Independent Venue Week (IVW) has revealed additional artist ambassadors for next year’s edition.
The UK’s annual seven-day celebration of independent music and arts venues returns on January 27 to February 2.
Gwenno (pictured) has been named as the IVW artist ambassador for Wales, while Redolent take on artist ambassador duties for Scotland.
Gwenno and Redolent will perform exclusive gigs during Independent Venue Week. They join YolanDa Brown OBE DL, the saxophonist, broadcaster, philanthropist, author and now independent venue owner, as overall artist ambassador for IVW25.
IVW aims to shine a spotlight on culturally important spaces, and encourage fans to start the year by attending a live show. Since 2014, more than one million tickets have been sold to IVW events, providing a boost to the live music sector.
Winning the Welsh Music Prize with her debut solo album, Y Dydd Olaf, Gwenno subsequently signed to Heavenly Recordings label for the follow-ups Le Kov and Tresor – both performed in the Cornish language. The latter album was shortlisted for the 2022 Mercury Prize and named one of BBC Radio 6 Music’s Albums of the Year.
Gwenno will perform a special one-off solo show for IVW25 at the award-winning Acapela Studio on Wednesday, January 29. Originally constructed in 1835, and based in Pentyrch, a village on the western outskirts of Cardiff, the converted chapel serves as both a recording studio and 240-capacity music venue.
Gwenno’s support acts will be Dean Lligwy and Pat Morgan.
Gwenno said: “I'm delighted to be this year's IVW Welsh ambassador, having spent so much of my musical life playing and going to gigs at independent venues across Wales and beyond for the past 25-plus years. I'm so looking forward to performing at the beautiful Acapela in Pentyrch, a venue that I've heard so much about and have always wanted to play. I'll be playing a stripped-back solo piano set of old and new material with a few surprises here and there, and make sure to get down early for the wonderfully elusive ambient solo traveller Dean Lligwy, as well as Welsh music icon Pat Morgan of the band Datblygu for a special solo set.”
Fellow ambassadors Redolent (above) recently won the Scottish Album of the Year Award for Dinny Greet. The Edinburgh-based five-piece (brothers Danny and Robin Herbert plus Andrew Turnbull, Robbie White and Alice Hancock) topped a shortlist including Arab Strap and Barry Can’t Swim with their debut album left-field electronic pop.
The band have operated on a DIY basis for around 10 years, performing at independent venues around Scotland and the UK. They are planning a show for IVW25 with more details coming soon.
Describing one of his favourite independent venues, Andrew Turnbull from Redolent said: “One of my most memorable gigs was when I was 17 and went to see The Xcerts at Sneaky Pete’s. They had just released their second album, Scatterbrain, which remains one of my favourite albums to this day. Sneaky Pete’s, though a smaller venue, has an incredible vibe, and I felt so lucky to get a ticket – it felt like a smaller setting for a band as big as The Xcerts. The show was one of the most intense and exciting shows I’ve experienced. The crowd hung on every word during the quiet parts of the songs, and the silence in those moments felt intimate and special. It’s a night I’ll never forget.”
It’s imperative that we support these unique spaces and the artists who appear on their stages all year round
Sybil Bell
With more than 200 venues already confirmed to participate in IVW25, those wanting to join the celebration have until this Friday (December 6) to sign up here.
Sybil Bell, CEO and founder of Independent Venue Week, said: “We’re over the moon to welcome Gwenno and Redolent as our Welsh and Scottish ambassadors. Alongside YolanDa Brown, they typify the kind of broad and innovative music culture that thrives in independent venues all across the UK.
“One of our biggest aims for IVW is to kickstart the new year with a wave of live shows that encourage fans to come out, buy a ticket, visit their local venue and have an amazing night out. It’s imperative that we support these unique spaces and the artists who appear on their stages all year round, and getting out in January is the best way to kick that support off.”
IVW’s long-running broadcaster partners, BBC Radio 6 Music and BBC Introducing, will announce details of their activities and programming early in the new year.
Official supporters of IVW25 include Arts Council England, Beavertown, TuneCore, PPL, Rockbox and the Welsh Government via Creative Wales.
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