BBC 6 Music Festival comes to Cardiff
With a new 17,000-capacity arena having been green lit as part of Cardiff Council ’ s ongoing music strategy , the arrival of the 6 Music Festival in the Welsh capital was seen as another key moment for the city . Access assesses its impact
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’ ve been asking BBC Live Events to bring the 6 Music Festival to Cardiff since the first one ,” says BBC Radio 6 Music presenter Huw Stephens .
The BBC 6 Music Festival was staged for the first time in Manchester in 2014 , and the annual event has since visited Glasgow , Bristol , Tynside , Liverpool and London . It ’ s Welsh debut in Cardiff may have been a long time coming but it is timely .
“ It is a very positive time for the Welsh live music industry ,” says Stephens . “ I was working at the new Swansea Arena recently and that ’ s a great new venue – having bands like Royal Blood and Kaiser Chiefs coming to that part of Wales is a huge step forward . From the opening of big venues in Swansea and Cardiff to festivals being supported by Creative Wales , the Welsh Government takes live music very seriously and that has really helped .”
The Welsh radio and TV presenter became the youngest DJ at Radio One when he was aged just 17 . His career has been entwined with the festival industry ; over the years he has been heavily involved in many of the UK ’ s best known events including Latitude , where he curates the Lake Stage , and the Reading Festival , where he comperes the main stage . He was a co-founder of the Cardiff-based grassroots music event Sŵn Festival , founded The Welsh Music Prize , and is a key player in grassroots music initiative BBC Introducing .
“ The 6 Music Festival has come at a really exciting time , there ’ s a real energy here , post-Covid , not least among talented Welsh song makers ,” he says .
Around 160 Welsh acts performed at the event , which included the 6 Music Festival Fringe . Created in partnership with Creative Wales , Cardiff Council , Creative Cardiff and the University of South Wales , it involved a series of events including the Immersed ! Festival that saw 50 acts play across
Huw Thomas
five stages . While the Fringe event ran from 28 March to 3 April , the main 1-3 April festival saw live performances , DJ sets and Q & A sessions featuring acts including Pixies , Little Simz , Khruangbin , Idles , Johnny Marr , Cat Power , Gruff Rhys , Gwenno and Wet Leg .
Among the venues involved were St . David ’ s Hall ( cap . 2,000 ), The Great Hall ( 1,600 ), Y Plas ( 1,200 ) and Tramshed ( 1,000 ). The shows were broadcast on BBC Radio 6 Music , which has a reach of 2.6 million listeners , along with BBC Radio Wales , BBC Radio Cymru and BBC Four . Cardiff Council leader and chair of the Cardiff Music Board ,
Rhys Hughes
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