The lineup announcement of any major festival draws excitement from music fans, but the reveal of the artists playing Other Voices is particularly coveted by those with an interest in uncovering the next big thing in the world of music.
The storied festival, which began in Ireland, is well known for attracting artists on the cusp of their big breakthrough, with previous headliners including Damien Rice, Amy Winehouse, Sam Fender and The xx, to name just a few.
But that isn’t the only thing that’s special about this quirky weekend event in Mid Wales.
Launched in Dingle, Ireland, in 2001, Other Voices began running a second, complementary music event in the Welsh town of Cardigan in 2022, which will return again in 2023 from the 26-28 October.
Like in Dingle, the primary venue for the Cardigan festival is a church; in this instance, the beautiful St Mary’s, which dates back to the medieval period. Alongside this, 80 additional performances will take place in bars, cinemas and community spaces spread across the town.
The festival is a refreshingly no-nonsense affair, where ticket prices are reasonable (£25 early bird, £35 after) and artists are given free rein over their performances, creating an intimate atmosphere that often sees performers mixing with attendees after the music stops.
As for those performing; this year’s lineup offers another exciting array of acts, including rock band Yard Act, whose debut album, The Overload, was nominated for the 2022 Mercury Prize, and Welsh-language band Adwaith, who won the Welsh Music Prize last year (making them the only artists to win the award twice!).
Other highlights of the jam-packed roster include Italian alt-pop singer Sans Soucis, who was selected as TicketMaster’s breakthrough artist for 2023, Machynlleth-born triple harpist Cerys Hafana, who returns to the festival after a show-stealing gig at the event in 2022, and Dublin's Colm Mac Con Iomaire, a skilled composer whose works have been featured on film scores and TV shows such as 'Blue Planet'. There will also be performances from around 40 artists hailing from Ireland and Wales during the weekend.
Speaking about the upcoming 2023 event, Phillip King, Founder of Other Voices, said, ‘We are delighted to be bringing Other Voices back to our home away from home in beautiful Aberteifi [Cardigan] this October. Other Voices Cardigan is the culmination of the collaboration and partnership with our nearest neighbours. It’s a relationship and creative engagement that continues to deepen and strengthen.’
‘Under the auspices of the Joint Shared Statement by the Irish and Welsh Governments, we continue with the building of a cultural bridge between our two remarkable and unique countries,’ he added.
The Cardigan iteration of Other Voices is also confirmed to run in 2024 and 2025. To find out more, and purchase tickets to this year's event, head over to the Other Voices website.