Legendary folk singer Dafydd Iwan to perform at Machynlleth literary festival

The market town of Machynlleth will sing along with legendary Welsh folk singer Dafydd Iwan when the Amdani, Fachynlleth! Literature & Travel Festival returns.

The bilingual festival, from April 1-3, which translates to Let’s Go! Machynlleth, will yet again be hosting artists, poets, travel writers and musicians across the weekend for a series of events on stage at the Wynnstay Hotel and the Senedd-dy, Glyndŵr Centre.

With events costing £5 each, organisers say there will be something for everyone, from the unveiling of a new portrait by Dan Llywelyn Hall to Rhys Mwyn discussing the psychogeography of Gwynedd.

Travel writer Tharik Hussain will be talking about his new book ‘Minarets in the Mountains’ and Rebecca Thomas will speak in Welsh about the link between identity and the landscape, plus many more speakers. Events in Welsh will have simultaneous translation provided.

With a career spanning more than 60 years, Welsh singer/songwriter Dafydd Iwan has enjoyed success with hits including Carlo and Yma o Hyd, which reached number one in the iTunes UK song chart in 2020.

Yma o Hyd, which was originally recorded in 1981 and released in 1983, means “still here” in English. He will be on stage on the evening of Saturday, April 2 for the event titled on Atgofion a Chaneuon gan Dafydd Iwan, or Songs and Anecdotes by Dafydd Iwan, in English.

Charles Dark, owner of The Wynnstay Hotel in Machynlleth and Diane Bailey of Penrallt Books, are managing the festival.

“Our first event last November was thoroughly enjoyed, even if we did have to contend with Storm Arwen,” said Mr Dark. “We can’t wait to bring everyone together once again next month and hear from some of the UK’s most knowledgeable and acclaimed travel and literature experts and hear music from people as widely respected as Dafydd Iwan.

“Along with our valued sponsors, Culture Colony, Penrallt Book shop and Creating Media, we can’t thank our speakers from across the UK enough for agreeing to take part, as they are the best of the best and we can’t wait to welcome them to the beautiful town of Machynlleth.”

For more information about the speakers and the festival and to purchase tickets online visit https://www.amdanifachynlleth.wales or purchase directly from Penrallt and Literary Cat bookshops in Machynlleth.

Speakers and performers: 

Friday, April 1

Rhys Mwyn: Rhys’ talk will be on the Psychogeography of Gwynedd – based loosely around his new book Real Gwynedd and includes some stories about music

Saturday, April 2

Rhian Parry: Following recent increased interest in place-names, Rhian walks the fields of the Ardudwy area to reveal secrets and history of Wales

Jeff Towns: In the Late 70’s he read Bruce Chatwin’s book and was overwhelmed by clarity of his writing and the phenomena he wrote about.

David Leffman: Under China’s Skin through the eyes of travel writer David Leffman

Rebecca Thomas: How has the landscape been used to construct identity across time? And what are the linguistic implications?

Tharik Hussian: Hear travel writer Tharik Hussain discussing his new book and taking you on a magical journey through a Europe rarely seen in the news

Dan Llywelyn Hall: A presentation of paintings and talk on the subject of Hiraeth by Dan Llywelyn Hall.

Dafydd Iwan: Join legendary Welsh folk singer Dafydd Iwan for an evening of singing and anecdotes!

Sunday, April 3

John Grindrod: A captivating exploration of Britain’s most iconic contemporary buildings, from the modest to monumental.