Wales’ largest music discovery festival announces new additions

Sŵn Festival has unveiled the next wave of artists for its 2025 edition.

The multi-venue festival will take place across the Welsh capital from Thursday, 16th October to Saturday, 18th October. The announcement also marks the release of day splits and the launch of single-day tickets. Following the expanded 2024 edition of Wales’ premier new music festival, Sŵn 2025 once again runs across three full days of programming and forms a key part of Cardiff Music
City Festival.

Founded by Huw Stephens in 2007, Sŵn Festival has been organised by the team at Clwb Ifor Bach since 2018. Over the years, the festival has expanded to stages across a wide range of Cardiff venues, but its commitment remains the same: championing a diverse mix of local, national and international talent, and providing a springboard for the artists of tomorrow.

Amongst a plethora of new Welsh names unveiled are bilingual rapper Sage Todz, a vital figure in the ever-burgeoning Welsh rap scene; Welsh-Ghanaian alt-RnBvocalist and guitarist Adjua; Welsh-born pop firebrand CATTY who’s seen all eight singles they’ve released hit the A-list at BBC Radio Wales; Green Man Rising winners and fresh Memorials of Distinction signees Wing!; collaborative South
Wales soul/RnB project Source; and Ynys, the solo project of former Race Horses member Dylan Hughes, who pulls everything from Ethiopian jazz to Elliott Smith into his distinct orbit.

Having last played in 2019, the inimitable Gruff Rhys also makes a return to Sŵn this year. From fronting the legendary Super Furry Animals to his substantial solo career, Gruff’s music has always remained a one-to-one emulation of modern Welsh culture. This theme is continued through his new album Dim Probs, which sees Gruff pull inspiration from the 80s Welsh electronic music of his youth to make sense of the bleakness of modern life, infused with wittiness and the signature fuzzy charm that has made Gruff’s music so iconic.

Standout UK acts joining the Welsh line-up this autumn include Squid, returning to Cardiff fresh from their critically acclaimed third album, Cowards, and rising shoegaze star TTSSFU makes her mark with ambitious, DIY-infused music. Babymorroco brings infectious sleaze-pop and a bold, choreographed stage presence; Naima Bock, formerly of Goat Girl, takes to the Sŵn stage with her distinctive solo sound; and West London’s Lord Apex blends underground rap with soulful storytelling. Finally, Ugly have evolved from a moody guitar project into cult heroes, fusing Brixton post-rock, choir-like harmonies, and driving acoustic lines to deliver one of Sŵn 2025’s most transformative live acts.

Earlier this year, an absolutely stacked first round of names were announced for Sŵn 2025, amongst them: internationally renowned musician, poet, activist and queer icon Mykki Blanco, art-punk five-piece Man/Woman/Chainsaw, beloved Dublin quintet Gurriers, Bristol indie-dance duo Getdown Services, South African rap-pop trailblazer Moonchild Sanelly, the roof-raising experimental pop of Jessica Winter, technically rich and thought-provoking post-punk courtesy of Deadletter, the spectral goth-rock of London’s Dog Race, wry dance-punk crew Adult DVD, rapidly ascending alt-emo band Keo, and the witty Baroque inspired post-rock of Guildhall students’ The Orchestra (For Now).

This year’s festival is once again multi-venue across all three days. Participating venues include: Tramshed, Clwb Ifor Bach, St John’s Church, Jacobs Basement, Fuel, The Canopi, Tiny Rebel, Boho Club and Porters. William Dickins, Live Music Manager at Sŵn, says of the latest batch of additions:

“We’re finally ready to reveal the next wave of artists for Sŵn Festival 2025! We’re very proud of this year’s lineup and can’t wait to welcome some outstanding names we’ve been loving for years, as well as some brand new up and comers that we know will be instant favourites for people. We’re also very glad to be utilising some new venues in the city, and extremely excited to see what opportunities they add to Cardiff’s music scene as a whole. But as if that wasn’t enough, we’re still not finished
yet! We still have more to offer, so keep tuned in for even more juicy announcements.”

BUY TICKETS HERE: https://swnfest.seetickets.com/

Following a successful expanded edition in 2024, the Sŵn Connect industry conference returns in 2025, taking place across October 16th and 17th at Cornerstone and Porters. The conference aims to provide support and guidance for artists and industry practitioners looking to take the next step in their career – hosting discussions, presentations and talks, as well as breakout rooms and
workshops with industry partners. The Sŵn Mentor programme will also return, a chance for delegates and conference attendees to discuss the issues and challenges they face with invited industry professionals. There will also be industry mixers available to all those with delegate or Connect tickets. This year, the mixers will feature the Sŵn Spotlight series, a showcase for new Welsh artists that will make an impact over the next 12 months. For more information on delegate and Sŵn Connect tickets, head here.

Sŵn Festival remains as accessible and community-focused as ever – once again offering a wide array of schemes to make tickets as widely available as possible and to offer in-roads into the festival. Payment plans for tickets are available as well as concession tickets for young people, students and Blue Light account holders, while volunteer programmes and the apply to play scheme will also return. Sign up to the mailing list for more information; volunteer schemes are now open for application here.