Eight Must-See Acts At FOCUS Wales 2023

The vital new music showcase returns...

The eclectic FOCUS Wales showcase comes once again to sunny Wrexham this week, boasting a diverse range of performances from upcoming Welsh and international talent. With so much to choose from across the festival’s three-day span (May 4th – 6th), you would certainly be hard-pressed to see it all. That said, here is a selection of eight Welsh artists guaranteed to put on a fantastic show.

Mellt / The Rockin’ Chair (Room 2), Thursday May 4th, 8:45pm

A seasoned four-piece outfit originally hailing from Aberystwyth, now based in Cardiff, Mellt serves the crowd a stellar set every time. Their characteristic blend of clever penmanship and infectious guitar riffs – leaning towards slacker rock and post-punk tropes – was exemplified by their acclaimed 2018 debut ‘Mae’n Hawdd Pan Ti’n Ifanc’ (It’s Easy When You’re Young), receiving the coveted prize for Welsh Language Album of Year, alongside a Welsh Music Prize nomination.

Since then Mellt have steadily been brewing up a storm of new enthralling material, set for a sophomore release later this year on Clwb Music (iconic venue Clwb Ifor Bach’s record label). You can expect to hear plenty of fresh-faced tunes and smatterings of beloved classics at their Rockin’ Chair performance on Thursday.

Mace The Great / Old No.7 Bar, Saturday May 6th, 3:00pm

Mace The Great, indeed living up to his name, is surely destined for greatness. Hailing from Splott, Cardiff (the district lending its name to his recent enticing debut LP ‘SplottWorld’), Mace already boasts a vast array of grime and hip hop earworms. His artistry and penmanship are bold, driven and self-empowering, yet his philosophies at heart are graciously humble; placing an importance on pride for his city, his community, and staying true to his roots.

Wrexham’s Old No.7 Bar will play host to Mace’s confident and charismatic set on Saturday, be sure to catch him there.

Cosmic Dog Fog / Llwyn Isaf, Saturday May 6th, 4:40pm

Allegedly (though perhaps entirely believably), Cosmic Dog Fog are said to have been “sent to planet Earth in its time of crisis, on a mission to assist the awakening of a global community consciousness […] and found sanctuary in a strange industrial North Wales town known as Sunny Wrexham.”

Starting their quest in 2020, during the throes of the first lockdown, the duo began garnering traction through a string of online events – their vibrant blend of lo-fi Casiotone grooves, intergalactic aesthetics and psychedelic theatricalities demanding the attention of a fanbase hungry for live music.

Their echo-laden space jams, now very much an in-person spectacle, have even received the Gruff Rhys (Super Furry Animals) seal of approval. All the more reason to witness their cosmic craft in the flesh on Saturday afternoon at Llwyn Isaf.

Kitty / Wynnstay Hotel, Friday March 5th, 9:00pm

A budding hyperpop powerhouse of French/Welsh origin, Kitty is a singer-songwriter, producer, and creative self-director with a true DIY philosophy, her inspirations including the likes of Lady Gaga, Kim Petras, Charli XCX and Dorian Electra.

Sporting a perfect storm of sultry vocals, hypermodern production values and inventive lyrics, Kitty’s musical strength is only reinforced by her striking visual aesthetics, which in turn actively contribute to an artistic microcosm of entirely idiosyncratic proportions.

Make a beeline for her awe-inspiring live show at the Wynnstay Hotel on Friday.

Dactyl Terra / Penny Black (Room 2/Ground Floor), Saturday May 6th, 6:40pm

A dynamic gang of four from the valleys of South Wales, Dactyl Terra are most certainly the mosher’s choice. Their sound is noisy and frenetic but by no means brash or overblown, leaning more towards well-crafted riff driven melodies, confident psych/garage rock sensibilities, and visceral textures flecked with spacey synth sounds.

Groove-heavy, energetic and bewilderingly fun, their set on the ground floor of Penny Black on Saturday is destined to be a good one. In lieu of Earth-shattering stompers, be advised to bring your least favourite pair of shoes.

Cerys Hafana / Ty Pawb (Performance Space), Saturday May 6th, 6:30pm

Upcycling and revitalising the folk tradition with her innovative, spellbinding compositions, Welsh Triple Harp virtuoso Cerys Hafana is certainly a must-see at this year’s FOCUS Wales. Her skills as a multi-instrumentalist and Welsh language singer may be rivalled only by her committed exploration of the Welsh National Library’s online archive, through which Cerys trawls to find suitable fragments of the hazy past to add to her repertoire.

The combination of these archive materials with found sounds, electronic processing, and her supreme playing ability makes for harmonious waves of folkloric purity, leaning into a dreamlike sense of psychedelia. Those attending Cerys’ set at Ty Pawb’s performance space on Saturday should look forward to her exceptional onstage wit, oft-punctuating tuning intervals.

Gillie / The Rockin’ Chair (Room 1), Saturday May 6th, 5:30pm

Picking up the cello at the age of seven, Welsh language songwriter Gillie Ione Rowland AKA Gillie possesses an affinity with music-making like intravenous elixir coursing through her veins.

Her ethereal indie psych pop overtones and storytelling charm both gesture harmoniously towards her roots in the serene Carmarthenshire countryside, while her breathy, crystalline vocal quality, fondness of hazy guitar loops and attention to textural detail hauntingly mimic the industrial undergrowth of city life. The resultant combination is a rich, ambient sonic force – set to entice all in attendance at The Rockin’ Chair on Saturday.

Gallops / Llwyn Isaf, Friday May 5th, 7:55pm

Veterans of the Wrexham music community, and masters of electronically-charged, space grade instrumental anthems, Gallops are a band of many phases and many phasers. The group began its first iteration in 2007, spawning the MIDI-driven post-rock of their 2012 debut LP ‘Yours Sincerely, Dr. Hardcore’, before disbanding a year later. Fast-forward three years of radio silence and Gallops were back with a rediscovered sense of purpose, prompting their sophomore effort ‘Bronze Mystic’ in 2017.

Consequently, the band’s name is synonymous with a juxtaposition of dark, heavy industrial noise, and glistening cinematic ambience – tied together by the thread of experimental electronica, and a dramatic audiovisual flair in their live shows. As Gallops enter their third phase, this year promising new releases, what better time to see them than on Friday at Llwyn Isaf in their hometown?

FOCUS Wales runs between May 4th – 6th.

Words: Kieran Macdonald-Brown