Music of Cardiff
The music of Cardiff has been dominated mainly by rock music since the early 1990s with later trends developing towards more extreme styles of the genre such as heavy metal and metalcore music. It, along with the nearby music scene in Newport, has brought a number of musicians to perform or begin their careers in South Wales.
Location
Including rock, metal, Welsh-language music, metalcore and pop music
Famous Cardiff bands include those from the Cool Cymru era including Super Furry Animals, Kids in Glass Houses and Funeral for a Friend, McLusky, The Loves, Los Campesinos!, The School and We're No Heroes, who dominate Cardiff's music scene today.
Cardiff is home to the world's oldest record shop, Spillers Records, which was established in 1894, and was situated in The Hayes area of the city centre before relocating to the nearby Morgan Arcade in 2010.[1]
A study by the Performing Rights Society revealed that Cardiff is the second most musical city in the UK based upon the number of bands having their origins in each UK city.[2]
History[edit]
1960s-1980s[edit]
1960s Cardiff produced Amen Corner, one of the top pop acts of the era and the first Welsh group to have a number one hit.[3] Also from the 1960s was Love Sculpture who had a minor hit with Sabre Dance. Love Sculpture featured Dave Edmunds who also had chart hits in the 1960s and 1970s in his own right. In the 1970s and 1980s, the Cardiff music scene was dominated by hard rock and blues bands, and included heavy metal pioneers Budgie.[4] Budgie released a string of hit albums in the 1970s including the gold-certified Bandolier. Budgie's influence reached bands such as Iron Maiden, Metallica, Megadeth, and Van Halen, all of which have covered Budgie's songs at one point or another. Post-punk influences spawned the three-piece Cardiff band Young Marble Giants,[5] who influenced a number of musicians. Young Marble Giants contributed two tracks to Is The War Over?, a compilation featuring unsigned bands from the Cardiff scene.[6]
Festivals[edit]
Cardiff Big Weekend[edit]
The Cardiff Big Weekend has taken place annually since 1995 as part of the Cardiff Festival organised by Cardiff Council. Billed as the UK's biggest free outdoor music festival, it offers three days of quality live music and entertainment. Alongside the live music stage runs the UK's largest travelling funfair around Cardiff's Civic Centre. Each night comes to a close with a firework finale. There is always a line of up and coming artists, world music and established artists, and traditionally the Friday night has always had a strong presence of Welsh bands.
Welsh Language Music Day[edit]
Welsh Language Music Day is an annual showcase of music performed in the language of Welsh which takes place across venues throughout Wales. Cardiff is a particular centre for events, with performances taking place at venues on Womanby Street throughout the day.[22] Local businesses often participate in the city including John Lewis, The Co-operative, EE, Cardiff Airport, Brains, Lush, Waitrose and Principality Building Society.[23]
Other events[edit]
The Welsh Hip Hop Festival, also known as Roxe Jam, brought together all elements of hip hop culture as a two-day free event in one of Cardiff's largest city parks, in Grangetown, with support from The Arts Council of Wales, Cardiff Council and Communities First Trust Fund and with the help of Welsh hip hop artists.[24]
The Cardiff Multicultural Mela also known as the Cardiff Mela is an annual large-scale outdoor multicultural festival, held in the city's Roald Dahl Plass, in Cardiff Bay. It celebrates many cultural aspects of Asian life, particularly music and dance. The 2009 festival featured bhangra, Bollywood and rnb singers including H Dhami, Mumzy Stranger and Navin Kundra amongst others.[25] The 2010 event attracted over 30,000 visitors and featured a performance from Bombay Rockers.
In the 1990s and early 2000s, Party in the Park was held annually in the city organised by the city's Red Dragon FM.
Cardiff hosts the Welsh Singers Competition every two years at St. David's Hall.
The Under Construction Youth Music Festival started in 2007 and is the result of work from a group of teenagers from the Cathays Youth and Community Centre. The festival hopes to fill a gap in music provision for teens while promoting local talent. The 2010 one-day festival will take place at the Maindy Centre on 14 August, and the main stage will host bands playing music from metal to punk while a newly added acoustic stage will showcase emerging talent from young singer/songwriters. There will also be workshops and activities including a skate ramp, bmx biking, free running and an inflatable football pitch.[26]
In 2011 the inaugural Cardiff Music Festival was launched by Only Men Aloud! member and Cardiff local David Mahoney,[27] with concerts and recitals including an opera gala with Dennis O'Neill, Wynne Evans and Only Men Aloud! director Tim Rhys-Evans.
In 2018 Gwdihw hosted Pwer Fest, a small indy and pop-punk festival. Pwer Fest was started up by Stereobrain Records and has hosted a multitude of different bands from Dream state to False Advertising. Pwer fest was scheduled to be held at Gwdihw again in 2019 but due to the shutting down of the bar it was moved to Club Ifor bach. With two very successful years we should Hopefully see Pwer fest back on the scene in 2021.
Venues[edit]
Cardiff International Arena[edit]
The Cardiff International Arena (CIA) is one of the largest concert venues in Cardiff and Wales and, has recently played host to Travis, Busted, Duran Duran, Paramore and Blondie.[18] The venue has a capacity 7,500 and is more than often one of the venues visited by the most popular touring acts. The arena is also used for exhibitions, sport and other live events.
St David's Hall[edit]
St David's Hall has over 450 performances a year, including classical music, rock, pop, jazz, children's events, dance and comedy. Past performers include Lemar, Chris Rea and Suzanne Vega. It is situated in The Hayes. St David's Hall is the National Concert Hall and Conference Centre of Wales, and hosts the annual Welsh Proms,[28] an Orchestral Series attracting renowned conductors and performers, and the biennial Cardiff Singer of the World competition.
Wales Millennium Centre[edit]
The Wales Millennium Centre is a performing arts centre in Cardiff Bay, opened in 2004. The centre usually hosts West End musicals, opera, ballet, and contemporary dance.[29]
Amongst the notable record labels based in Cardiff are: