Focus Wales

Last updated

FOCUS Wales International Showcase Festival
Focus Wales logo.png
GenreMulti-genre showcase festival
Frequencyannual
Venuemulti-venue
Location(s) Wrexham, Wrexham County Borough
Country Wales
Years active12
Founded2011
FoundersAndy Jones
Neal Thompson
Previous event4–6 May 2023;14 days ago (2023-05-06) [1]
Next eventTBA
Attendance15,000+
Major eventsMusic performances, film screenings, conferences, and industry panels.
Website focuswales.com

Focus Wales (stylised as FOCUS Wales) is an international multi-venue showcase music and arts festival held annually in Wrexham, Wales. [2] [3] It is Wales' biggest music industry event and was first held in 2011. The event showcases emerging Welsh musical talent, as well as a selection of international emerging acts, film screenings, and conference events.

Contents

Description

The festival is held every year, with over 250 performances from various international acts. The event's organisers also attend and host conferences and showcases internationally, including far-away places such as Canada, South Korea and Taiwan to promote the event and its artists. [4] [5]

The event is Wales' biggest music industry event, and alongside performances, the event would host industry advice sessions, panels and keynote talks, with around 400 music industry professionals expected to have attended the 2022 event. [6] [7] HWB Cymraeg which provides Welsh language events at the festival was also present in 2022. [8]

The Centre for the Creative Industries is a venue for the event. Centre for the Creative Industries - Glyndwr University, Wrexham (geograph 6141637).jpg
The Centre for the Creative Industries is a venue for the event.
Interior of St Giles' Church where some performances are held. Sant Silyn, Wrecsam Parish Church of St. Giles, Wrexham, Wales 45.jpg
Interior of St Giles' Church where some performances are held.

In 2022, the venues for the event's 300 performances, [9] [10] were mainly concentrated in Wrexham city centre, including performances at Tŷ Pawb, St Giles' Church, Llwyn Isaf, the Centre for the Creative Industries at Wrexham Glyndŵr University, and the Hafod Theatre at Coleg Cambria's Yale Campus. [7] [11] [12] [13] Organisers of the event claim it has contributed £500,000 to Wrexham's economy. [14]

Past performers at the event include: 9Bach, Snapped Ankles, Boy Azooga, Cate Le Bon, Tim Burgess, BC Camplight, Damo Suzuki (CAN), The Trials of Cato, Euros Childs, Charlotte Church, Gaz Coombes, Neck Deep, Stella Donnelly, The Lovely Eggs, Catrin Finch, The Joy Formidable, A Guy Called Gerald, Gwenno, Richard Hawley, This Is The Kit, Michael Rother (NEU! / Harmonia / Kraftwerk), Don Letts, The Membranes, Bo Ningen, The Magic Numbers, Kelly Lee Owens, Sea Power, Gruff Rhys, Kate Rusby, Georgia Ruth, Bill Ryder-Jones, Self Esteem, Stealing Sheep, Skindred, Bob Vylan, and Jane Weaver. [15] [3]

The 2023 event was the festival's most recent edition and was expected to welcome over 20,000 [5] people to Wrexham, with over 250 artists [16] at various venues throughout the city centre. [17] Tŷ Pawb served as a main venue, and as the ticketing box office. [4] [18] [19] The event since 2019 has been held across 20 stages. [20] For the 2023, event, the Focus Wales Film Festival took place in Coleg Cambria's Theatr Iâl/Hafod Theatre on 5–6 May 2023, supported by Fflim Cymru and 73 Degree Films. [21] [22] [23]

History

It was launched in 2011 to create a spotlight event for the Welsh music industry. [18] [24]

For events from 2017 to 2019, the Welsh Government supported the event with funding. The 2017 event attracted 7,000 visitors, and aside Welsh and British acts also had acts from places such as Canada, Catalonia (Spain), France, Norway, Poland and South Korea. [25]

The 2020 event was postponed to 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Wales. [12] [26]

In September 2021, the event was awarded Wrexham Civic recognition by Wrexham County Borough Council. [27]

For the 2022 event, acts included Public Service Broadcasting, Echo & the Bunnymen, Gwenno, Self Esteem and around 250 other acts. [6] [28] At the UK Festival Awards, the festival was awarded the "Best Music Festival for Emerging Talent". [1]

In March 2022, Focus Wales organised a showcase event at the Swan Dive, in Austin, Texas, to promote six artists from Wales. [29]

In May 2022, the festival backed Wrexham County Borough's UK City of Culture 2025 bid, [30] although it lost to Bradford.

In March 2023, the festival assisted in launching the Welsh Music Abroad initiative to promote Welsh music internationally. [31] [32]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gruff Rhys</span> Welsh musician and filmmaker

Gruffudd Maredudd Bowen Rhys is a Welsh musician, composer, producer, filmmaker and author. He performs solo and with several bands, including Super Furry Animals, which obtained mainstream success in the 1990s. He formed the electro-pop outfit Neon Neon with Boom Bip. Their album Stainless Style was nominated for the 2008 Nationwide Mercury Prize. He won the 2011 Welsh Music Prize for his album Hotel Shampoo, which was followed up by American Interior in 2014, accompanied by a film, a book and a mobile app. His most recent album, Seeking New Gods, was released in 2021. He is considered a figurehead of the era known as Cool Cymru.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wrexham</span> City in north-east Wales

Wrexham is a city and the administrative centre of Wrexham County Borough in Wales. It is located between the Welsh mountains and the lower Dee Valley, near the border with Cheshire in England. Historically in the county of Denbighshire, and later the county of Clwyd in 1974, it has been the principal settlement of Wrexham County Borough since 1996.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Music of Wales</span> Music associated with Wales

The Music of Wales, particularly singing, is a significant part of Welsh national identity, and the country is traditionally referred to as "the land of song".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wrexham County Borough</span> County borough in Wales

Wrexham County Borough is a county borough, with city status, in the north-east of Wales. It borders England to the east and south-east, Powys to the south-west, Denbighshire to the west and Flintshire to the north-west. The county borough has a population of 136,055. The city of Wrexham is its largest settlement, which together with villages such as Gwersyllt, New Broughton, Bradley and Rhostyllen form a built-up area with 65,692 residents. Villages in the county borough also include Holt, Ruabon, Rhosllanerchrugog, Johnstown, Acrefair, Bangor-on-Dee, and Coedpoeth amongst others. The county borough has one other outlying town, Chirk, to its south, and various rural settlements in the county borough's large salient in the Ceiriog Valley, and the English Maelor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">National Eisteddfod of Wales</span> Annual festival of Welsh-language culture

The National Eisteddfod of Wales is the largest of several eisteddfodau that are held annually, mostly in Wales. Its eight days of competitions and performances are considered the largest music and poetry festival in Europe. Competitors typically number 6,000 or more, and overall attendance generally exceeds 150,000 visitors. The 2018 Eisteddfod was held in Cardiff Bay with a fence-free 'Maes'. In 2020, the event was held virtually under the name AmGen; events were held over a one-week period.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Music of Cardiff</span> Overview of music in Cardiff, Wales

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gwenno Saunders</span> Welsh singer

Gwenno Mererid Saunders is a Welsh musician, known mononymously as Gwenno. She has released three critically-acclaimed albums as a solo artist: Welsh Music Prize winner Y Dydd Olaf (2014); Le Kov (2018), her first album in Cornish; and Tresor (2022), which was shortlisted for the Mercury Prize.

Llŷr Williams is a Welsh concert pianist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Urdd National Eisteddfod</span>

The Urdd National Eisteddfod is an annual Welsh-language youth festival of literature, music and performing arts organised by Urdd Gobaith Cymru. It is the youth counterpart to the National Eisteddfod of Wales. Arguably Europe's largest youth festival, it is usually held during the last week of May, coinciding with schools' half term holiday. Locations alternate between north and south Wales. The Eisteddfod consists of competitive singing, recitation, art, composition, dance and instrumental events for contestants aged between 7 and 24 years. Regional qualifying heats are held in advance around Wales.

Trac Cymru is a Welsh folk development organisation and registered charity which promotes and develops the music and dance traditions of Wales, both within Wales and beyond, and advocates on behalf of the traditional arts with public bodies and other organisations. trac strategically develops the folk music and dance scene of Wales by kindling interest, nurturing talent and presenting the very best of Wales’ folk musicians across the world. You’ll find trac working in schools, community settings, on festival fields and at international showcase events, helping to ensure that the traditional arts of Wales continue to enrich lives regardless of age, background, race or language. Activities include a range of annual courses in song, dance and instrumental playing for all ages and abilities: the Big Experiment Arbrawf Mawr, Gwerin Gwallgo and Gwerin Iau. trac also works with the professional sector, providing training for performers, and promoting Welsh traditional music and artists in the UK and abroad, as well as commissioning new artistic work. Trac is supported by the Arts Council of Wales. The organisation was founded by Stephen Rees, Danny KilBride, Phil Freeman, and Ceri Rhys Matthews of Fernhill.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Welsh Language Music Day</span> Welsh music festival

Welsh Language Music Day is a music festival founded by BBC Radio 1 DJ Huw Stephens. Events take place on the day at its base in Cardiff, as well as previously in London, Swansea, and even as far as Brooklyn and Budapest.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Horizons Gorwelion</span> Welsh music scheme

Horizons is an arts scheme and music festival launched jointly in 2014 by BBC Cymru Wales and the Arts Council of Wales to develop new independent contemporary music artists. It is curated by BBC presenter Bethan Elfyn.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Adwaith</span> Welsh-language indie rock group

Adwaith (transl. Reaction) are a Welsh language indie rock group from Carmarthen in West Wales, formed in 2015. The group consists of Hollie Singer, Gwenllian Anthony and Heledd Owen (drums). Signed to Libertino Records, they released their first album Melyn in 2018. Both Melyn and its follow-up Bato Mato (2022) won Welsh Music Prize awarded for the best album from Wales, making Adwaith the first act to receive the award twice.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">All Under One Banner Cymru</span> Welsh pro-independence organisation

All Under One Banner Cymru is a Welsh grassroots movement which organises Welsh independence marches.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wrexham County Borough Museum</span> Museum in Wrexham, Wales

Wrexham County Borough Museum is a local history museum in Wrexham, Wrexham County Borough, Wales. It is located within County Buildings, alongside the Wrexham Archives and a proposed Football Museum for Wales. The building is located on Regent Street, in the city centre. The museum is managed by the Wrexham Heritage & Archives Service, which in turn, is operated by Wrexham County Borough Council as part of its Housing & Economy Department.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tŷ Pawb</span> Art centre and gallery in Wrexham, Wales

Tŷ Pawb is a multi-purpose centre in Wrexham, Wales. It serves as a venue for arts, cultural and community events, as well as being a market and art gallery. A redevelopment of the former Wrexham People's Market between Chester Street and Market Street in Wrexham city centre, the community centre opened on 2 April 2018. It provides exhibitions, a gallery, a food court, small stage concerts and live events, as well as a market space for local traders and the relocation of Oriel Wrecsam. A multi-storey car park is located on top of Tŷ Pawb, on the building's upper floors.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Xplore!</span> Science centre in Wrexham, Wales

Xplore! Science Discovery Centre, branded simply as Xplore!, is a science centre in Wrexham, Wales. It is currently based between Henblas Street and Chester Street in Wrexham city centre. Formerly known as Techniquest@NEWI and Techniquest Glyndŵr, as a sister venue to Cardiff's Techniquest, it was housed on Wrexham Glyndŵr University's Plas Coch campus from 2003 until its relocation in 2020. The centre is operated by North Wales Science, a charity wholly owned by Wrexham Glyndŵr University.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wrexham Library</span> Main library of Wrexham, Wales

Wrexham Library is the main public library of Wrexham, Wales. Located in the city centre, adjacent to Llwyn Isaf, it opened in 1972, superseding the old carnegie library on Queens Square.

References

  1. 1 2 "Everything you need to know about the Focus Wales 2023 festival in Wrexham next week". The Leader. Retrieved 2 May 2023.
  2. ↑ "Focus Wales 2023 at Wrexham | VisitWales". www.visitwales.com. Retrieved 26 August 2022.
  3. 1 2 "FOCUS Wales 2022 » ABOUT" . Retrieved 26 August 2022.
  4. 1 2 "Focus Wales – Trac Cymru" . Retrieved 26 August 2022.
  5. 1 2 "Focus Wales: Emerging Welsh talent among latest festival acts". BBC News. 3 March 2023. Retrieved 2 May 2023.
  6. 1 2 "75 new acts announced as part of huge FOCUS Wales 2022 line up". Deeside.com. Retrieved 26 August 2022.
  7. 1 2 "Wales' biggest music industry event kicks off today". The National Wales. Retrieved 26 August 2022.
  8. ↑ Stevens, Gill (4 May 2022). "HWB Cymraeg's back again for FOCUS Wales! - news.wrexham.gov.uk" . Retrieved 26 August 2022.
  9. ↑ "Town turns its focus on music from Wales and around the world". The National Wales. Retrieved 26 August 2022.
  10. ↑ "Focus Wales: Festival welcomes music industry to Wales". BBC News. 8 October 2021. Retrieved 26 August 2022.
  11. ↑ "FOCUS Wales 2022 » VENUES" . Retrieved 26 August 2022.
  12. 1 2 "Thousands to descend on town as FOCUS Wales festival returns to Wrexham". The Leader. Retrieved 26 August 2022.
  13. ↑ "In Pictures: Day one of FOCUS Wales 2022". The National Wales. Retrieved 26 August 2022.
  14. ↑ "Focus Wales festival fears for small venues in Wales". BBC News. 18 May 2019. Retrieved 26 August 2022.
  15. ↑ "Focus Wales - Wrexham Events Guide". 2 February 2022. Retrieved 26 August 2022.
  16. ↑ "FOCUS Wales 2023 » MUSIC" . Retrieved 2 May 2023.
  17. ↑ "Focus Wales 2023 at Wrexham | VisitWales". www.visitwales.com. Retrieved 20 August 2022.
  18. 1 2 "FOCUS Wales International Showcase Festival – Thursday 5th May to Saturday 7th 2022". www.traveline.cymru. Retrieved 26 August 2022.
  19. ↑ "FOCUS Wales 2023 » TICKETS" . Retrieved 2 May 2023.
  20. ↑ Wrexham, This Is (14 May 2019). "FOCUS Wales 2019 rolls into town..." thisiswrexham. Retrieved 26 August 2022.
  21. ↑ Johnson, Laura. "Schedule Announced For Focus Wales 2023 - Stereoboard". Stereoboard.com. Retrieved 2 May 2023.
  22. ↑ "FOCUS Wales Film Festival 2023 | Ffilm Cymru". ffilmcymruwales.com. Retrieved 2 May 2023.
  23. ↑ "FOCUS Wales 2023 » FILM" . Retrieved 2 May 2023.
  24. ↑ Barrett, Christopher (5 April 2023). "Focus Wales founder Neal Thompson on this year's signature event". Access All Areas. Retrieved 2 May 2023.
  25. ↑ "Focus on Welsh talent during FOCUS Wales 2017". GOV.WALES. Retrieved 26 August 2022.
  26. ↑ "Smiles all round as popular festival returns to celebrate decade of music". The Leader. Retrieved 26 August 2022.
  27. ↑ "Focus Wales receives Wrexham civic recognition – "We are so proud to have it in Wrexham"". Wrexham.com. Retrieved 26 August 2022.
  28. ↑ "50 new acts just announced for FOCUS Wales 2022 line up". Wrexham.com. Retrieved 26 August 2022.
  29. ↑ "Focus Wales share highlights from their showcase at SXSW 2022 | Arts Council of Wales". wai.org.uk. Retrieved 26 August 2022.
  30. ↑ "City of Culture 2025: Focus Wales festival backs Wrexham bid". BBC News. 6 May 2022. Retrieved 26 August 2022.
  31. ↑ "FOCUS Wales, Trac Cymru, and Tŷ Cerdd announce initiative pushing Welsh music abroad". The Leader. Retrieved 2 May 2023.
  32. ↑ "Focus Wales teams up with Trac Cymru and Tŷ Cerdd on Welsh Music Abroad initiative | Complete Music Update". completemusicupdate.com. Retrieved 2 May 2023.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.