Cardiff gig memories collected for new music exhibition
Nation.Cymru staff
Memories of seeing The Beatles and The Clash, nights at the Top Rank Suite and the music of Butetown Carnival feature in a new exhibition documenting Cardiff’s live music history.
Our City, Our Stories opens at Central Library Hub on October 12, drawing on more than 70 stories collected from residents through an oral history project.
The free exhibition runs until October 24 as part of Cardiff Music City Festival. It includes recollections of performances by The Waterboys and Patti Smith, alongside Welsh folk music and accounts of the venues that hosted generations of audiences.
Visitors can hear extracts from ten selected recordings through an interactive audio display, with full interviews available on retro tape and Walkman listening devices.
Historic gig posters, tickets and other memorabilia will accompany the recordings, along with a short film exploring the stories and venues featured.
The project began earlier this year, inviting younger volunteers to interview older residents about their experiences of live music in Cardiff. Participants were trained in interviewing and recording techniques, and the resulting interviews will be preserved through People’s Collection Wales and Glamorgan Archives.
More than 100 people signed up to volunteer, contributing over 500 hours. Fifty-five received training, while others researched venues and memorabilia, supported school workshops, provided translations, created artwork and helped produce a film documenting the project.
The work was funded through a Welsh Government Priorities for Culture grant.
Cardiff Music City Festival curator Ruth Cayford said: “Music is about more than the artists on stage. It’s about audiences and the connections it creates between people and communities.”
She encouraged people interested in music, local history or Cardiff’s communities to visit.
Councillor Lee Bridgeman, Cardiff’s cabinet member for housing and communities, said: “This exhibition captures the memories, voices and experiences of Cardiff residents, preserving an important part of the city’s cultural heritage for future generations.”
The exhibition will be on the third floor of Central Library. Smaller versions will subsequently tour community hubs across Cardiff, with dates and locations to be announced.
Cardiff Music City Festival runs from October 2 to 17, with a programme including talks, poetry, installations, photography and film screenings alongside live performances. The library exhibition will continue for a further week after the festival ends.
Click here for more information on the Cardiff Music City Festival.
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