Posts Categorized: News

Our celebrated Floral Committee are branching out in 2024 with their very own ‘Daffodil Flower Festival.’ The events will be hosted at St Collen’s Church in Llangollen from 5-7 April, and will feature an Evening Choral Concert with Lleisiau’r Afon Ladies Choir, conducted by Leigh Mason, renowned local soloist Clare Harrison, accompanied by Owen Roberts and a Music Theatre performance from Shea Ferron. There will also be a special ‘Songs of Praise’ concert, led by popular Llangollen Vicar Father Lee Taylor.

The festival will raise money for the Llangollen Eisteddfod’s charity. The charity helps to bring hundreds of people from across the world for its annual peace festival. It will also feature daffodil wave and floral displays, with daffodils of all shapes, sizes and material crafted by the community including local schools. These will displayed in the church and in St Collen’s Community Hall, which will be hosting stalls, workshops, refreshments, and a raffle on Saturday, April 6.

Michelle Davies, Chair of the Floral Committee of the Llangollen Eisteddfod said, “Our daffodil is a recognisable symbol of Wales and a beloved fixture of our gardens and countryside. Why not hold a festival in honour of our favourite flower? We have been busy preparing for this for months, and our team have already planted hundreds of bulbs in the grounds of our beautiful 6th century church. We have 2 wonderful concerts planned, all in celebration of the national flower of Wales. All of the money raised will go towards the Llangollen Eisteddfod charity to help us continue welcoming the World to Wales.”

The tradition of decorating the main stage at the International Eisteddfod with flowers began at the first festival in 1947, when a few blooms were placed in jam jars to hide the tent poles that held up the stage’s awning. Over the past 76 years, the tradition – and the quantities of flowers – has grown, with the displays as iconic as the festival itself.

Father Lee Taylor, the vicar in charge of St Collens Church, Llangollen said, “We are delighted to be hosting the Llangollen Eisteddfod’s floral committee’s celebration of the daffodil. The Eisteddfod is synonymous with flowers. Each year, our town welcomes competitors from around the world to perform on a stage splendidly decked out in flowers. As well as a symbol of Wales, the daffodil symbolises new beginnings, so we’re delighted to host Llangollen’s first ever festival dedicated to the daffodil.”

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Global rock icons Simple Minds are heading to North Wales for a headline show at the iconic Llangollen Pavilion.

The Scottish legends are the final headlining act to be announced for the Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod 2024 and will perform at the venue on Wednesday June 19. They will be joined on the night by special guests Del Amitri.

Tickets for this unmissable show go on general sale at 9am on Friday (January 26) from  llangollen.net and www.ticketmaster.co.uk

Simple Minds are one of the most successful bands to ever come from the UK, selling more than 60 million records worldwide and having number one singles on both sides of the Atlantic (more…)

Our Artistic Director Dave Danford was in the studio at BBC Radio Wales in Cardiff to speak to Roy Noble about our exciting plans for Llangollen 2024.
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Organisers of the Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod will be hosting a number of fundraising gigs at Llangollen Town Hall to raise money to support their core Eisteddfod week. The gigs, which will be held monthly in Llangollen Town Hall feature tributes to ABBA, Robbie Williams, Pink Floyd, Slade as well as bringing the original Merseybeats, who performed with The Beatles in the 1960s, to town. (more…)

In exactly 6 months, Sir Tom Jones will take to the stage to open the core week of the Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod. Organisers have promised “….the biggest and best Llangollen Eisteddfod for a generation.” Acts heading to Llangollen in Summer 2024 have sold well over 800 million albums between them. Nile Rodgers alone, the co-founder of Chic, has written, produced or sold more than 500 millions albums world-wide.  Bryan Adams and Sir Tom Jones have sold 100 million each, whilst just before Christmas, Madness celebrated their first studio number 1 album!

In October, the peace festival (which has run since 1947) announced a partnership with Live Nation promoters Cuffe and Taylor. Since then, not a month has gone by without the announcement of another world-class superstar coming to Llangollen. Bryan Adams, Paloma Faith, Manic Street Preachers, Suede, Kaiser Chiefs, Tom Jones, Calan, Kerry Ellis, John Owen-Jones, Gregory Porter, Katherine Jenkins, Nile Rodgers & CHIC, Jess Glynne and Madness have already been announced as headliners. (more…)

A top music industry professional who has worked with some of the biggest names in the business has been appointed as the new Artistic Director of Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod.

At the age of 39 Dave Danford has already had a decade-long association with the iconic festival and has stepped up into the key role after a number of years as its Production Manager.

He is “extremely excited” about his appointment, which has just been announced by the Eisteddfod’s trust board. The appointment is funded through the Arts Council of Wales.

And he says he is relishing the challenge of overseeing every musical aspect of the festival, from big-name concerts featuring stars as diverse as Sir Tom Jones and the Manic Street Preachers before and during the festival’s core week of July 2-7, to its unique programme of international-class competitions. (more…)

A woman who became “the face of north Wales” after winning a singing competition nearly 70 years ago at Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod still returns there each year as a volunteer.  As a teenager, Myron Lloyd travelled from her home in Pembrokeshire to compete in and eventually win the Folk Song Solo category at the 1956 eisteddfod.

As a result of her victory Myron – then known by her maiden name of Williams – was snapped by a number of cameramen as she celebrated out on the field.  Then sometime later and back in south Wales, the farmer’s daughter, who is now in her 80s, was quite shocked to see that a picture of her taken on the day wearing the traditional Welsh costume of high hat and ornate shawl had gone viral 1950s style and started to appear on a wide variety of merchandise promoting north Wales. (more…)

Multi-million selling recording artist Bryan Adams is coming to North Wales next summer.

The Canadian rock star will perform a headline concert as part of the Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod on Tuesday June 18. He will be supported by electro-pop singer-songwriter Cassyette.

Tickets go on general sale at 9am on Friday from  llangollen.net and www.ticketmaster.co.uk

With energetic vocals and a charismatic stage presence, Bryan Adams is one of the most exciting live musicians in the world. (more…)

The Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod will be holding another community meeting on Monday 4 December 2023 at St Collen’s Community Hall at 7pm. The hybrid session will be an opportunity to provide an update on the 2024 concert programme, answer questions about their plans for next summer, and to invite residents to join the growing team of volunteers.

It will take place on the same day the Eisteddfod announces its evening concerts for the core Eisteddfod week, which takes place from Tuesday 2 to Sunday 7 July 2024. The Eisteddfod has been one of the highlights of Wales’ busy cultural calendar since it was launched in 1947 to promote peace through song and dance. This is the third community meeting since the summer providing information to the local community. (more…)

Indie heroes Kaiser Chiefs are heading to North Wales next summer for what promises to be a stunning show.

The multi-award-winning band will make a triumphant return to the Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod on Saturday June 29.

Tickets go on general sale at 9am on Friday November 17 from llangollen.net and www.ticketmaster.co.uk

The announcement follows the news Kaiser Chiefs will release their brand new studio album, the aptly titled Kaiser Chiefs’ Easy Eighth Album, on March 01 2024.

Produced by Amir Amor (Rudimental), Easy Eighth Album sees the band return with a fresh and bold new sound. From the Nile Rodgers co-write of new single ‘Feeling Alright’, to the frantic ‘Beautiful Girl’, horn-laden Kaiser Chiefs throwback ‘Job Centre Shuffle’ and joyous punch in the gut that is ‘Jealousy’, these 10 tracks are a true statement of intent from a band that continues to deliver the goods again and again.

The album arrives off the back of roaring success with previous releases ‘Jealousy’ and ‘How 2 Dance’, as well as a big UK arena headline tour at the end of last year.

Where 2019’s Duck straddled the tide between Northern-Soul euphoria and early ‘00s antithesis, 2024 will see Kaiser Chiefs stepping into a renewed spotlight; a hook-heightened universe in which Ricky Wilson, Andrew “Whitey” White (guitar), Simon Rix (bass), Keyboardist Peanut and Vijay Mistry on drums, come together to create what they craft best; breakthrough hits for the world’s dancefloor.

And with a band almost two decades in the game, armed with an extensive back-catalogue of stadium belters, and record-breaking success, fans at Llangollen Pavilion can prepare for a night filled with anthemic hits such as ‘Oh My God’, ‘I Predict A Riot’, ‘Everyday I Love You Less and Less’ and ‘Ruby’.

The headlining show is the latest to be announced as part of a new partnership between Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod and Live Nation promoters Cuffe and Taylor.

Kaiser Chiefs join indie superstars Manic Street Preachers and Suede, BRIT award-winning artist Paloma Faith anddisco legends Nile Rodgers & CHIC among the artists to be announced so far for the iconic peace festival in 2024.

Lead Programmer & Production Manager of the Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod Dave Danford said:“We’re delighted Kaiser Chiefs will be returning to Llangollen. They went down a storm in 2018, and we’re so pleased that they’ll bring their anthems back to North Wales in 2024. 

“This is just the latest announcement as part of our exciting new partnership with Live Nation promoters Cuffe and Taylor, with more to come in the next few weeks.”

Cuffe and Taylor co-founder Peter Taylor added: “Kaiser Chiefs are a brilliant live band. We’ve presented multiple shows with them over the years so we can’t wait to bring them back to Llangollen for what will be a really exciting show for everyone involved.”