Popular Welsh festival announces packed line-up for October

Amelia Jones

A packed programme of live music, cultural events and late-night sessions has been announced for a festival taking place later this month.

Gŵyl ABERTEIFI LIVE has announced its full festival line-up for October 30 and 31st. The festival showcases both established and emerging talent from Wales and Ireland,

The first of the newly added artists is international headlining DJ, Aloka, hailing from west Wales, plays a rare electro/techno set locally.

Talking recently on social media, he said “I’ve always kept my life and my music quite separate. On the weekends, I’d head off to play in a city somewhere around the world, then come back to my calm life here.

I never really felt confident bringing those two worlds together, and even when I played here, it had never been under Aloka or connected to that side of my music”.

Alt-folk Belfast based multi-instrumentalist Dani Larkin returns to Aberteifi after beguiling audiences here for Other Voices in 2022. Any fans of Sufjan Stevens, Bon Iver and Adrienne Lenker are in for a treat.

EtrA has been dubbed a BBC 6 Music “One to Watch” by Lauren Laverne. An electronic vocalist and producer from Strabane, Northern Ireland, she blends soaring vocals with synth-driven electronica and Irish folk influences.

Uilleann piper and singer Muireann Ní Shé from County Cork has been immersed in Irish language, music and song since childhood. While studying contemporary music in her twenties, she began to imagine new sonic possibilities for the pipes and has since collaborated with a range of artists including Róis.

Ceredigion’s own Tai Haf Heb Drigolyn have been supercharging audiences from Green Man to the Eisteddfod all summer long with their psychedelic, freeform shows from a large, ever-shifting ensemble. Expect lo-fi nostalgia, idiosyncratic performances and a set to remember.

Festival details

The newly announced artists join Cerys Hafana, Filmore!, Kizzy Crawford, Lemoncello, Mace The Great, Mared, MORN, SLATE, Tessio and Tokomololo.

The festival will also include the talk series Awen, four talks with artists, culture makers and facilitators about the importance of art, culture and inspiration.

To open the festival, Mwldan’s outgoing director Dilwyn Davies will be in conversation with the incoming Chief Executive and Creative Director Hannah Firth to discuss Mwldan:The Times They Are A-Changin’. This is scheduled to take place at 5.30pm on Friday the 30th of October at Oriel Canfas gallery.

On Saturday the 31st of October, the day will open with Bringing the Drama, a discussion between the artists Mared and Filmore!, two multi-disciplinary artists, hosted by Nico Dafydd (Fflach Cymunedol) at Bethania chapel. Bringing the Drama centres the experiences of these two multidisciplinary artists with careers spanning music and theatre.

Following on from that, a talk with artists in Folk Like… Cerys Hafana & Lemoncello at 3.15pm in Mwldan 2 hosted by Other Voices partner Gethin Scourfield (Triongl). We will hear about a rich seam of convergences from these “folkish” artists who refuse to be neatly categorised.

The final talk will take place at Saturday 4.30-5.15pm in Oriel Canfas, looking at the transformative power of art in The Culture That Moves Us.

Anna Nicoll MS (Plaid Cymru Member of the Senedd for Ceredigion Penfro) and Sarah James MBE (Craft Festival) will be in conversation with Gethin Scourfield (Triongl / Other Voices Cardigan) where they will discuss the way in which the culture has played a role in the story of Cardigan town.

DJs and late night 

The festival will be topped off with a selection of DJs and late night sessions at Mwldan from some of the area’s finest party starters and dance floor maestros.

Good Nature Party’s resident DJ, Sam Willmott, brings high-energy global dance music; Elishea is a genre-fluid selector, dedicated to seeking out the next groove to move the dancefloor; Andy Sonics, co-founder of the ‘Sonic Sounds’ DJ collective, dishes out wide-ranging, scorching hot global selections; Yann de Galles is a DJ known for uplifting, disco-drenched sets filled with feel-good selections, brassy textures and infectiously groovy basslines; Mr A is a Cardigan institution, expect the unexpected with an eclectic mix of funk, soul, reggae and bits and pieces from all over the place. The party will continue at Mwldan into the small hours.

Festival venues include Mwldan, Small World Theatre, GRAIN, The Cellar, Bethania Chapel and Oriel Canfas.
As Other Voices Cardigan takes a fallow year in 2026, this festival offers a “mini Other Voices” experience with a completely self-funded approach.

There is no funding subsidy so ticket sales are vitally important. Anyone hoping to come should also bear in mind that with fewer venues, capacity will be reduced this year, so buying tickets early avoids disappointment!

This event is part of the ABERTEIFI LIVE partnership – a collective between Mwldan, Small World Theatre, The Cellar, GRAIN and Fflach Cymunedol. Mwldan is also one of the three festival partners for Other Voices Cardigan.

Tickets are £55 (with a limited number available at £15 for under 18s) and available now at mwldan.co.uk and via Mwldan’s box office.

You can purchase tickets here. 

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