The Gentle Good plans free St David’s Day gig at National Museum Cardiff

Stephen Price

The Gentle Good is set to perform a free live concert in Cardiff on St David’s Day, singing new music from his critically acclaimed album, Elan.

For Cardiff announced the free, live St. David’s Day performance by The Gentle Good at National Museum Cardiff, on Sunday 1st March between 2:30–3:30pm.

The gig forms part of FOR Cardiff’s Little Things campaign which celebrates Welsh culture through small, joyful moments across the city centre spotlighting five themes: gastronomy, music, literature, Welsh language and family.

The Gentle Good is the moniker of Cardiff-based songwriter Gareth Bonello, who is known for crafting modern folk music in Welsh and English and previously won the Welsh Music Prize. The Gentle Good is widely regarded as a leading contemporary Welsh-language songwriters.

Carolyn Brownell, Executive Director at FOR Cardiff said: “Little Things is designed to bring Welsh culture to life across the city centre in the lead-up to and on St. David’s Day. This free gig at National Museum Cardiff is one that people will remember; a warm, uplifting celebration of music, community and Welsh creativity, right in the heart of the city.”

Gareth Bonello, The Gentle Good said: “I am beyond excited to be celebrating St. David’s Day with a free live show at National Museum Cardiff.

“It is a full band show, so provides a great chance to hear the new album ‘Elan’ surrounded by stunning art from the national collection.

“I am very grateful to be a part of the Little Things campaign, it is going to be very special and I cannot wait!”

The performance links with FOR Cardiff’s Welsh Tales Trail which is set to take place between 11:30am – 3:30pm on St. David’s Day. Trail participants who reach the final stop at National Museum Cardiff by 2:30pm are invited to stay and enjoy the gig. To book a free admission ticket, visit https://my.museum.wales/56245/60785.

The Little Things program of events began earlier this month with St David’s Favourites, a public vote inviting people to try a selection of Welsh-inspired dishes and drinks created by independent venues, then vote online for their favourite. Voting opened on Friday 6th February and closes at 12:01pm on Thursday 26th February, with the winner announced on St David’s Day (Sunday 1st March).

FOR Cardiff is delivering Little Things in collaboration with Menter Caerdydd, Transport for Wales, St David’s Dewi Sant and Amgueddfa Cymru. The campaign will run through February and conclude on 1st March.

More information can be found here: www.forcardiff.com/littlethings.

The Gentle Good’s latest album Elan is a monumental protest album inspired by the flooding of the Elan valley to supply water to Birmingham.

Written in an off-grid cottage during a year-long residency in the Cambrian Mountains, The Gentle Good’s new album ‘Elan’ is a psychedelic portrait of the Elan Valley in Powys, Wales.

Featuring songs in both Welsh and English, ‘Elan’ explores the landscape, history and politics of this remote area, which was flooded to provide water for Birmingham at the end of the Victorian era.

“Mr Groves is a Wiltshire gentleman, who purchased ten thousand of these almost worthless acres a few years since, and is making a paradise of the wilderness…” – Benjamin Malkin, 1803.

Recorded at Tŷ Drwg Studios, Cardiff with sound engineer Frank Naughton and musician Andy Fung, ‘Elan’ is the sixth studio album from The Gentle Good. This latest offering sees the award-winning songwriter embrace a wider sound pallet, that does justice to the vast and dramatic landscapes of the Elan Valley.

In contrast to the stripped-back acoustic intimacy of its predecessor ‘Galargan’, the new record ‘Elan’ incorporates a full band, complete with layered vocals, electric guitars, vintage synths, flute and French Horn.

The Gentle Good told Nation Cymru: “The title for one of the album’s tracks, Ten Thousand Acres comes from a quote by Benjamin Malkin, an English scholar that visited the Elan estate in 1803 and later published a history of south Wales.

“Malkin stayed with Thomas Grove, an aristocrat who had recently bought the estate, described as “a Wiltshire gentleman, who purchased ten thousand of these almost worthless acres a few years since, and is making a paradise of the wilderness…”

“In the end, the estate and much of the valley was drowned at the start of the 20th century, when the city of Birmingham was granted a compulsory purchase order to create reservoirs for drinking water.

“To me, it’s indicative of the way both perceptions of Wales and decisions with far-reaching consequences for Welsh communities have been shaped from the outside.”

He added: I was lucky enough to have a year-long fellowship with the Elan Valley Trust from November 2021-22. I was able to stay in an off-grid cottage above Penygarreg dam, with no phone, wifi or radio signal, so there was ample time for reflection.”

“I wanted to explore the history of Cwm Elan, which echoes the history of so many other parts of Wales affected by controversial land seizures from Westminster.

“But primarily, I wanted to know what the valley can tell us about Wales today.”

FOR Cardiff’s Free St. David’s Day Gig: The Gentle Good takes place Sunday 1March | 2:30–3:30pm | National Museum Cardiff (Gallery 4, Floor 1). Book a free admission ticket here: https://my.museum.wales/56245/60785

Buy Elan from The Gentle Good, and other releases here.