On Tuesday 29 March, The Immersed team took over Tramshed for a wonderful festival. Officially part of 6 Music‘s fringe festival, it was an extravaganza which featured over 20 artists. Curated, planned and executed by USW’s Popular and Commercial music students, it was an epic showcase which highlighted exactly why Cardiff has been declared the City of Music. Everyone was welcomed to the venue with some using the occasion as an opportunity to dress to impress. Perfectly punky individuals socialised with hipsters and together, we celebrated the amazing array of talent which graced the three stages that were spread across the venue. The energetic atmosphere was electric and it was so much fun bouncing from each room looking for the next hit of magical melodies.
I spent most of my time in the main room of the venue which showcased some of my favourite local act’s. First to grace the stage was Monique B, an R’n’B singer who showered us with her velvety smooth vocals. An extra special announcement was made and I was gassed to hear that her band Baby Queens are getting back together to record a second album – that’s definitely one to look out for! Next up was The Honest Poet who was grateful for his time on stage. His honest depictions of life have been stirring up interest within the city and it was sick to hear his soulful lyrics elevate the audience to a higher consciousness.
Fourth on stage was Faith, a singer/songwriter who had the audience eating out of her hand within moments. We were fully engrossed in her set and she bossed her performance whilst preaching her lyrics with perfect delivery. Following on from her set was rapper Sonny Double 1 who stepped out with a feistiness and hunger to deliver. His flamboyant flow was impeccable and the atmosphere in the room erupted. Just when I thought the energy had peaked LEMFRECK jumped on stage to fulfill the sixth set of the evening. He was someone I had been looking forward to seeing for a while and he didn’t disappoint. His versatility as an artist was sick and he easily drifted between tracks showing off his mad skills as a singer as well as hardcore rapper.
We were only a third into the evening and Tramshed was getting livelier by the second. The room was filling up with smiling faces and even outside in the beer garden it was full to the brim. I unfortunately missed out on the room upstairs as I daren’t move from my spot in the main room but I’m sure the standards were set just as high as the rest of the festival. Every detail had been thought of and it was brilliant to see so many people coming together to party. We even had delicious food on offer and I was happy to enjoy a perfectly gooey jalapeño grilled cheese sandwich.
After a quick breather we were back to the music with MINAS jumping on stage next with his usual vibrant energy. Taking over the stage as his personal dance mat, he skanked his way through his set and showed us what punk is all about. I will never get sick of seeing this superstar perform and love his rageful rants which make a massive impact upon everyone in the room. Benji Wild was the perfect act to follow on and blessed us with a filthy Grime set which was full of attitude. An old school performer he’s still doing his thing and proudly reps Grime for Wales. He has plenty to talk about with his brazen lyrics and invited everyone to join him at The Moon Club on 17 April for an evening of dope Grime open mic. I have a feeling the lineup is going to be off the scale and I can’t wait to see fuel being poured on Welsh Grime’s fire.
After Benji, a newcomer to the scene Desire immersed us with her booming voice. Small and mighty she effortlessly controlled her voice to deliver perfect vocals. Certainly an artist to look out for she was fierce, stand back and hear her roar! The last artist of the evening was Mace The Great (pictured) who is taking over the world track by track. Not long returned from SXSW, the audience were happy to see him and obediently moved to the front on the dance floor to fully engage with his set. He grinned like a Cheshire cat as he repped Cardiff and peppered the dance floor with his unique style.
Finally the night was drawing to an end with Afro Cluster headlining a performance and AAA Badboy treating us to a DJ set. Unfortunately I didn’t catch either as I wanted to see The Bard Picasso x Ladies Of Rage takeover which was in a different room. It was a difficult call to make but there is nothing like live hip hop and once I’d arrived at the bar I could feel the love smothering every soul. I was thrilled to be amongst the hip hop heads and enjoyed watching the artists go B2B.
The USW students should be proud of themselves for all they have achieved. It was a family friendly event and people from all over Wales were brought together to celebrate our vast creative canvas. A true show stopper, music was featured for every palette and the passion for the music scene in the City of Music is unbelievable. We are wearing our crowd with pride and I can’t wait for music lovers to embrace all that our fantastic city has to offer.
https://immersedfestival.co.uk/
Image: Mace the Great – Eleanor Fox
