Festival No. 6 has announced a distinguished and diverse line-up from across the Welsh speaking music spectrum for this year’s festival with many more acts still to be revealed.
To celebrate its 10th anniversary year, the wonderful Finders Keepers (Andy Votel and Doug Shipton) returns to No.6 with a very special line-up for their Un-Mutual Stage, featuring the incendiary Portuguese/Anglo/Venezuelan/Dutch punk-funk powerhaus band Fumaça Preta, the mighty Graham Massey’s Toolshed and the first ever live performance from the mythical T.R.A.S.E. project (early electronic music made by a 16-year-old on a homemade synthesiser in 1981). Manchester’s very own Una Baines, co-founder of The Fall, will also perform with her communal feminist agit-folk group The Fates in collaboration with members of the Folklore Tapes collective while extra fuzz comes from Liverpool’s dedicated sunshine psych combo The Sundowners.
Gruff Rhys (Super Furry Animals) and Finders Keepers will be taking over The Gatehouse venue on Friday and curating a day of film and music based around the 150th anniversary of Welsh settlers arriving in Patagonia. This multi-lingual psychedelic programme will be punctuated with live translations, Q&A sessions and live-re-scores, plus Gruff Rhys performing songs from Set Fire To The Stars, the soundtrack he composed for last year’s biopic about Dylan Thomas, starring Elijah Wood.
Finders Keepers also have husband and wife wordy-punk duo The Lovely Eggs, Cardiff’s femme-fronted sonic-tantrum Tender Prey and Welsh language Kosmische-pop newborns Anelog making their festival debut. Compered throughout by renowned radio DJ Pete Mitchell, with visiting DJ guests including Chris Geddes (Belle & Sebastian) and a grassy dance-floor crescendo.
Building on the success of last year, Welsh music specialists Huw Stephens and John Rostron from Sŵn Festival have curated a bespoke mix of Welsh artists and collaborators. Friday’s highlights include bilingual alternative rock band Estrons, anti-pop heroes Y Pencadlys and Cardiff-born folk singer The Gentle Good. The stage will also play host to songwriter Titus Monk, composer and performer Huw M – who’s set to release his third studio album this autumn – and a number of sets by Gyda Swn DJ’s Elan & Mari.
Also joining the bill is 9 Bach who’s latest album Tincian won Best Album at the prestigious the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards, singer songwriter Yws Gwynedd (formally from Welsh language three piece – Frizbee), music producer, DJ and musician Ifan Dafydd, Y Ffug, Band Pres Llareggub, sets by Nyth DJ’s and folk supergroup Palenco, with many more still to be announced.
