One of the world’s most unique festivals return to Cardiff Bay this Autumn, celebrating the instrument we all share – the voice. LLAIS, hosted at Wales Millennium Centre, promises to be a joyful and enriching experience for all who attend and is presented as part of CARDIFF MUSIC CITY FESTIVAL.
CARDIFF MUSIC CITY FESTIVAL (27 September – 20 October 2024), a city-wide extravaganza bringing three boundary-pushing weeks of gigs, immersive happenings, residencies, installations and pop-ups to all parts of Cardiff. CARDIFF MUSIC CITY FESTIVAL is supported by the Welsh Government and Cardiff Council.
The first wave of artists features three fearless female voices. To launch her seventh studio album, sonic alchemist Cate Le Bon will perform a UK premier show at the Donald Gordon Theatre. There will be a rare live performance by Joan As Police Woman, who will be playing songs from her forthcoming album. Musician and cultural icon from Somaliland, Sahra Halgan will bring an uplifting yet reverent mix of Afrobeat, Tuareg and Ethio-jazz. Her music is filled with the soul, courage and love that has defined her life.
Ancient vocal traditions will be reinvented and revered at Llais. On show will be Ganavya, who is inspired by South Asian traditions and one of the foremost interpreters of Ireland’s ancient sean-nós tradition, Iarla Ó Lionaird.
Two a capella groups will make special appearances. Sweet Honey in the Rock will embrace the audience wit their infectious blend of soul and empowerment. Le Mystère des Voix Bulgares, a close harmony choir founded over 70 years ago in Soviet-ear Bulgaria, will perform cherished favourites and new songs.
The LLAIS audience becomes a devoted congregation as the mystic and spiritual dimensions of the human voice resonate through the venues and spaces of the Wales Millennium Centre. In a rapturous ode to the famed ‘Sing Spirituals’ led by ground-breaking Black American sopranos – Jessye Norman and Kathleen Battle at the Carnegie Hall in 1990, the Cabaret venue becomes a church to song as LE GATEAU CHOCOLAT – drag artist, opera diva and cabaret sensation – blurs the lines between spirituality or religion, and the spiritualism of self to deliver a Sunday Service in the Cabaret space, in collaboration with renowned Musical Director Allyson Devenish (NitroVoX). Untold and forgotten stories will be unearthed and retold, with folk singer Lleuwen performing Tafod Arian (Silver Tongue) – a celebration of the roots of Welsh sacred music.
Founded as THE BUTETOWN BAY JAZZ HERITAGE FESTIVAL by Patti Flynn and Humie Webbe in 2009, the festival takes up residency in the Cabaret space as A CELEBRATION OF BAY JAZZ and celebrates the cultural heritage of Butetown and the musical diversity of Tiger Bay, with artists from a range of genres including local Cardiff legends Jacky Webbe, Leighton Jones, Chris Hodgkinson, Lily Webbe & Kizzy Crawford and Lil Harding.
Taking place in the Donald Gordon Theatre, and featuring live performances from some of this year’s nominees and Triskel award winners, THE WELSH MUSIC PRIZE will once again be a part of the festival with a celebration of Welsh music made over the past year.
Wales Millennium Centre’s Chief Creative & Content Officer, Graeme Farrow said:
“Fittingly for a venue situated on the edge of a harbour that has for centuries rung with voices from across the world, the richly diverse and global line-up assembled for this year’s festival celebrates the incredible versatility of the human voice and its power to move and heal.”
“The perfect expression of the inscription cut so boldly into the copper facade of the Wales Millennium Centre that speaks of an industrial past, a poetic soul and a shining future, Llais says so much about who we are and who we could be.”
“With the audience sing-alongs which have become a much-loved feature of the festival, and those thrilling moments of planned and serendipitous communion between artists – often meeting for the first time – it is becoming clear that Llais is as much about congregation and connection as it is about the voice.”
“This year we’re thrilled to be part of Cardiff Music City Festival – together we are redrawing what a festival can bring to audiences across three inspiring weeks of innovative and joyful experiences that pay homage to our vast musical landscape.’’
LLAIS Festival takes place from 9 – 13 October 2024.
