First Minister Eluned Morgan to join festival lineup

First Minister Eluned Morgan will join the Other Voices Cardigan programme on the festival’s opening day, where she will take part in a special conversation titled ‘Cymru Calling’.

The Clebran conversation, ‘Cymru Calling’ / Cymru’n Galw / Cymru ag Glaoch’ takes place at the town’s celebrated Mwldan theatre with Other Voices founder, Philip King on Thursday 31 October, at 6pm.

Other Voices will welcome Wales’ first female First Minister Eluned Morgan MS in a special session which will reflect on the role of the nation, its culture and its language, as it sits beside Ireland in a new relationship within the context of a changing Europe.

Firsts for Wales

Eluned Morgan became First Minister of Wales on 6 August 2024.

Her political career began in 1994 when she became the youngest Member of the European Parliament at the age of 27, only the fifth woman elected to a full-time political position in the history of Wales, and the first full-time politician in Wales to have a baby whilst in office.

She represented Wales for the Labour Party until 2009, and  later worked for SSE (SWALEC) and served as the Shadow Minister for Wales and Foreign Affairs.

In 2016, she was elected to the National Assembly for Mid & West Wales. Eluned has held various ministerial positions, including Minister for Welsh Language and Lifelong Learning, Minister for International Relations and the Welsh Language, Minister for Mental Health, Wellbeing and the Welsh Language, and Minister for Health and Social Services.

Groundbreaking

Philip King is a versatile figure in the arts, known as a curator, film director, writer, musician, broadcaster, and commentator.

He gained acclaim for producing the groundbreaking series ‘Bringing It All Back Home’ with Nuala O’Connor for BBC Television, which won a Primetime Emmy award in 1987.

Since then, he has continued to produce and direct various cultural events and films, including ‘Ceiliúradh’ at the Royal Albert Hall, ‘Glaoch: A President’s Call,’ and ‘Notre Dame: A Welcome Home.’

Most notably, he co-created Ireland’s beloved music and arts festival, Other Voices, now in its 23rd year.

The conversation will be open to all Music Trail wristband holders on a first-come first-served basis.

With less than a month to go, the festival recently announced Nadine Shah and Melys as the final acts to join the Church lineup for Other Voices Cardigan, which celebrates its fifth edition this autumn.

They join Charlotte Day Wilson, Fionn Regan, Victor Ray, Bill Ryder-Jones, Fabiana Palladino, and Georgia Ruth for intimate performances that will be live-streamed worldwide on the night via Other Voices’ YouTube channel and social platforms, and later broadcast on TV and on BBC iPlayer and RTÉ Player
via media partners BBC Wales and RTÉ. The event is presented by legendary BBC DJ and Other Voices regular Huw Stephens.

Other Voices Cardigan

Other Voices Cardigan festival is formed of three core strands:

A three-day Music Trail programme around the town showcasing the best of emerging Welsh and Irish talent

Three days of inspiring discussion as part of the Clebran Sessions and new for 2024, Clebran on the Trail, conversations with the musicians playing the festival.

Two nights of intimate live headline performances in St Mary’s Church from some of the music’s brightest voices hosted by Huw Stephens (broadcast live online and later on TV).

Other Voices started as a one-off music event in a small church in Dingle, a small fishing village in the west of Ireland and over the last 23 years the idea has grown.

Other Voices is now an established fixture in the musical calendar – a ‘must attend’ event for performers and audiences alike.

Other Voices has led to the creation of an international music TV series and the filming of that series subsequently became a music festival, a tourism event in its own right that celebrates the local on a global scale. In recent years Other Voices has travelled to London, Belfast, New York, Austin, Texas and Berlin.

Connections

First Minister Eluned Morgan said: “I’m delighted to be joining Other Voices in Cardigan as we continue to recognise age-old connections between Wales and Ireland.

Every year, Other Voices demonstrates the long-lasting relationship we have with our closest of neighbours which we share through cultures, language and music. Our Shared Statement binds us and we very much look forward to welcoming more exciting talented performers and visitors to Aberteifi once again.”

Philip King, founder and director of Other Voices said: “Other Voices/Llesiau Eraill celebrates the rich connections, the languages, and the shared living traditions and cultures that bind Ireland and Wales.

“Our contemporary music and arts embody the tremendous cultural vibrancy and contribution that our nations give to the world. In partnership with Mwldan and Triongl, Other Voices looks forward to playing our part in creating the soundtrack for the Shared Statement by the Welsh Government and the Government of Ireland.”

Visit www.othervoices.ie for more information and to book tickets.

The full festival schedule, featuring over 100 live performances across Cardigan over the festival weekend, is now available to view on the recently launched festival App for iPhone and Android, available to download via Apple and Google Play .