“It’s like being in my living room”, says Jodie Marie. And the audience quietly agree. Last time I was at The Tin Shed, the Spring sun was streaming through the windows from the green hillside: the perfect accompaniment to Ellie Gowers. Tonight, in mid-December, it’s a different story. The black night coats the glass toContinue reading “Jodie Marie @ The Tin Shed”
Author Archives: Gareth Williams
Nia Nicholls – I Wrote You a Love Song
While her time in Nashville may be contributing to fresh song ideas, it is one that has been sat on her shelf for a while that Nia Nicholls has chosen to release for Christmas. Not that ‘I Wrote You a Love Song’ is particularly festive. Though the delicacy with which this heartbreak ballad is toldContinue reading “Nia Nicholls – I Wrote You a Love Song”
Branwen: Dadeni – A Wales Millennium Centre & Fran Wen Production
A turning point? Branwen: Dadeni certainly feels like it. This “epic new Welsh language musical” heralds a potentially exciting new era for the nation’s theatre. Why? Because it is by far the most ambitious, large-scale theatre production in the Welsh language yet. Testament to what can be achieved when the might of Wales Millennium CentreContinue reading “Branwen: Dadeni – A Wales Millennium Centre & Fran Wen Production”
Nashville: A Reflection on Anxiety and Faith on a Trip to Music City
It has been almost a month since I returned from my first trip to Nashville. My first solo trip abroad at that. I had only ever been outside of the UK and Ireland once in my life before this point, and that was with other people. Many have commented since my return on “how brave”Continue reading “Nashville: A Reflection on Anxiety and Faith on a Trip to Music City”
Rebecca Richards – New Yesterdays
As the year begins to wind down, so the release of Rebecca Richards’ EP feels timely. ‘New Yesterdays’ is a slow-tempo, ballad-based set of tracks that mark the turn into a season of reflection. Each of the six songs on the record feel like Autumn leaves: shaded with different-coloured emotions that emerge at relationships’ end.Continue reading “Rebecca Richards – New Yesterdays”
Cara Hammond – Borderlines Hometown Show
To mark the release of her latest EP, Cara Hammond is undertaking her first headline tour. And it could not have gone any better in her hometown of Wrexham. The singer-songwriter was supported with gusto and grace by an almost sell-out crowd, huddled together in the performance space of Tŷ Pawb. Short but sweet, herContinue reading “Cara Hammond – Borderlines Hometown Show”
Rhinoceros – Theatr Genedlaethol Cymru
In contrast to NTW, Theatr Genedlaethol Cymru goes from strength to strength. Rhinoceros is the latest in a series of shows and commissions to offer fresh, bold and imaginative theatre. In fact, Manon Steffan Ros’s adaptation of the classic text by Eugène Ionesco is the first Welsh-language production that feels not just national but internationalContinue reading “Rhinoceros – Theatr Genedlaethol Cymru”
Megan Lee – Origin
There are few who do Trad Country better in Britain than Megan Lee. The Welsh singer-songwriter sprinkles modern sensibilities over a concoction of fairly typical Country sounds on debut EP ‘Origin’. Opening track ‘Light of the Moon’ contains a sprinkling of pop; ‘Hey Danielle’ a silky electric guitar finish; and ‘Now You’re Gone’ an electro-beat.Continue reading “Megan Lee – Origin”
Anfamol – S4C
A Welsh adaptation of Fleabag seems quite superfluous in the face of Anfamol’s success. For this is a production that takes the best of Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s comedy and turns it into something original. First conceived as a stage play, the critical acclaim which it received has seen Rhiannon Boyle now adapt it for the screen.Continue reading “Anfamol – S4C”
Caitlin Mae – Seasons Change
‘Seasons Change’, the new EP from Caitlin Mae, is a real paradox. For beneath the punchy chords and punkish vocals lie themes of loneliness and lost loves. Her style is more akin to the heavy metal genre; yet though she borrows elements of it, she shares her vulnerabilities through the familiar sound of Country-Rock. PopContinue reading “Caitlin Mae – Seasons Change”