Bryn Terfel's Faenol Festival 2007
Girls Aloud / Shayne Ward / Jamelia | Opera Gala | The Hills are Alive |Tân y Ddraig
Click below for all the photos from Tân y Ddraig
LIGHTING THE DRAGON’S FIRE, AND BLOWING OUT THE CANDLES TO CELEBRATE BBC RADIO CYMRU’S 30th BIRTHDAY
This year’s Tan y Ddraig will be bigger and better than ever as it will celebrate BBC Radio Cymru’s 30th Birthday. Bryn Fôn returns to the Faenol Stage – a tribute to both his lasting appeal and status within the Welsh rock scene, and also in tribute to the fact that he – at the time singing with the band Crysbas -was amongst the first performers to be broadcast on Radio Cymru during its first broadcasts 30 years ago. Joining him in lighting the Dragon’s Fire are a host of top Welsh music stars including Huw Chiswell, Steve Eaves a Rhai Pobl, Sibrydion, Frizbee and the young Carmarthenshire singer Fflur Dafydd.
“ The relationship between BBC Radio Cymru and the contemporary Welsh music scene has been a very close one since launching the station thirty years ago. Providing a platform and supporting bands and new talent has been a priority for us from the start in striving to ensure that Radio Cymru is the heartbeat of Welsh Music” said Lisa Gwilym a BBC Radio Cymru presenter, she added “In addition to celebrating Radio Cymru’s 30th birthday, Dragon’s Fire this year will also be a celebration of that special relationship, as some of Wales’s leading musicians join us for an evening of Welsh roc and pop never to be forgotten”.
FAENOL FESTIVAL REACHING AN EVEN GREATER AUDIENCE THROUGH PARTNERSHIP WITH BBC WALES
Faenol Festival is delighted to have the support of BBC Wales again this year, broadcasting the performances to a wider audience and enabling everyone in Wales and beyond to share the Festival’s magic. Over the past year, the BBC’s broadcast of Faenol Festival 2006 performances via BBC Wales, BBC2 Wales, S4C, BBC Radio Cymru and BBC Radio Wales, have ensured that more than two hundred thousand more people have enjoyed the wealth of international performances that delighted the 35,000 strong Faenol audience last August.
Details of this year’s broadcasts produced by BBC Wales from the Faenol are listed below:
BBC Radio Wales will be taking the Sunday evening concert ‘The Hills Are Alive’ live and recording the Saturday evening opera gala concert for later broadcast.
In terms of BBC Radio Cymru’s coverage of Monday’s activities around Dragon’s Fire celebrating the station’s 30th Birthday, the programming is as follows:
0830-1100 Jonsi/Grav (inc inserts from Faenol – the preparations)
1315-1345 Cwis Radio Cymru 30 / Radio Cymru 30 quiz (Dylan Jones presenting)
1345-1700 Dylan a Meinir (including interviews with bands from the Faenol field)
1715-1830 Radio Cymru 30 (feature programme)
1830- 1930 Richard Rees (special programme looking back at the story of Welsh music over the past 30 years)
1930-2300 Radio Cymru 30 at the Faenol (live broadcast from the Festival)
2300-2500 C2
ALCOHOL POLICY FOR FAENOL FESTIVAL, IN PARTICULAR DRAGON’S FIRE PERFORMANCE TO GUARD AGAINST UNDER AGE DRINKING
Faenol Festival Trust is working closely with North Wales Police to prevent under-age drinking on site and to safeguard the enjoyment and safety of our audiences throughout the Festival.
Much of the festival field is seated during the first three nights of the festival, but, the Dragon’s Fire / Tan y Ddraig night is a completely open field. This night therefore, is subject to further restrictions in order to safeguard the safety and enjoyment of audiences.
Each of the Festival nights is subject to the following policy:
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No person under the age of 21 will be allowed to enter the arena in possession of alcohol
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No person under the age of 21 will be allowed to purchase alcohol from the bar in the arena, unless they produce identification to prove they are 18 years old or over.
The policy for Tan Y Ddraig will also include the following:
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No cans will be allowed into the arena
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No glass bottles will be allowed into the arena
The Faenol Festival Trust and Festival Team would greatly appreciate the media’s help in communicating this message.
ARTIST / BAND BIOGRAPHIES
BRYN FÔN
No history of the
Welsh rock scene would be complete without Bryn Fôn. As front-man of Crysbas and Sobin a'r Smaeliaid, he helped make the scene popular for the
masses, with his talents as actor and showman complementing his considerable
vocal talents.
Nowadays he performs with his own band, filling venues the length and breadth
of Wales.
He is one of the few artists who has succeeded to combine an acting career with
a flourishing singing career.
His voice deals with souped-up traditional songs, slow ballads and rockers with
ease and style, and his two solo albums on the Sain label - Dyddiau Di-Gymar and Dawnsio
ar y Dibyn - are among the most popular of their kind in the history of the
Welsh recording industry.
HUW CHISWELL
Huw Chiswell was born and raised in the Swansea Valley, South Wales. After graduating from The University of Wales Aberystwyth and Swansea in 1982 he moved to Cardiff to take up a post with HTV Wales. From the start, his career as a singer song writer has run parallel with his work behind the camera. He worked as a director and producer with a number of television companies before accepting the post of Programme Commissioner with S4C. Huw currently works as a consultant for the channel.
Music has played a leading role in Huw’s life. While in school he studied numerous instruments including piano, violin, trumpet and guitar. He was a member of school and county orchestras before following his passion for contemporary music. During his late teens he joined numerous leading pop groups including Y Crach and Trwynau Coch and contributed as a guitarist, vocalist and on keyboard for these bands. After winning the Can I Gymru / Song for Wales competition in 1982 he began composing, performing and releasing records as a solo artist. In addition to producing a number of singles (including Dwylo Dros y Mor, produced for a charity in the eighties, and which reached the British charts) Huw has released four albums – Rhywbeth O’I Le, Rhywin Yn Gadael, Cameo Man and more recently, Dere Nawr.
He lives in Cardiff with his wife Corrie and they have a daughter Mari who’s almost two years old and another due shortly – who knows, he or she may even arrive during Tân y Ddraig!
SIBRYDION
In their early teens in Waunfawr, Beganifs were formed. A few years later
they changed their name to Big Leaves, and the band enjoyed phenomenal success,
as they quickly became the biggest Welsh band in the country. After many years
at the pinnacle of the Welsh Music Scene the band went their separate ways
after accomplishing almost everything. Now, with over a decade of experience,
the brothers Meilir and Osian Gwynedd return with their latest project
Sibrydion.
The bands first gig was in the National Eisteddfod in Newport, 2004, when Mei played on his own
with a drum machine for company. Over the past twelve months the band has
recruited Osian Gwynedd to replace the drum machine, while Dan Lawrence now
appears on guitar with Rhys Roberts (Anweledig) on the bass. Sibrydion recorded
a session for Radio Cymru C2, and their popularity rocketed. They won the award
for Best C2 Session in Radio Cymru’s annual awards ceremony 2005, and the song Dafad Ddu was chosen as the theme tune
for Bandit, S4Cs music programme.
JigCal is the debut album from this
new, but experienced band. The sound is new and fresh, but the ability to write
catchy, memorable tunes has not deserted them over the years. Recorded in Stiwdio
Nen in Cardiff,
JigCal offers an exceptional variety
of tunes in the Sibrydions unique style.
The album kicks-off with the bass-heavy Dafad
Ddu, and the energetic pop/rock songs such as VVV, Arthur and Hel Clex
offer a welcome contrast to the slower melodic ballads Chiwawas, Mynd Drwyr To and (Disgyn)
Am Danat Ti. Having already
toured Wales with Kentucky AFC and The Caves, Sibrydion are quickly making a
name for themselves on the stages of the nation.
Named after a "careers computer" that declared Osian should be a bus
driver and that Mei should be a monkey-attendant in a zoo, JigCal is an
excellent springboard for the band's career.
STEVE EAVES
Steve Eaves was born in 1952 in Stoke-on-Trent to a
family of Irish / Welsh origin, but lived in numerous locations across North
Wales during his childhood, mainly around the Bangor area.
He graduated from Lampeter University in Welsh and
French and went on to earn a living in the area of language policy and translation.
Today he works as a senior consultant for Cwmni Iaith Cyf.
A language campaigner, socialist and poet, Steve has also released a number of albums with his band Steve Eaves a’i Driawd (which later changed their name to Steve Eaves a Rhai Pobl as a result of an increase in the bands numbers).
His jazz and blues style is clear in his songs and blues singers such as Muddy Waters, Bo Diddley, Leadbelly and John Lee Hooker were great influences on him. His early albums are identifiable by his strong, croaky voice that provided a perfect vocal resonance for the social themes such as poverty of the working classes and the situation of the Welsh language in modern Wales
After releasing Y Canol Llonydd Distaw (1996) which is a fantastic collection of enchanting melodic ballads, a more experimental attitude developed which is clear displayed in his latest album. This is the first time for his long term musical partner Elwyn Williams to share the musical acclaim and an effort has been made to move the musical vessel forwards by experimenting with song format and studio sounds, providing a pleasing sensual effect. Even so, the blues style is still present in Dim Byd Yr Un Fath and Bwrw Glaw.
By now Steve Eaves’ live performances with his band tend to include an increasing number of acoustic songs again demonstrating his blues roots, and it is likely that this will be reflected in his next album which is in production at present.
FFLUR DAFYDD
Fflur Dafydd is a singer-songwriter from Carmarthen who has performed in Ireland, Finland, Belgium, Holland, Croatia and the United States. Performing on the guitar and piano, her dynamic songs are primarily soul and funk driven, and her releases include the successful album ‘Coch am Weddill Fy Oes’ (2005), and the singles ‘Dala Fe Nol’ and ‘Helsinki’ on iTunes (2006/7). She performs regularly in festivals and events throughout Wales with her band ‘Y Barf’ (The Beard) and they will release their much-anticipated second album in November on the Rasal label.
FRISBEE
The energetic trio that makes up the band Frisbee are lead vocalist and guitarist Ywain Gwynedd, Owain Jones on base and Jason Hughes on drums. The three met in school in the Festiniog area of North Wales and first had the idea of forming a band following a Radio Cymru Stomp they attended. They formed Frisbee in 2003 and have played a number of successful gigs across Wales, including supporting Anweledig at a gig during the Newport Eisteddfod. They recorded their first album recently which uses trombone and Clarinet as well as their own instruments which lends it a rather local sound and referencing Blaenau’s brass and silver band tradition.
Girls Aloud / Shayne Ward / Jamelia | Opera Gala | The Hills are Alive |Tân y Ddraig
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