Running Punks!

Join Jimmy from the now world famous Running Punks each day for a run like no other!

11am and 1:30pm each day, meeting at the High Street entrance of the Wynnstay Arms Hotel! Get your trainers on!

Martyn Peters

Martyn Peters in an indie solo artist from North Wales. Debut album Veins out now.

Midnight Ambulance (Scotland)

Midnight Ambulance are a dark, cinematic alt rock duo from Scotland. They formed between France and Scotland in 2020 when they reconnected after losing touch for more than ten years. Amelia (vocals/drums, then Paris-based) and Fraser (guitar/vocals) began collaborating via video call as a creative and cathartic outlet. Their musical partnership quickly developed into something bigger, writing 70+ songs by June 2020. On Amelia’s return to Scotland, after eight months of writing together, they finally had the opportunity to jam live and decided to form Midnight Ambulance.

Together they create dark and powerful soundscapes that are completed with delicate melodies, leaving you intrigued… “but slightly scared” (Vic Galloway, BBC Radio Scotland). Their sound builds a unique and mysterious atmosphere that combines sinister and distorted instruments with folk-inspired vocals. Influences: Portishead, The White Stripes, Billie Eilish, Phoebe Bridgers, The Ninth Wave.

They have released six studio singles and most recently their debut EP ‘Smoke and Sweets’. They launched the EP with a debut sold-out headline and launch show at Edinburgh’s legendary The Caves. In 2022, they were shortlisted for BBC Introducing Scottish Act of the Year. Other features include: Apple Music playlists; BBC 6 Music (Tom Robinson); BBC Radio Scotland (The Afternoon Show Single of the Week, Vic Galloway, BBC Introducing); BBC Alba (Single of the Week); The Skinny, Snack Magazine (nominated Scottish Single of the Year), Tenement TV and The Scotsman (Artist of the Week).

They have performed at festivals and in venues across the UK, supporting artists such as The Pigeon Detectives, Fatherson & Texas. In 2023, they performed their debut international showcase at Future Echoes Festival (Sweden).

“Dark, powerful and mysterious.” BBC 6 Music

Swiss Portrait (Scotland)

Swiss Portrait’s DIY–Dream Pop foundations were built by Scottish born multi–instrumentalist and conceptual artist, Michael Kay Terence. He is joined live by friends: Carron (Bass), Rohan (Drums) and Brett (Guitar).

Living in rural Midlothian, Michael keeps a DIY approach – recording, playing, mixing and producing everything himself. Since Swiss Portraits’ birth from lock down solitude, they have exploded onto the Scottish scene and are tipped for a massive year.

‘Dream-pop project Swiss Portrait represents the creative vision of Michael Kay Terence, a visual artist from Leith. So far, the DIY artist has mostly been carving a name in the US, but his Wide Days set could be a deal-breaker. Explosive, ecstatic, melodic and immersive in equal measure, the performance leaves no doubt about Swiss Portrait’s potential, and is a one to watch.’
CLASH Magazine

Macy

Macy is an exciting new pop star in the making, coming from South Wales.

The Pastimes

Formed in 2020, North Wales’ very own The Pastimes have been developing as a word-of-mouth alternative daydream experience over the North Wales coast with their unique fusion of alternative rock sounds, taking influence from bands such as Nirvana, My Bloody Valentine and Dinosaur Jr. The band have been credited for their catchy hooks, dark tones and their fuzzed-up wall of sound.

The band hails from the North Wales towns Prestatyn, Denbigh and Colwyn Bay.

Their debut single “Tide” is available on all streaming platforms.

Alpha Chino

Alpha Chino are an Alt Rock band from Wrexham, North Wales. Their Debut EP ‘The Last Astronaut’ is due for release 31/03/23

George Borowski

George Borowski is much respected singer songwriter from Wrexham, but with links across the UK music circuit.

Dienw

Dienw are Twm Herd and Osian Land. Raised on a healthy diet of Super Furry Animals, Steely Dan, Miles Davies and everything in-between, Dienw have been making a mark on the Welsh language scene since 2017. Signed to I KA CHING Records, Dienw have taken their alternative indie rock to stages across Wales including Clwb Ifor Bach, Mases B, FOCUS Wales and Green Man Settlement – and expanded their reach with gigs in Liverpool. With funding via the BBC and Arts Council Wales’ Horizons Launchpad, Dienw are in the final stages of recording their debut album to be released in January 2023. Their work with renowned Welsh producer Rich Roberts has already proven successful with two singles being made Radio Cymru’s Track of the Week and use in a VisitWales promo. With Twm’s provocative lyrics and shimmering guitars and Osian’s intricate drumming style, they’re at their best live. Now live with bass and keys, Dienw are poised to make 2023 their year.

Sleeping Together

Formed over Facetime, Sleeping Together emerged out of the other side of lockdown to bring big beats, catchy riffs and good vibes back to the Indie scene. The band officially started ‘Sleeping Together’ in late 2022, just before the release of their debut single ‘Summer Girl’. The band consists of Alexander Lloyd-Jones (Vocalist), Jason Javier Dominguez (Drums), Ryan Williams (Bass Guitar) and Mike Corry (Lead Guitar). You’re joining Sleeping Together at the beginning of their DIY journey, having just released their debut single ‘Summer Girl’ in late September 2022. With their debut single, they showed that, despite going it alone in the music industry, they’ve got to ability to make a massive impact. Even before being released, ‘Summer Girl’ was dubbed one of John Kennedy’s three ‘Hot Ones’ on his Radio X show and the track was played frequently on Amazing Radio. Within 24 hours of release, ‘Summer Girl’ gained 1k streams. Showing no sign of slowing down, in the first month after its release, ‘Summer Girl’ amassed 4k streams and was chosen to be in Spotify’s official ‘UK&IE Fresh Finds’ playlist. Remember the name, because they are Sleeping Together and they’re here to stay. Their new single, ‘Time To Reflect’, is out NOW!

VOYA

VOYA are Linford Hydes and Eddie Al-Shakarchi. Influenced by the meticulous songwriting, opulent production and emotive vocals of early 80s British synthesiser-based pop, their music contrasts dark electronica with stylish new wave.

Linford trained in musical theatre at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama; his understanding of the theatrical and his penchant for performance, combined with a classically trained, yet soulful vocal delivery is integral to the band’s masterful live shows.

Eddie is an award-winning producer and multi-instrumentalist that shaped the sound of Boy Azooga’s acclaimed ‘1, 2 Kung Fu!’ album, which catapulted the band to international success and sold-out, headline tours. His background in science (culminating in a PhD in audio processing techniques) combines with his musicality as an artist and experience as a producer, and allows him to create the perfect soundscapes for Hyde’s vocals.

Together, they form a uniquely creative duo, blending the beauty, depth and power of Hydes’ lyrics and vocal performances, with musical virtuosity and production ability. VOYA are based in Cardiff, Wales and recently completed recording and producing their eponymously titled debut 12-track album, along with a self-directed music video. The VOYA live show also features the powerful, operatic vocals of Jessy Allen, and the drum mastery of Private World’s Harry Jowett, alongside the duo.

AEIOU (Liechtenstein)

Introducing AEIOU all the way from Liechtenstein.

‘Elektro Pop in a sensual way. They pick flowers from Pop, Indie and Mainstream and tie a beautiful bouquet out of it.’ Artnoir Magazine

Mary Shelley (USA)

Punk music you can dance to. That’s what you get from the genre-hopping, instrument-swapping members of Mary Shelley. Post-punk rhythms are imbued with elements of dance/disco beats, shoegaze, hip-hop and more, while influences stretch across generations, sounds and styles, ricocheting in range from IDLES to Talking Heads, Radiohead to Kendrick Lamar, Dolly Parton to Viagra Boys. Always, the electric four-piece scraps rules in favor of creative impulse, ensuring each new song sounds nothing like their last and crafting a surprise-packed catalog that has caught—and kept—people’s attention. All resulting in a rapidly growing following that has led the band to share stages with the likes of Car Seat Headrest, Gustaf, Boy Jr., Sheer Mag and more.

Of Mary Shelley’s debut single “Bourgeois de Ville”, The Deli wrote, ”It’ll probably make you wanna dance the pogo or smash things, or maybe just topple over a vase due to your spasmodic dancing” while Look At My Records! declared it “brings to mind the (barely) controlled chaos of The Birthday Party, with a touch of Mark Mothersbaugh and…Jim Morrison? If you gave him a triple shot red eye?”

It’s this undeniable energy that powers Mary Shelley’s live shows and has drawn loyal fans to pack venues, theaters, basements and backyards alike. In Brooklyn and across the United States, people have come out to move and be moved as the band serves up songs that pack a punch while probing preconceptions, the artists examining the unsavory elements of human nature while poking fun at themselves and those that they know. From joyously leaping off amplifiers and moshing with the crowd to tearfully holding audience members’ hands in moments so tense they could only be cut with a six-string, a Mary Shelley show encompasses the human experience at-large.

These emotions, observations and criticisms are captured on the band’s debut album ‘Look at You’ (2022), where each track offers a glimpse into the psyche of a character on the verge of a break, incorporating a diverse cast of narrators, from addicts in love and beleaguered fraternity pledges to nursing home residents who feel their world falling apart. These subjects—and their stories—collectively embody what Mary Shelley really means: To look deeper into what you see… to not miss the human being inside the monster.

Fernie (QC, Canada)

Music as a safe space—to reveal, share and affirm oneself. The Montrealer with a Brazilian background, Fernie, released their debut album Aurora in the fall of 2021—a blend of vulnerable words, emancipated soul and melodious R&B, vibrant with inclusion and subtle nuances of 90’s melancholy. A 3-year process, through which the queer artist first sought to be perceived as a whole person—for an album led by an agile voice, which narrates and links the past, the present and the future. 

After touring the previous project in many festivals (Osheaga, Montreal Jazz Festival, M for Montreal, Pop Montreal, Bars en Bars in Paris and Rennes), Fernie has been working with the likes of Patrick Watson on their follow up project called “Hopeless Dreams”, set to be released in the middle of 2023.

Bibi Club (QC, Canada)

Like a song through an open window, it feels like we’ve been waiting a long time for Le soleil et la mer. The debut release by Bibi Club, aka real-life lovers Adèle Trottier-Rivard and Nicolas Basque, is sun-kissed and wave-washed, shimmering and chic, a bilingual party overdue after two years that have felt (to everyone!) like winter.

“Il est tôt, il est tard / Le vent est doux,” Adèle sings over a shining, opalescent beat (It is early, it is late / The wind is soft): a sound like a heart coming back to life, two feet skipping into shoes and out the door, toward the future. She’s been singing for years, including with Nico’s band Plants & Animals, but Le soleil et la mer is her radiant coming-out: the announcement of a project that steps from the home and onto a stage, where Adèle can fully be herself.

The pair named themselves “Bibi Club” for the discothèque in their living-room, where the couple’s bibis—their loved-ones—come and dance. With kids at home, Nico and Adèle had to sneak away to make music: five minutes here, two hours there. Accordingly, their songs imagine that a family’s everyday enchantments might be loaned to the dancefloor, to the nighttime, to a place that’s still thumping as the day breaks.

Throughout Le soleil et la mer, Adèle and Nico set out to create music that is intimate, honest, sparkling with an energy that animates even its quiet moments—and inspired by artists as diverse as Stereolab, Suicide, Alice Coltrane, and Tirzah. It’s a sound as ready for revels as it is for rainy days. Bibi Club will remind you: if it’s not sunny here, it’s sunny somewhere.

Atay & Jax (Nova Scotia)

Atay & JAX are a Nova Scotian Pop/Rap duo known for their gritty, high energy, punk-esque live shows. In June 2022, they released their first duo project in over two years, a double album release showcasing their ability to bend genres. They have been nominated two years in a row for Hip-Hop/Rap recording of the year at the East Coast Music Awards, and won Best Pop Album in 2022 for their project “Did You Have Fun?” at the Nova Scotia Music Awards.

Since coming together in 2019, they have been independently touring the Atlantic provinces of Canada reaching as far as Montreal and Toronto. Their music has been selected by Spotify aggregators for editorial play-listing, and they have already headlined over 50 live shows.

Boy With Apple (Sweden)

It’s like Boy With Apple tries to transport you to another universe with their dreamlike pop. A mesmerizing world of eternal sunlight touching your face, long embraces from someone you love, and unconditional comfort. The band’s emotionally charged glittershoegaze manages to convey all that and much more, perhaps more now than ever before. Their latest single “Brighter Than the Sun” is a vibrant message of what the members are capable of and ends up somewhere in between Beach House and DIIV, with a distinctive electronic touch. After their first self released single they’ve continued to release music under the DIY indie label Vårø Records.

Haley Blais (BC, Canada)

Haley Blais is a Vancouver based singer-songwriter and musician. Haley has been DIY-ing it since 2014, turning out song after song of defiant scream-into-your-pillow bedroom pop anthems recorded in her actual bedroom. Below the Salt, the debut studio LP from the up and comer, is a coming of age story that recognizes that there is no real ‘coming of age.’ Featuring production from indie favourites Tennis (Alaina Moore and Patrick Riley) and fellow Vancouver artist Louise Burns, Haley’s signature sound has matured into a distinct new voice. Her lyrics riff on the joys and banalities of the every day, on the need to break apart and away from an uninspiring life, on radical acceptance, and manifesting a world where you feel proud of yourself and who you’re surrounded by. “Canada’s nostalgia pop queen” – i-D Magazine

XL the Band (BC, Canada)

XL The Band is a Western Canadian Music Award nominated hip hop/ jazz/ alternative fusion project featuring 2/3rds of 4x JUNO Award winning Vancouver group Swollen Members. The members of XL have decades of live experience rocking audiences of tens of thousands on festival main stages, playing in orchestras, and winding up jazz clubs.

XL have had their songs and music videos streamed over 3,000,000 times, have been selected to perform at multiple prominent festivals, and have European and North American touring lined up in support of their debut album release Opus No. 1.

Hourglvss

Alternative Pop outfit Hourglvss create a sound that purposefully lives in the divide between fantasy and reality. Citing inspiration from artists such as Wendy and Lisa, Depeche mode, Confidence Man and Self Esteem. Hourglvss tell tales of love and loss with hypnotic vocals, intoxicating harmonies while displaying a forceful sense of groove and drama that transverses through Pop and Clubland.

The Band have received great support from BBC INTRODUCING & BBC 6MUSIC with HUW STEPHENS calling ‘Cool Reaction’ – “An Undisputed Pop Banger” and BBC WALES Adam Walton stating “the best from every Era”

The band are currently producing new music, “expect heartbreak, happiness and late night feelings as we explore the realms of love, pain, mental health, vulnerability, and youth through an electro girl pop lens.”

Campfire Social

Genre blending, indie-pop collective Campfire Social craft a dynamically rich sound with bright harmonies layered over hypnotic melodies that help to underline a continued theme of self deprecation with a feeling of hope. Their honest approach echoes a love of 90’s ‘heart-on-sleeve’ emo culture. At times sobering, a positive message prevails; we’re better together.

CHROMA

CHROMA is a bi-lingual, alt-rock band from Pontypridd. The three-piece are hotly tipped by Under The Radar Mag as ones to watch.

Influenced by the likes of Yeah Yeah Yeah’s and The Gossip, CHROMA have received radio support from BBC Radio 1, BBC 6 Music, Kerrang! Radio, Radio Wales and BBC Radio Cymru and ongoing support from BBC Introducing.

CHROMA have played festivals such as Reading & Leeds Festival, BBC Radio 1’s Biggest Weekend, FOCUS Wales and Festival Number 6 along with European festival appearances in Barcelona and Brittany. They’ve also played sold-out shows all over the UK with the likes of IDLES, Peace, VANT and Tigercub.

Kitty

Parisian-Welsh artist Kitty has established herself as a pop force to be reckoned with. A true example of a DIY artist, Kitty is a singer-songwriter, producer and creative director of her visuals and works alongside her longtime creative partner in crime Dejan Visser.

Inspired by the likes of Lady Gaga, Kim Petras, Charli XCX, and Dorian Electra, and earning comparisons to artists such as Lana Del Rey, MARINA, and Lorde, Kitty remains in a lane of her own with a signature sound consisting of her sultry vocals, a range of production styles, incorporating her French heritage in the lyrics, combined with a stellar songwriting which clearly has her destined for the top.

Hause Plants (Portugal)

Indie rock group Hause Plants, formed in 2020, is the product of teenage years spent in nightclubs and bars surrounded by live music and indie rock bands every weekend. Growing up, they were just as influenced by The Strokes, Yeah Yeah Yeahs and The Rapture as they were influenced by the cool kids in Bairro Alto and Graça, the hipster neighbourhoods of Lisbon’s nightlife, wearing leather jackets and skinny jeans, singing their favourite Arctic Monkeys’ lyrics as if there was no one else around, shaping the city’s thriving DIY scene the Hause Plants’ members were a part of.

The Brooklyn-based, Lisbon-born band consisting of Guilherme Machado Correia, João Nunes da Silva, Dani Royo and João Simões, are set on pioneering a modern take to the music they grew up on. While the band finds influence in the classic indie rock bands they grew up listening to, their inspiration comes from more contemporary artists who, like themselves, are set to reinvent guitar music in the 21st century, like Nilüfer Yanya, Tomberlin, Wet Leg, Turnstile and The Garden.

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