Wales ‘Best Live Band’ to play Meifod Saturday
Calan, whose thunderous sets won them Best Live Act at the Welsh Folk Awards, owe much of their early musical inspiration to performing individually at Urdd Eisteddfods.
Vocalist and accordion player Bethan Rhiannon is a six-time clog dancing champion at the Urdd. Fiddle virtuoso Patrick Rimes cut his teeth playing at Eisteddfods.
Now they are taking time out from recording their eagerly-awaited seventh album to play at the Cobra Rugby Club on Saturday from 8pm.
“The Urdd is important to us all - and to Wales,” says Bethan. “There’s nothing quite like the buzz of the Maes when it’s full of young artists. If we can play even a small part in helping secure the Urdd Eisteddfod’s future, we’ll be beyond delighted.”
The concert comes hot on the heels of Calan’s stellar playing on opera giant Sir Bryn Terfel’s latest album Sea Songs.
Rhian Davies of Menter Maldwyn and gig organiser added: “It is a real honour to welcome Calan to Meifod as part of our fundraising campaign for the Urdd Eisteddfod. They genuinely deserve the label of Wales’s Best Live Band. Anybody that has seen them play live will know how utterly amazing they are on stage. It’s impossible to sit still while you watch them!
“It’s a real scoop for us to get them to come to Meifod, and we are certain that the Cobra will be bouncing on the night.”
In early July, the band will share headlining duties alongside Sir Tom Jones, Katherine Jenkins, and jazz maestro Gregory Porter at a week of concerts at the Llangollen International Music Eisteddfod. Sir Tom headlines on Tuesday, July 2, Calan on July 3, with Porter and Jenkins on the 5th and 7th respectively.
Alongside all this, Calan continue to push the boundaries of what a folk band might achieve. They have written for and performed with the BBC National Orchestra of Wales, they performed with Sir Bryn Terfel for New York’s Metropolitan Opera and, as part of their huge Autumn Thunder tour last year, staged a mammoth performance with the West Virginia Symphony Orchestra then a headliner at New York’s World Music Institute.
The Urdd National Eisteddfod is one of Europe's biggest youth touring festivals, with over 15,000 children and young people competing, plus hundreds of stalls and fringe events on the Maes or festival field. With a different venue each year, this year’s event will be held on the Mathrafal Fields, near Meifod. Around 90,000 visitors are expected between May 27 and June 1.
Tickets for Saturday’s concert are available from www.gwylmaldwyn.cymru or Rhian Davies 07969 062263.
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