŵyl 2021 was formed in spring 2021, when four Welsh fes­ti­vals con­tem­plat­ed sim­i­lar gloomy prospects for their fes­ti­vals as lock­down began to bite. Focus Wales, Fes­ti­val of Voice, Aberys­t­wyth Com­e­dy Fes­ti­val and Oth­er Voic­es Cardi­gan came togeth­er to dis­cuss the cre­ation of a col­lec­tive cul­tur­al event that would show­case pri­mar­i­ly Welsh cre­ative tal­ent. And so Gŵyl 2021 was born.

I asked the Focus Wales team about the Cana­da Ses­sions. “We’re real­ly excit­ed to be host­ing musi­cians and music indus­try del­e­gates from across Cana­da over the next three days as part of #Gwyl2021”.

“Artists from Wales will be meet­ing and engag­ing with Cana­di­an music pro­fes­sion­als dur­ing our indus­try ‘Accel­er­a­tor Ses­sions’ and we will be enjoy­ing streamed per­for­mances from artists put for­ward by our part­ner fes­ti­vals of Break­out West, M Pour Mon­tre­al and Nova Sco­tia Music Week.“

Tune in for free at https://www.amam.cymru/focuswales on the 8th, 9th & 10th March

Artists from Wales will be meet­ing and engag­ing with Cana­di­an music pro­fes­sion­als dur­ing our indus­try ‘Accel­er­a­tor Sessions’

The organ­is­ers ensured a wide range of music gen­res were cov­ered. Plus film, com­e­dy and show­cas­es have all been includ­ed to make this a tru­ly inno­v­a­tive mul­ti media fes­ti­val. Events were filmed in a range of venues in Wales, from Llan­gollen Town Hall to the Wales Mil­len­ni­um Cen­tre, in order to recog­nise and acknowl­edge the impor­tance of these pre­cious spaces.

The fes­ti­val goes inter­na­tion­al on Mon­day to Wednes­day, offer­ing the oppor­tu­ni­ty to lis­ten to live pan­el ses­sions fol­lowed by live show­cas­es. This pro­gram­ming is pro­grammed by Focus Wales which takes place on 7, 8, 9th Octo­ber 2021. Focus Wales is fore­most a music-indus­try event that nur­tures emerg­ing tal­ent from across Wales, tak­ing artists up a lev­el in their careers via rec­i­p­ro­cal arrange­ments across the globe. This week offers a unique and excit­ing oppor­tu­ni­ty to see artists from Cana­da. All con­tent is avail­able to view on the AM app. It’s always excit­ing to get a ‘behind the scenes’ view of how the music indus­try works.

360° ses­sions On Thurs­day 11th Gŵyl 2021 intro­duces an intrigu­ing, immer­sive and fun ele­ment to the online fes­ti­val world. The Focus Wales artists have been filmed in 360°, singing one song each. Filmed in dif­fer­ent loca­tions, the 45-minute film brings a new dimen­sion to the online con­cert expe­ri­ence, giv­ing fans the chance to engage with Gŵyl artists on an extra lev­el. Using your smart phone or head­set, you can zoom around the space and have a bit of fun with it. Artists appear­ing at the 360° ses­sions include: 9Bach, Adwaith, N’Famady Kouy­até, Ben­ji Wild, Cara Ham­mond, Kidsmoke, Islet, Gruff Rhys, Dani Rain and Bandi­coot. Fur­ther details to come this week. Check on Thurs­day for up to date details.

There will be a lit­er­ary review on the final day. More details will be released near­er to the time.

Gwyl 2021
Fes­ti­val con­tent avail­able on the AM App. Also on YouTube
https://www.amam.cymru/focuswales
FOCUS Wales ; Fes­ti­val of Voice, Oth­er Voic­es Cardi­gan ; Aberys­t­wyth Com­e­dy Fes­ti­val
Pho­tog­ra­phy: Islet