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The Gentle Good



Last Updated: 11/16/2009

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Status: Single
City: Cardiff
State: Wales
Country: UK
Signup Date: 1/5/2006

Who Gives Kudos:


Friday, July 17, 2009 

Current mood:  accomplished
It has been a tornado of a month - here's what I can remember now that the dust has settled...

Having come runner up in the Glastonbury Emerging Talent Competition I got to play at the Avalon Cafe Stage and the Queens Head Stage at the worlds most famous mud-based music festival. It was a lot of fun to play to so many people especially with the excellent Mavron Quartet, and the incomparable Llion Robertson.

I couldn't stay for the festival atmosphere though, as I had to run off to catch a taxi then a bus then another bus then a plane and then another taxi to Washington DC where I was performing the very next day at the Smithsonian Folklife Festival. Wales was the host nation for this annual culture-fest on the National Mall. It was truly a wonderful experience and felt very privileged and honored to be there. Not only was Welsh culture on display but also Latino music of the highest standard from bands such as Cimarron and Arpex, Conjunto de arpa grande.

The festival also featured African-American wordsmiths of great skill and power, including Toni Blackman and Holly Bass. I'd like to say a big thanks to Holly for letting me perform at a busboys and poets night and for showing us around DC!

I got to perform at the Kennedy Centre with Gwyneth Glyn which was a real treat and I also enjoyed performing onstage with Gai Toms and Christine Cooper at the festival itself. I also enjoyed more than one lesson in the art of cynghannedd from Aneurin Karadog and Ifor ap Glyn. Even with such prestigious teachers I still have no idea what the fuck it is!

And finally last night I got  to fulfill a long held ambition when I supported Julie Murphy and Fernhill at Cwmparc Hall, Treorci. I've been a fan for a long time and I think it is safe to say that I wouldn't have started singing traditional Welsh tunes if it wasn't for them. It was also a chance to collaborate once more with Fernhill's excellent fiddle player Christine Cooper, and I hope to do so again soon. 

So that's it for now, but plenty to come in August!
Currently listening:
Tierra Caliente
By Grupo Arpex
Release date: 2006-09-25