The Sprout

Swn Festival 2011

Posted by dirty from Cardiff - Published on 18/10/2011 at 11:31
1 comments » - Tagged as Festivals, Music

Tweet

Swn Festival, Swn meaning “noise” in Welsh, is a festival that originally has its roots in the dark autumn season in Wales’ capital city, Cardiff.

It is curated by Huw Stephens, a BBC DJ who managed to get his national slot on Radio One during the time periods of 9pm and 12pm, the slot that John Peel himself used to DJ and John Rostron, a Cardiff-based music promoter.

The original line up of the Swn festival included the eclectic Beirut and The Cribs. It originally started off much smaller than it is now, Swn Festival isn’t like any other festival that you may go to. And, since its birth, Swn has seen some great acts perform, including vintage-electro group Clinic and Scottish “fight pop” group Dananananaykroyd. Gone are the large fields and wellington boots, Swn actually hosts its festival from a wide range of Cardiff venues, including The Gate, Chapter Arts Centre and Clwb Ifor Bach.

Five years on from the first festival, and Swn is bigger than ever, branding itself as “The premier UK music festival”, and with all fairness, it’s not far off. This year’s line-up includes not only a multitude of acts like legendary Manchester band The Fall and post-rock group And So I Watch You From Afar, but a lot more.

Rock just isn’t on this year, evident by anti-folk superhero’s Herman Dune’s presence. Of course, as a festival held in Cardiff, it branches out into the Welsh speaking community, highlighting Stephens’ tastes with Y Niwl, Iwan Huws and many others playing.

Swn, incorporating music, film and art throughout this festival and the exciting plans unveiled by the Swn organisers for a Welsh version of the Mercury Awards, The Welsh Music Prize that’ll have its winner announced at this festival. For those of you out there who’ve a penchant for great music and all in the comfort of Cardiff’s own fantastic venues, then I’d recommend getting your weekend ticket which is a snip at just £49.50 which gives you priority access at gigs. The festival runs from the 20th to the 23rd of October.

News » Categories » Music

Events » Swn Festival 2011

News » Categories » Festivals