Scene & Heard
One day wonders
The sun was out the other day, so it must be spring or perhaps, say it quietly, summer. Musicians are out in their swarms, so we may as well go and see what they have to o er. If you want unconditional love from your girlfriend, Beyoncé will be warbling over to Cardi on her much hyped Formation World Tour (Principality Stadium, June 30, from £80, 08448 471881).
Before subjecting yourself to the screaming crowds and teenage tears of a Beyoncé gig, sort yourself out with some Stereophonics (Cardiff City FC, June 4, from £40, stereophonics.com). ey’ve been headlining festivals for almost as long as they’ve existed, and now they’re bringing their latest album, Keep the Village Alive, to Cardi . If there’s anyone whose voice can be described as smooth rust, it’s Kelly Jones.
It’s been 20 years since the debut of Everything Must Go by fellow Welsh music scene stalwarts Manic Street Preachers (Liberty Stadium, May 28, £55, gigsandtours.com), so they’re bringing it back to celebrate its birthday.
Keep your music gritty with Kaiser Chiefs (Swalec Stadium, July 16, from £39.50, 029 2041 9311), who are headlining an open air night. Lead singer Ricky Wilson’s TV fame may be overshadowing past, crowd- pleasing glories with the Chiefs, so see this as a chance to (re)discover what got him e Voice coaching gig in the first place. Perfect too, if you want festival vibes without being crushed by unwashed bodies.
Do you like your rock hard enough to break your teeth? If so, you can crumble your canines on Airbourne (Y Plas Cardi University Students’ Union, July 27, £20, www.cardi students.com). ey’re out here from Australia to make sure that everyone knows how healthy the rock and roll scene still is.
Tickle your funny bone
If you want some funnies with your jams, the Limboland Tour will be gracing the Motorpoint Arena with unique anecdotes and whimsical song covers all wrapped up in the magical hippy package that we like to call Bill Bailey (Motorpoint, June 25, £29, 029 2022 4488).
Everyone’s favourite cat lady is packing and re- packing her handbag for the journey to Cardiff. Sarah Millican (June 27-28, £25, 029 2087 8444) is bringing her life ga es to St David’s Hall to assure us that everyone’s lives are just a little bit awkward. If painful introspection is your thing, you have found your spirit guide.
Sarah Pascoe (Cardiff Glee Club, June 1, from £12, 0871 472 0400) is preparing to “get real” about humanity and reveal deep truths about our collective psyche. Or, she just wants to poke fun at us and remind us that it’s okay to laugh at ourselves. She’ll be taking a break from countless panel shows to give us a taste of the Animal Tour.
While away the weekend
Depending on how much you hate your job, one night of fun might not be enough. Luckily for you, there are plenty of festivals coming up! Green Man (Brecon Beacons, August 18-21, from £175, greenman.net) is always a muddy, family friendly and rather beery favourite. e line-up is packed with regulars and still growing, so if Belle and Sebastian are your kind of band, or maybe Wild Beasts, you are o cially a hipster; you can sleep soundly knowing that this is the perfect festival for you.
If you feel like Green Man has gone too mainstream for you (at this point you stroke your meticulously waxed moustache), you’ll be delighted to nd out that Fire in the Mountain (June 3-5, www.reinthemountain.co.uk) is still going strong. is year the line-up consists of music moguls from the US, Canada, and all over the UK. If this festival had to be a colour, it would be blue. Folksy, blues appreciators will feel at home here. It’s got the scenery that makes Green Man attractive, but it works on a much smaller, homelier scale at the foot of the Cambrian Mountains.
If you still have the energy of a fresher and you regularly argue about why the government should legalise all party enhancers, you should already know about X Music Festival Cardiff (Bute Park, June 12-14, £49.90 www.xmusicfestival.com). Frontlined by Annie Mac on the Saturday, this year’s line-up looks to be one of the best yet if you like your beats unwashed and caked in sweat. Friday’s star is, somewhat amazingly, Craig David, because he’s recently proved that you can actually resurrect a brief career even a er this long.
DJ sets aren’t for everyone (arguably they aren’t for most people), so we have you covered. ere are people in the world who honestly believe that sports and music are natural partners, so they’ve teamed up to create Glass Butter Beach (Abersoch, June 19-21, from £85, www.glassbutterbeach.com). they’ve got ve stages dotted around Abersoch and encourage surfing, skating and other action sports between acts. Big names like Wolf Alice and Katy B will be making appearances, though we’ve not had con rmation on whether or not any of them will be squeezing into wetsuits backstage.
For something a bit less straining, Monmouth Festival (various venues, July 22-30, free, www. monmouthfestival.co.uk) is back with an eclectic mix of genres, most of which you probably don’t listen to outside of festivals. Some notable players will be e Pollen Count, A Fool and his Money and, check yourself before you read on, the UK Foo Fighters. The festival hasn’t snagged the real Foo Fighters, but the songs are good all the same.
Is partying between mountains not Welsh enough for you? Maes B (August 3-6, http://www.maesb.com/en/) is coming to Abergavenney as part of Eisteddfod, and it’s chock full of prime Welsh beef acts. Y Reu will be combining house and heavy rock while Candelas bring their avour of indie rock. is is the festival that gets you right back to your roots.
e Festival of Voice is the newest addition to the festival scene in Wales.
Various venues around Cardiff will be playing host to voices from around the world, some more well-known than others. Rufus Wainwright (Wales Millennium Centre, June 5, from £19, 029 2063 6464) will be part of the line-up. He’s released seven studio albums and collaborated with the biggest names in the industry, but you probably know him from the Shrek soundtrack. Ben Folds (Wales Millennium Centre, June 12, from £19) will be making an appearance to remind you that Ben Folds Five are still split up. Charlotte Church (Weston Studio, Wales Millennium Centre, £20) has decided to become a mermaid and nobody’s questioning it. As “ the Last Mermaid”, she’ll be revamping the classic fairytale and singing a set inspired by Ariel’s aquatic adventures. Even more classic will be the likes of Van Morrison (Wales Millennium Centre, June 7, £50), acclaimed Grammy-devourer and genre-birther. Even the Queen enjoys a bit of Morrison and bourbon in the evenings, or so we assume because he got knighted this year for his musical achievements. If you’re feeling like royalty, you can catch him on June 7.
If you’re not ready to branch out to something new, there’s always the Welsh Proms (July 16-23, wwwwelshproms.com). ey’ve got the usual favourites lined up, including the Welsh National Opera Orchestra, the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. For classical music ends, this is the event of the year.