Llais, formerly known as Festival of Voice, is an annual international arts festival which showcases a range of vocal talents from across the world. With a mixture of free and ticketed events taking place between 26 – 30 October, it boasts a diverse programme with live music, performance, and interactive experiences.
Wales Millennium Centre’s Artistic Director, Graeme Farrow, said:
“We’ve put together a cracking line-up for this year’s Llais; from veterans to the hottest new talent, from Wales and the world over, from poets to Paraorchestra. And to top it all off, we’re incredibly proud to welcome the iconic Welsh Music Prize to the festival. It feels like a match made in music heaven.”
Our Llais programme highlights
Two Welsh legends return home: John Cale and James Dean Bradfield
Llais welcomes Welsh musical legend John Cale (Velvet Underground), for a special one-off show with Sinfonia Cymru, House Gospel Choir, Gruff Rhys, Cate Le Bon and James Dean Bradfield (Manic Street Preachers).
Welsh Music Prize
The Welsh Music Prize will mark the beginning of Llais, taking place at the Wales Millennium Centre on 26 October. Presented by BBC Radio 1 DJ Sian Eleri, the evening will also feature live performances by nominees Adwaith, Buzzard Buzzard Buzzard and Dead Method. View full list of nominees and find out more.
Pussy Riot
Iconic Russian punk rock performance art collective Pussy Riot will bring their award-winning show Riot Days to the festival, an innovative combination of live music, theatre and video.
Death Songbook: Brett Anderson, Charles Hazlewood, Paraorchestra and Gwenno
Brett Anderson, Charles Hazlewood and Paraorchestra will be joined by the Mercury-nominated Welsh artist Gwenno for a performance featuring new versions of songs about death, the death of love, of loss, and ultimately of transcendence.
Cate Le Bon
This will be Cate Le Bon’s first Cardiff performance of her critically acclaimed new album Pompeii. Cate will be joined by black midi, with support from Alice Lowe.
In Pursuit of Repetitive Beats
In Pursuit of Repetitive Beats is an acclaimed interactive virtual reality experience by award-winning filmmaker Darren Emerson. It invites audiences to go in search of an illegal rave in Coventry in 1989, bringing to life the stories of the promoters, police officers, and rave-goers, whose rivalries and relationships drove a revolution in music and society.
Full festival programme
Also on the line-up are Afro Cluster, Dabs Calypso Trio, PRITT, Nia Wyn, Melin Melyn, Tri Hwr Doeth, D Double E, Abdullah Ibrahim, Midlake, black midi, Keely Forsyth, caroline and Tara Clerkin Trio, as well as a range of free events.
View the full festival programme and find out more about Llais.
