Celebrate with live Welsh jazz this Valentine’s Day

This Valentine’s Day a south Wales venue is inviting audiences to enjoy a vibrant evening of jazz, soul, and funk music.

Presented cabaret-style in the auditorium, the Memo Arts Centre, Barry is welcoming Kat Rees and the Siglo Section for an intimate and immersive live music experience.

Kat Rees is a Welsh bilingual jazz vocalist and songwriter, celebrated for her pioneering work bringing the Welsh language to the forefront of contemporary jazz.

She is the first artist to write original Welsh-language Big Band music, blending cultural heritage with modern expression.

Hailed by BBC Wales as a rising jazz star and praised by BBC Introducing’s Adam Walton, who said, “We’re clearly in the presence of someone mind-blowing here,” Kat has earned critical acclaim across the UK.

Her debut live EP with The Siglo Section was featured by ITV Wales as the first original Welsh-language Big Band recording, while BBC Cymru Fyw’s Tomos Williams described her as, “Imagine Ella Fitzgerald and her orchestra singing in Welsh and you’re not that far off.”

The Siglo Section is Cardiff’s acclaimed 18-piece Big Band, revitalising the big band tradition with youthful energy and a mix of classic swing, modern funk and original compositions.

Featuring five saxophones, four trumpets, four trombones and a full rhythm section, the ensemble showcases outstanding local talent alongside bold, contemporary arrangements.

The Valentine’s concert marks the first ‘Memo Presents’ event of 2026, with the evening celebrating Welsh-language jazz and modern big band music.

Other Memo Presents events taking place this year include Dadleoli, Taran & Penbleth on 13 March and Aleighcia Scott & Nia Wyn on 19 June.

The concert will take place on Saturday 14 February at the Memo Arts Centre, Barry. Doors will open at 7:30pm and the concert will begin at 8pm.

Tickets are available on the Memo Arts Centre website.