For the music community of the Welsh capital, Sŵn feels by this point like both tradition and celebration: an occasion to come together and enjoy the best grassroots music has to offer, something that can feel like a luxury in a big University hub like Cardiff.
This year’s festival was powered by a truly outstanding line-up and by an ever-improving organisation that minimised the risk of stage clashes; but perhaps the greatest strength of this festival is the breadth and variety of voices it manages to incorporate. Even by choosing one venue and sticking with it throughout any of the three days of the festival’s duration, you’d be exposed to a truly impressive range of styles, artistry, and ideas - from the political to the melancholy, from the experimental to the most classic, from up-and-coming local outfits to names who have by now become staples of the British scene (and beyond).
The first taste of the festival, delivered on the Thursday afternoon in the cluster of clubs surrounding Cardiff’s iconic Womanby Street, set the tone for the way this smorgasbord of sounds would develop through the weekend. Pale Blue Eyes, returning to the festival for their third time, warmed up the room instantly with a set that shone both for its technical complexity, the ease with which it was delivered, and the heart put in it; replete with bluesy suggestions and smooth ripples of guitar, it was the perfect opener to get you in the right headspace for everything that came next.
This is an experienced band that has developed an in-depth understanding of their sound and wears it like a well-worn suit, and it shows in live outings like this: even in the difficult afternoon slot on the first day of a festival.
In spite of having less experience under their belt, Cardiff locals, Why Horses? also managed to instantly craft an engaging atmosphere, both through the uniqueness of their sound - a heady blend of disco, guitar rock, post-punk, and even more ingredients, all speaking to the ambition of their songwriting - and a charming stage demeanour that builds an instant rapport with the crowd.
They are one of several new bands coming out of the Welsh scene and taking this year’s Sŵn as their occasion to show how local music, often pigeonholed as parochial and folk-adjacent, actually has range and inventiveness in spades.
Our last stop for Thursday was an occasion to enjoy the adrenaline-laden set delivered by Leeds’ Adult DVD. One of several outfits blending the familiar chords of indie rock with the disruptive sounds of electronica, they are a band with a big, confident voice that serves as the perfect catalyst to get an audience moving. They are very much a live band, almost guaranteed to deliver a lively set with plenty of audience engagement, and this was once more the case as the first night of the festival wound down on a rather high note.
Our home for the Friday was in Clwb Ifor Bach, one of Cardiff’s most iconic venues and the true beating heart of the local music scene. Many an artist who would go on to enjoy national and international fame have trod the stage in a venue that has become a reliable showcase of the best new music has to offer. The setlist at Clwb for this day was perhaps the most perfect example of the variety this year’s festival was able to deliver, ranging from soulful folk-adjacent rock to heady pop by way of experimental post-punk and including artists from all corners of the country. Prima Queen took the stage first, armed with material from their newly released album and a stage presence that has steadily grown in confidence since they last came to play Sŵn a few years ago. The duo showcased their blend of British and American influences with what has become an immediately recognisable artistic voice, and their performance was so genuinely joyful - trading little barbs with the audience and evidently loving all the time spent on stage - that it put the room in an instantly good mood.
Much of the audience lingered to catch the next set, and the room became very crowded as KEO came on, with audience members chanting the band’s name in excitement.
The four-piece rockers are clearly favourites with the younger crowds in Cardiff, and received a roaring welcome as they launched through a string of tightly delivered rock pieces. Their set took no pauses at all, keeping up a relentless pace until an end that almost felt like it had arrived too quickly - perhaps a sign that they are due a full-length gig in Cardiff soon?
The next two sets of the day delivered a distinct change of gear as they tapped more deeply, albeit in different ways, into the emotional aspects of music-making. Mên An Tol frontman Bill Jefferson noted the connection between the Welsh people and his own Cornish roots early in the band’s set, which was opened by a deeply atmospheric rendition of ‘Jacky My Son’ before stringing together a number of tracks which were broad and confident in sound, Britpop-adjacent enough to be easily singable and delivered with a charming stage presence which made the many touches of technical finesse seem easy.
Slate took a different approach to the exploration of emotion on stage, making their set feel thick and immersive, almost haunting from the very first beats of fan-favourite ‘Tabernacl’. This is one of the most intriguing, promising Welsh new bands at the moment, and their complex sound, woven together from industrial rock, the more melodic strands of punk, and just a touch of goth suggestions, may not quite be what you’d expect from a Cardiff outfit. Their set was bathed for the most part in deep red lights, contributing to the building atmosphere, and the band offered the audience a taster of some new music they’ve been working on - which turned out to be the most impressive tracks in the set.
Moving into the latter portion of the evening, the crowd got itchy feet, and the desire to dance was fully satisfied by the last two acts to take to the stage.
Both came out of an alternative London scene which has been proving time and again its ability to produce artists with a strong sense of identity and a compelling, unique voice, not only in their music but also in their stage presentation and the narratives they build around themselves. Man/Woman/Chainsaw may well have had one of the most complex stage settings of this year’s festival, facilitating the delivery of tracks that are layered and full of unexpected twists and turns, but also relentlessly fast-paced and perfect for dancing and even moshing to.
This is post-punk with a deep artistic sensitivity, the band so clearly enjoying their time on stage that even the element of challenge deliberately injected into the music was easy to receive for the audience.
The last set of the evening was another festival highlight: Jessica Winter brought her own distinctive brand back to Sŵn in a more complex, more polished form than her last appearance at the festival (“I have brought you a live show this time”, she joked), but without losing any of her tongue-in-cheek attitude and unique approach to the delivery of pop earworms. There was dancing, disco lights, and members of the audience being brought on stage to serve as impromptu backing dancers, in what felt like a truly joyous moment of sharing in music - pop, at its best, should always be like this.
After some much-needed rest, we stepped into the final day of the festival by starting the proceedings on a more political note. Jacob’s is an interesting venue that may puzzle those who are not local to Cardiff, with its performance spaces located within an actively trading antique shop; but its basement room, with its concrete-box aesthetic, is perfect for the kind of intense, fierce performance Benefits are known to deliver.
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EDM-infused acts have often performed in this room at Sŵn, and for good reason: it is a space that works especially well with this kind of sound, making sets like this feel almost like a mini-rave. The band stirred up emotional responses from the crowd, roaring through a set that was dotted with loud cheers at the mention of Palestine and topped with defiance against racism - an issue that is very felt in Wales at the moment. It was certainly a good way to get back in the festival mood, just in time to move on to the Tramshed for the final few sets of this year’s Sŵn.
This - located in a literal disused tramshed - is the biggest stage the festival has to offer, and the bands occupying it for this final portion of the evening made full use of it and, indeed, beyond. Deadletter had been one of the most hotly anticipated acts in this year’s setlist, and for very good reason: the loyal crowd that came to enjoy their performance, equipped with band t-shirts and plenty of enthusiasm, saw its expectations more than matched by a set that included both old favourites and glimpses of new music - the band tantalisingly promising that, by the next time they rock up in Cardiff, they may have a new album out.
When frontman Zac Lawrence climbed over the barrier to walk straight into the crowd, the room exploded, followed by a genuinely emotional moment as he crouched on the floor and the audience settled down around him, sharing a moment of quiet connection in an otherwise lively and technically excellent set.
Next on stage, Getdown Services offered a distinctly different mood. There was perhaps no other act so quintessentially British in this year’s festival offering, with plenty of banter directed at the audience and a well-worn cheeky attitude that got a very warm response from the very first tracks in their set. The more danceable songs got the room jumping, the quieter moments felt actually intense, and a touch of the political again snuck in - in the best way - as the band asserted their vocal support of trans rights. In a slightly surreal moment, they got the entire room to belt out the Welsh anthem from top to bottom, before moving onto some more infectious bops. This was in fact their second set at the festival, having delivered a more intimate performance at Porter’s already, and therefore an even more remarkable display of energy.
Perhaps the most anticipated highlight of the whole festival was the last set of the evening, as Squid finally took to the stage. This is a band that needs very little presentation, and the crowd gathering to enjoy their performance clearly knew what to expect from them - and was not disappointed. Bathed in green lights from above, they came to Cardiff hot on the heels of their excellent third album, from which they drew high-energy highlights, but they also returned to some familiar old tracks to end the festival with a true buzz. Once again, the thought that lingers at the end of the night is that of the uniqueness of all the performers seen on stage: an impressive range of very different voices and presentations, blending together seamlessly to show that they are all animated by the same spirit.
For this reason, more than any other, this year’s Sŵn felt like a joyous celebration of all that music - not only Welsh music, but British music and international as well - has to offer, and all that music can do. We need more festivals like this, so we can all come together to support this brilliant art and the communities it fosters.
Chiara Strazzulla
Images: Lucy Craig