CORONAVIRUS VENUE CLOSURES | INFO & LISTINGS
HOW THE CORONAVIRUS MEASURES ARE AFFECTING VENUES, GALLERIES, FESTIVALS AND EVENTS IN SOUTH WALES – A REGULARLY UPDATING GUIDE
During this unprecedented time of enforced shutdown for the hospitality and live entertainment industries in the UK (and much of the rest of the world), the people who make those things tick are working like crazy behind the scenes to adjust to this sudden change. In most cases, they’re doing so with little to no idea of what the future holds, or the financial reality of that future.
Buzz magazine, as a publication whose fundamental role is to cover and promote cool things in our corner of the world, is very much in this boat too. As such, our monthly listings section has been wiped off the map, with the extraordinary situation of there being not a single event to list during April. Instead, please find below a venue-by-venue (also incorporating galleries, festivals, organisations and markets) guide to the coronavirus crisis in south Wales. Rescheduled and cancelled event dates, online gig streams or classes, and funding appeals to try and get through this revenue-less period are all listed here, as are links to their websites and/or social media pages.
At present, not every single venue which features in the regular Buzz listings are below, as many are yet to make announcements beyond being closed until further notice (which should be taken as read as things stand). The intention is to update these listings regularly as matters develop, hopefully for the better. If there’s some info you’d like added or updated, please email [email protected]. Thanks and stay safe!
Forced to postpone their weekend of literary-based talks, workshops, performances etc at the King’s Arms in Abergavenny from Thurs 2-Sat 4 Apr, the organisers of this festival say that they’re hoping to arrange new dates ASAP, and ask interested parties to check the website (linked above).
The following shows have secured new dates:
Ben Fogle, Tue 17 Mar – now on Wed 1 Sept 2021
Francis Rossi, Sat 28 Mar – now on Wed 21 Apr 2021
The Trials Of Cato, Thurs 1 Apr – now on Sat 15 May 2021 (previously rescheduled to Wed 25 Nov)
Dreadzone, Sat 18 Apr – now on Thurs 2 Sept 2021
Rumours Of Fleetwood Mac, Wed 29 Apr – now on Fri 4 June 2021
The Shires, Tue 5 May – now on Thurs 22 Apr 2021 (previously rescheduled to Tue 10 Nov)
Rhod Gilbert, Thurs 4 June – now on Tue 16 Mar (previously rescheduled to Sat 28 Nov)
Al Murray, Fri 19 June – now on Tue 29 June 2021
Russell Howard, Sat 5 Sept – now on Sun 27 June 2021
ELO Again, Fri 16 Oct – now on Fri 3 Sept 2021
Goldie Lookin Chain, Sat 24 Oct – now on Fri 9 Apr 2021
A music venue converted from a chapel and located in the Cardiff suburb of Pentyrch, Acapela hosts hundreds of live performances each year, and as such is embarking on a comprehensive bout of rearranging. Here’s what’s confirmed so far:
Steve Harley, Fri 20 + Sat 21 Mar – now on Fri 13 + Thurs 12 Nov respectively
Roving Crows, Sat 22 Mar – now on Sun 13 Sept
Gold To Rio, Fri 27 Mar – now on Sat 16 Jan (initially rescheduled for Sat 15 Aug)
Never The Bride, Sat 28 Mar – now on Sat 24 Oct
6 Hands, Sat 4 Apr – now on Sun 14 Mar
Mr Tea & The Minions, Fri 10 Apr – now on Sun 13 June 2021 (initially rescheduled for Sun 9 Aug)
Bruno, Sat 11 Apr – now on Sat 30 Jan (initially rescheduled for Sat 8 Aug)
Big Gospel Choir, Sun 12 Apr – now on Sun 20 Dec (initially rescheduled for Sun 26 July)
Kizzy Crawford, Wed 15 Apr – now on Wed 10 Mar (initially rescheduled for Thurs 6 Aug)
Lioness, Thurs 16 Apr – now on Fri 16 Oct
David Live, Sat 18 Apr – now on Fri 29 Jan
Mal Pope, Sun 19 Apr – now on Sun 23 Aug
Dean Friedman, Wed 22 Apr – now on Mon 27 July
Los Pacaminos, Fri 24 Apr – now on Fri 18 Dec
Gordon Haskell, Sat 2 May – now on Thurs 19 Nov
Disco Diva, Thurs 15 May – now on Sat 10 Apr
Jahmene, Sat 17 May – now on Sat 28 Mar
Logicaltramp, Thurs 22 May – now on Sat 24 Apr (initially rescheduled for Fri 14 Aug)
Nell Bryden, Sat 24 May – now on Sat 23 May 2021
Manoeuvres, Fri 29 May – now on Sat 3 Apr (initially rescheduled for Sat 2 Aug)
Fairport Convention, Sun 31 May – now on Mon 9 May 2021 (initially rescheduled for Wed 16 Sept)
Lau, Tue 2 June – now on Sat 7 Nov
Beach Boyz, Wed 3 June – now on Fri 18 Sept
Shakatak, Sat 6 June – now on Fri 9 May 2021
Bob Dylan Story, Sun 7 June – now on Sat 13 Feb
Bootleg Boss, Fri 12 June – now on Fri 4 Dec
Roxy Magic, Sat 13 June – now on Sat 5 June 2021
The Schmoozenbergs, Sun 14 June – now on Wed 20 Jan
Fire, Rain & American Pie, Wed 17 June – now on Thurs 4 Feb
Whole Lotta Led, Fri 19 June – now on Fri 30 May 2021
Sounds Of Simon, Sat 20 June – now on Sun 10 Jan
Edwina Hayes, Sun 21 June – now on Sun 31 Jan
Not The Rolling Stones, Mon 22 June – now on Sat 5 Dec
ELO Encounter, Sat 27 June – now on Sat 9 Jan
Unravelling Wilburys, Sun 28 June – now on Sun 24 Jan
Disco Inferno 7, Sat 4 July – now on Fri 30 Oct
Abba Arrival, Sat 11 July – now on Sat 12 Dec
Flook, Tue 14 July – now on Wed 21 Apr
Alan Johnson, Sun 19 July – now on Sun 11 Apr
Thomas Cameron, Sun 2 Aug – now on Sun 8 Aug 2021
Madassa Soul Band, Fri 7 Aug – now on Fri 18 June
Mal Pope, Sun 23 Aug – now on Sun 24 Oct 2021
Coldplace, Sat 5 Sept – now on Fri 12 Nov 2021
Sarah Jayne Morris, Sun 6 Sept – now on Sun 18 July
Roving Crows, Sun 13 Sept – now on Sun 4 July
Cara Dillon, Fri 11 Sept – now on Fri 27 Mar
The Christians, Sat 12 Sept – now on Fri 30 May 2021
Fotheringay, Sun 20 Sept – now on Sun 19 Sept 2021
The Three Degrees, Thurs 24 + Fri 25 Sept – now on Thurs 9 + Fri 10 Sept 2021
Made In Liverpool, Sat 26 Sept – now on Sat 20 Mar
Harriet – The Piano Sessions, Sun 27 Sept – now on Mon 5 May 2021
Judie Tzuke, Sat 10 Oct – now on Sat 17 Apr
Gordon Giltrap, Wed 14 Oct – now on Wed 14 Apr
Amy Winehouse Experience, Fri 16 Oct – now on Sat 18 Sept 2021
Fleetingwood Mac, Sat 17 Oct – now on Fri 6 Mar
Ben Walker & Kirstyn Merryn, Sun 18 Oct – now on Tue 3 Mar
Never The Bride, Sat 24 Oct – now on Sat 7 Aug
Acapela is also a pizza restaurant, and will be serving them as takeaways every Friday and Saturday evening until further notice.
The Cardiff gallery’s exhibition programme, having moved online across spring and early summer, is again viewable in person. August’s fare includes new work by Chris Prout plus ceramics by Sarah Purvey, and runs from Thurs 6-Sat 29 Aug.
These regular craft fairs in Neath and Llanelli are cancelled for these scheduled dates: Sat 21 Mar, Sat 4 Apr and Fri 1/Sat 2 May. Events for June onwards will be confirmed, or indeed denied, closer to the time.
This Cardiff Bay gallery welcomes back visitors and opens its 2020-21 programme with a show by three locally-based artists, Zena Blackwell, Lara Davies and Rhiannon Davies. The show, titled Telling Tales, runs from Tue 22 Sept until Fri 16 Oct.
BEEP PAINTING BIENNIAL FESTIVAL
Running across multiple galleries in Swansea (with the Elysium Gallery the fulcrum of it all) plus a few in Cardiff, BEEP returns from Sat 3 Oct-Sat 7 Nov, as part of the Swansea Fringe Festival. “There may be crowd restrictions or even another change of dates,” notes the BEEP website; “we will keep everyone notified of any changes as the situation progresses.” For now, work can be found in Elysium, College St Gallery, Glynn Vivian Art Gallery, Mission Gallery, Swansea Museum, GS Artists, Volcano and the National Waterfront Museum in Swansea; ArcadeCampfa, MADE, Oriel Canfas, RUG and Shift in Cardiff; Oriel Blodau Bach and the Black Raven Gallery in Carmarthenshire, plus the Terrace Gallery in London.
The planned launch of this Cardiff Bay establishment’s latest exhibition Bold And Fearless on Fri 3 Apr has been postponed, but the artworks featured will be available to view and purchase on Blackwater’s website.
Located in Abergavenny, the Borough is currently stating its intention to remain closed until the end of April at the earliest. The majority of its bookings for that month have been allotted new dates, as follows:
I’m Still Standing, Sat 21 Mar – now on Sat 3 Oct
Back To Bacharach, Fri 3 Apr – now on Wed 14 Oct
Gold To Rio, Sat 4 Apr – now on Sat 20 Mar
Dire Streets, Sat 18 Apr – now on Fri 6 Nov
Mark Steel, Fri 24 Apr – now on Sat 6 Mar
Owen Money’s Jukebox Heroes III, Sat 25 Apr – now on Sat 13 Mar
Hope And Social, Wed 29 Apr – now on Tue 29 Sept
Harpy, Thurs 30 Apr – now on Thurs 24 Sept
The History Of Rock, Sat 2 May – now on Fri 19 Mar
Ruth Jones Us Three, Tue 12 May – now on Tue 1 Sept
Andy Parsons, Wed 10 June – now on Wed 5 May
T. Rexstacy, Thurs 18 June – now on Thurs 12 Nov
Arrive Dance Platform (Fri 27 Mar), The Unremarkable Death Of Marilyn Monroe (Tue 31 Mar) and Beach Body Ready (Thurs 9 Apr) have all been cancelled. A new date for Minerva Piano Trio (Thurs 16 Apr) is to be announced. Refunds are available for all of the cancelled dates, plus the reschedules ones if preferred.
Popular Cardiff climbing centre, found near Splott, offers an impressively thorough breakdown of its corona-era plans. They’re intending to use the building as a base for food collection and deliveries, and offering childcare for NHS/key workers. Financially, you can help Boulders by buying a t-shirt or gift vouchers for future use, and their in-house yoga teacher Tori is planning to start tutoring via video.
This Swansea institution has rearranged shows up until mid-June so far; here’s the list :
The Illegal Eagles, Sat 18 Apr – now on Sat 21 Nov
Valley Rock Voices, Sat 20 June – now on Sat 17 Oct
The tea dance on Wed 1 Apr, plus BBC NOW: St Matthew Passion (Thurs 9 Apr) and Cirque Enfant (Fri 17 Apr) have all been cancelled.
Monthly jazz events at The Muse in Brecon are suspended until further notice, as well as the annual festival held across the town, which was set for Fri 7-Sun 9 Aug. Livestreams of performances are planned for that weekend, however, inspired by major jazz fests such as Montreux. In the meantime, organisers Lynne and Roger have made some live recordings from last year’s BJF available for download: grab those here.
The generally packed gig schedule of this Swansea space having been nobbled, they’ve quickly turned to Gofundme (sling them some money here if you like), plus live streams to raise awareness of their need for financial support. Their kitchen are now delivering most days, with the menu including vegan options and roasts on Sundays.
Part of the Healthspan Wales 10k Series of runs, with Velindre as the charity partner, this was due to take place on Sun 29 Mar, and has now been moved to Sun 15 Nov. Anyone who was down to take part can either remain as a participant, transfer their place to another runner, or take part ‘virtually’, which requires you to complete the distance in your own time and show corroborating evidence that you’ve done so. What a time to be alive!
Live events in this historical setting have variously been pushed to late summer (for now), the following year, or cancelled entirely. As follows:
Gerry Cinnamon, Sat 30 May – now on Sun 30 May 2021
Foals, Fri 10 July – now on Sat 5 June 2021
Depot In The Castle, Sat 11 July – now on Sat 10 July 2021
Lionel Richie, Sun 2 Aug – now in summer 2021, date TBC
Michael Buble, Wed 5 Aug – now on Thurs 22 July 2021
The Lord Chamberlain’s Men’s performance of Macbeth on Sat 4 July has been cancelled but will take place in 2021.
The three weekly markets organised by the Riverside Real Food enterprise, in Roath, Rhiwbina and Riverside itself, locked down in late March and in many cases reverted to home deliveries of their produce (for a list of which ones plus info on ordering, click here). They’re due to return in the second week of June, however, with social distancing considerations equalling fewer stalls and a broad discouragement of hanging round and nattering eating your purchases. Yes, that is part of the appeal for many. Deal with it! Rhiwbina returns weekly from Fri 12 June; Roath weekly from Sat 13; Riverside from Sun 14.
Otherwise found in Bub’s (formerly Beelzebub’s) bar once a month discussing a book which has been influential on, or relevant to, the panoply of left-wing theory and culture, for June they’ll be meeting up online, using a visual chat service to be confirmed. Set for Tue 9 June at 7pm, the book is Feminism, Interrupted: Disrupting Power by Lola Olufemi.
CARDIFF UNIVERSITY STUDENTS UNION
Regarding the non-ents side of CUSU’s in-building operations, drop-in sessions/appointments are to be replaced by email or phone-based ones where possible, as are enquiries related to Cardiff Student Lettings and Jobshop. Student paper Gair Rhydd and its supplement Quench will pivot to online content. The annual Welsh Varsity rugby match between Cardiff and Swansea, due to take place in Swansea on Wed 29 Apr, has been cancelled for this year. All Cardiff student award ceremonies have been cancelled until further notice. Gigs-wise, most of the upcoming calendar has found new dates, and looks like this:
Gabrielle Aplin, Fri 13 Mar – now on Fri 11 Sept
Fish, Thurs 19 Mar – now on Sun 14 Feb
King King, Fri 3 Apr – now on Sun 7 Feb
The Boomtown Rats, Sat 18 Apr – now on Fri 2 Oct
The Hunna, Tue 19 May – now on Wed 14 Apr
The Undertones [above], Thurs 4 June – now on Thurs 18 Mar
CARMARTHENSHIRE THEATRES: Y FFWRNES / THE LYRIC / MINERS THEATRE
These theatrical triplets of the eponymous west Wales county (found in Llanelli, Carmarthen and Ammanford respectively) are working to the same schedule, closure-wise. A lengthy list of new dates is in the works, however:
Lleuwen, Miners, Wed 18 Mar – now on Thurs 8 Oct
The South, Ffwrnes, Wed 18 Mar – now on Thurs 3 Dec
Mike Doyle, Ffwrnes, Fri 20 Mar – now on Wed 30 Sept
Joel Dommett, Lyric, Thurs 26 Mar – now on Fri 26 Mar 2021
The Ultimate Classic Rock Show, Sat 28 Mar – now on Fri 25 Sept
Dom Joly, Lyric, Wed 16 Sept – now on Sat 15 Oct 2021 (originally on Wed 1 Apr)
Mal Pope, Lyric, Fri 3 Apr – now on Fri 13 Nov
Owen Money’s Jukebox Heroes III, Lyric, Sat 4 Apr – now on Thurs 29 Apr 2021
Rock Of Ages, Lyric, Thurs 9-Sat 11 Apr – now on Thurs 10-Sat 12 Sept
Owen Money’s Jukebox Heroes III, Ffwrnes, Sat 11 Apr – now on Fri 26 Mar
Spontaneous Potter, Ffwrnes, Tue 14 Apr – now on Mon 15 Feb
Mal Pope, Miners, Wed 15 Apr – now on Tue 3 Nov
The Queen Of The Ocean, Ffwrnes, Wed 15-Fri 17 Apr – now on Fri 27 + Sat 28 Nov
The Carpenters Experience, Lyric, Sat 18 Apr – now on Sat 28 Nov
You Win Again, Ffwrnes, Sat 18 Apr – now on Sat 2 Oct 2021
The Mersey Beatles, Ffwrnes, Fri 24 Apr – now on Tue 15 Sept
Neuroendocrine Charity Music Gala, Ffwrnes, Sat 25 Apr – now on Sat 8 May 2021
Treorchy Male Choir, Lyric, Sat 25 Apr – now on Sat 17 Apr
Songs For A New World, Ffwrnes, Thurs 30 Apr + Fri 1 May – now on Wed 2 + Thurs 3 Sept
Rose Royce, Lyric, Sat 2 May – now on Sat 29 Aug
Scarlet Rebels, Ffwrnes, Sat 2 May – now on Sat 17 Apr
Mark ‘Billy’ Billingham, Lyric, Wed 6 May – now on Sun 1 Nov
The Dublin Legends, Lyric, Fri 8 May – now on Wed 26 Aug
Cysgu ‘Da Mickey, Lyric, Tue 12 May – now on Tue 11 May 2021
Nude With Violin, Ffwrnes, Thurs 14-Sat 16 May – now on Fri 15-Sun 17 Oct
Andy Parsons, Lyric, Fri 15 May – now on Sat 8 May 2021
Les Musicals, Lyric, Sat 16 May – now on Wed 16 June 2021
Mal Pope, Ffwrnes, Thurs 21 May – now on Fri 20 Nov
Old Herbaceous, Ffwrnes, Fri 22 May – now on Tue 24 Nov
Welsh Wrestling, Miners, Thurs 28 May – now on Sun 15 Nov
Abba Forever, Lyric, Thurs 4 June – now on Fri 5 Mar
Lost In Music, Ffwrnes, Sat 18 July – now on Sat 19 June 2021
The Illegal Eagles, Lyric, Fri 24 July – now on Fri 14 May
Songbirds, Ffwrnes, Sat 25 July – now on Sat 19 Dec
The Magic Of Motown, Lyric, Sat 26 Sept – now on Thurs 16 Sept 2021
The Chicago Blues Brothers, Ffwrnes, Sat 8 Aug – now on Sat 7 Aug
Milkshake, Ffwrnes, Sat 29 Aug – now on Mon 31 May 2021
Only Fools & Boycie, Lyric, Mon 28 Sept – now on Sat 25 Sept 2021
John Lydon, Lyric, Thurs 1 Oct – now on Sat 6 Nov 2021
Just My Imagination, Lyric, Fri 27 Nov – now on Sat 16 Oct 2021
Bridgend arts centre Carnegie House has postponed its entire programme of events, classes and exhibitions until further notice, but are getting as many tutors and performers from the programme as possible to move their work online. Every Saturday from 25 July until 29 Aug, there’ll be an online Summer School (found at their Facebook page) in the form of four-minute video workshops hosted on their website: in order, these are film making (Sat 25 July); stopmotion claymation (Sat 1 Aug); character creation/masks (Sat 8 Aug); games for parents and kids (Sat 15 Aug); playwriting (Sat 22 Aug) and puppetry (Sat 29 Aug).
Fri 21-Fri 28 Aug will also see a Community Arts exhibition, again online; curated by artist in residence Claire Hiett and hosted on Facebook and YouTube, this will showcase a different topic each day .
“We hope to return to normal operations on Fri 1 May,” say this homely Cardigan venue – don’t we all – and in the meantime offer some rebookings:
John Adams, Thurs 2 Apr – now on Thurs 12 Nov
Mr Tea & The Minions, Sat 11 Apr – now on Sat 19 Sept
The 18th Dream Of Dr Sardonicus Festival, Fri 7-Sun 9 Aug – now on Fri 6-Sun 8 Aug 2021
Set to celebrate their half-century in 2021, Chapter are now warning patrons that without crowdfunding they may not make it that far. Consequently, you can find a link on their website to donate while they remain closed. Also in place is a programme of movies that can be watched at home, and an offer in conjunction with Mubi to claim 90 free days of film streaming, found right here; and other programming info and creative content accessible via their website or social media channels. Another neat gesture is the placing of artwork [pictured top of page] across the doors at the front and back of the building: large-scale, colourful works on board by Richard Woods, displayed in Chapter’s gallery space back in 2015.
Found in the Swansea district of Gorseinon, the Logic team have assured their punters that the trance night booked in for Sat 4 Apr, headlined by Guiseppe Ottaviani, will be rescheduled. The parent-and-child Rave Kidz event, due for the afternoon of Mon 13 Apr, is now on Sun 23 Aug; trance chief Paul Van Dyk’s show on Sat 9 May now takes place on Sat 31 Oct.
Another Swansea nightclub, their Sat 28 Mar date with Liverpool DJ James Hype on top billing is to be rearranged and all tickets valid. In the meantime, however, they’re using their closure for a rebrand, including their name: Club Oxygen will now be known as 2020, and calling your nightclub after a calendar year whose unremitting misery will be a point of historical record a century hence is certainly a bold gambit.
Two solid months of spring gigs at this treat of a venue becomes… two solid months of autumn gigs, pretty much. Here’s how it’s looking:
Look Mum No Computer, Fri 20 Mar – now on Sat 12 Sept
Noson Neithiwr, Sat 21 Mar – now on Sat 10 Oct
Dutty Moonshine Big Band, Thurs 26 Mar – now on Fri 23 Oct
Pictish Trail, Thurs 26 Mar – now on Sun 25 Apr 2021
Peggy Sue, Fri 27 Mar – now on Thurs 1 Oct
Roddy Woomble, Wed 1 Apr – now on Tue 15 Sept
Broken Witt Rebels, Sat 4 Apr – now on Thurs 17 Sept
Bad Touch, Tue 7 Apr – now on Thurs 1 Oct
Hannah Grace, Wed 8 Apr – now on Thurs 29 Oct
Orchards, Fri 10 Apr – now on Wed 11 Nov
Maddison, Sat 11 Apr – now on Fri 4 Sept
Another Sky, Wed 15 Apr – now on Fri 4 Dec
Juniore, Fri 17 Apr – now on Fri 2 Oct
Super Marine, Fri 17 Apr – now on Fri 11 Sept
The Academic, Tue 21 Apr – now on Fri 9 Oct
Warmduscher, Thurs 23 Apr – now on Sun 27 Sept
Heavy Lungs, Fri 24 Apr – now on Fri 6 Nov
Sorry, Sun 26 Apr – now on Tue 17 Nov
Ren Harvieu, Tue 28 Apr – now on Tue 24 Nov
Holy Fuck, Wed 29 Apr – now on Tue 19 Jan
Peaness, Thurs 30 Apr – now on Fri 13 Nov
Ryan McMullan, Fri 1 May – now on Sat 12 Dec
Leif Eriksson, Sun 3 May – now on Fri 27 Nov
Hands Off Gretel, Fri 8 May – now on Fri 11 Dec
Melt Yourself Down, Sat 9 May – now on Tue 13 Oct
October Drift, Thurs 21 May – now on Thurs 22 Oct
The Rotanas, Thurs 28 May – now on Wed 16 Sept
Green Lung, Sat 30 May – now on Fri 28 May 2021
Tim Burgess, Tue 16 June – now on Sun 11 Oct
The Howl & The Hum, Thurs 10 Sept (rescheduled from Mon 4 May) – now on Mon 15 Feb
Additionally, the Kawala gig on Tue 5 May will now take place at The Globe, on Wed 18 Nov. Good Morning (Wed 1 Apr), The Lottery Winners (Thurs 2 Apr), Derrero (Fri 3 Apr),Buster Shuffle (Thurs 23 Apr), CVC (Sat 25 Apr), Braids (Sat 2 May), Oh My God! It’s The Church (Wed 6 May) and John Mouse (Fri 22 May) have all been cancelled.
John (Fri 27 Mar, rescheduled to Fri 7 Aug), Pearl Jamm (Sun 29 Mar, rescheduled to Sat 1 Aug), The Wandering Hearts (Mon 27 Apr, rescheduled to Tue 18 Aug), Bambara (Wed 13 May, rescheduled to Sat 8 Aug) and The Wendy James Band (Fri 15 May, rescheduled to Sat 5 Sept) are all to be moved to a later date again.
Clwb Ifor Bach have also started livestreaming Sunday Sessions gigs via their Facebook page, with local indiepoppers Rosehip Teahouse first up – more on that here.
Tops in Cwmbran for tribute bands and cheerful plays, here’s what confirmed as surviving the big freeze thus far…
Owen Money’s Jukebox Heroes III, Fri 20 Mar – now on Fri 16 + Sat 17 Apr
Purple Zeppelin, Sat 4 Apr – now on Sat 30 Jan
Mal Pope, Thurs 16 Apr – now on Sat 19 Sept
Funny Girls, Thurs 23 Apr – now on Thurs 3 Sept
The Frankie Valli Songbook, Sat 25 Apr – now on Sun 9 Aug
Talon, Thurs 30 Apr – now on Fri 30 Apr 2021
The Bohemians, Thurs 31 May – now on Wed 30 Sept
Say this Cardiff Bay gallery, part of the Makers Guild In Wales operation: “Staff are still working from the office/at home so the public can reach us by email on [email protected]. We are busy updating our website with more information on the work we have here on display – promoting our gift vouchers, buying craft online, making a donation. We are a registered charity and support the work of over 80 craftspeople living and working in Wales. They are in desperate need of financial support as outlets for their craft close and workshops are cancelled or postponed across the country.”
In the words of this recently opened immersive artspace on Cardiff’s Penarth Road: “With Wales on lockdown and culture hard to access, we thought it was best to start our regular virtual visits with last year’s Y Lle Celf exhibition as it features a diverse selection of work by some of Wales’ leading artists.” Peep the video tour of it right here.
Although the museum has closed along with all other Merthyr Leisure Trust facilities, the grounds in which it sits, Cyfarthfa Park, has reopened as of Mon 1 June.
DAWNS AR Y MYNYDD / DANCE ON THE MOUNTAIN
Annual folk dance festival, due to be held in Blaenavon Workmen’s Hall on Sat 18 and Sun 19 July this year. It’s been cancelled for 2020, however, as the organisers suspect that their need to self-isolate in forthcoming weeks won’t give them enough time to arrange and promote the event as desired. However, it’s due to return in 2021, on Sat 16 and Sun 17 July.
The recently relocated entertainment venue near Cardiff’s Curran Embankment will be one of the first venues in these listings to reopen, and at the earliest opportunity: Mon 13 July, using their outdoor area for Street Food Social. This will include eight food stalls, a bar and all the requisite social distancing measures, with entry for no more than three hours per day. Book a table here.
The Depot has already pledged to holders of tickets for any event until Sat 18 Apr, such as their popular weekly Bingo Lingo nights, that they can roll those tickets over and use them for a new date (previously quoted cutoff period Fri 20 Nov, although presumably this would be extended if the Depot is closed at this date). Additionally, they’ve introduced a Depot Delivery service, which was initially selling booze but now concentrates on Bingo Lingo branded clothing.
Tenby’s primary concert venue is rescheduling as many March and April gigs as feasible, with the Thurs 19 Mar date for Robert’s Plant’s newish folk-rock group Saving Grace now hopeful for late summer. Confirmed movements however include:
Trevor Nelson, Sat 11 Apr – now on Sat 21 Nov
Newton Faulkner, Fri 1 May – now on Thurs 26 Nov
Jethro, Thurs 23 July – now on Fri 22 Jan
The Craig Charles Funk & Soul Club, Fri 7 Aug – now on Fri 23 Apr
Martin Kemp, Sat 12 Sept – now on Thurs 1 Apr
A stately home located on the outskirts of Cardiff, Dyffryn has closed its parks and gardens as well as the building itself – this is following the guidelines of its benefactor, The National Trust, that more ‘open’ areas on the coast or in the countryside should remain accessible, but places such as this should be off limits while social distancing is a concern.
Celebrating the life of Swansea’s greatest literary figure through education, while the DTC is closed until further notice it hopes to be able to move some of its visual exhibitions and learning activities online. However, this is currently still in the works.
Escape reality? You wish! For now, the John Street-based branch of this nationwide escape rooms chain offer a promise and a request: “We are committed to opening again, and honouring all our bookings when that day comes. To that effect, we ask that you consider simply rescheduling your existing bookings with us, instead of opting for a refund.”
Events-wise, the Motown Afternoon Tea booked for Sun 5 Apr has been moved to Sat 15 Aug (there was one scheduled for Sun 9 Aug already, which is still going ahead as well). Bookings-wise, no arrivals will be admitted until further notice; anyone who’s already booked rooms here can either alter dates or claim credit.
FEELS LIKE SUMMER: NILE RODGERS
Chic maestro’s return to south Wales following a sterling summer show in Cardiff last year has been postponed for 12 months: announced for Fri 30 July 2020, Singleton Park in Swansea will now host Nile and his band, plus support act and fellow pop svengali Trevor Horn, on Fri 31 July 2021. Promoters Orchard have also just announced the postponement of one of their rare non-Welsh events, the Bath Festival Finale: Sat 23 and Sun 24 May of this year now becomes Sat 29 and Sun 30 May of next.
Recently relocated from Penarth to Cathays in Cardiff, Ffotogallery wish to highlight their range of free online resources, including Platform, their Instagram account that promotes new/emerging photographers. Find all the links here.
Found in Swansea (and somewhere called Hanley apparently), this student-friendly nightclub says: “If you have purchased tickets or packages for future events, please keep hold of them till we come back to you with our new dates.”
Annual multi-venue event in this coastal town on May’s second bank holiday weekend, but not in 2020. “Take care all of you, make music whenever you can, and hopefully we’ll see you all again next year,” writes festival chair Jude Whitehouse.
This annual music weekender up in Wrexham, boasting some 250 live acts over three days as well as various industry-type events, has postponed until 2021. An original date-span from Thurs 7-Sat 9 May was moved to Wed 7-Sat 10 Oct, but has been shifted a further 12 months ahead as of mid-June. With acts including Richard Hawley, Gruff Rhys, Tim Burgess, Nik Colk Void and Stealing Sheep among those announced, Focus Wales are aiming for the bulk of the lineup to remain in place, and hope that people will retain their tickets if at all possible, although refunds are available until Sat 1 Aug 2020.
Held in Tintern’s Abbey Mill each summer, Folk On The Lawn is booked for Thurs 16-Sun 19 July, and the organisers hope to be able to fulfil that date. As festivals go, FOTL benefits here from being relatively self-sustaining and community-minded, meaning they and their artists can be more flexible with postponements, should the necessity arise. For now, then, the 30 or so acts on this year’s bill include Allan Yn Y Fan, The Gentle Good and Spencer Segelov.
Richard Braine’s Llandeilo gallery pledges to run its scheduled spring exhibitions on reopening, and adds, “In the meantime, we do have an online buying facility on our website that I encourage you to use.”
If you’ve been in or near this metal bar/venue on Cardiff’s Womanby Street, you’ll probably have seen people wearing Fuel branded merch – vest tops, beanies and suchlike. If you fancy buying one for yourself, say the owners, it’d help their coffers greatly, and you can do that at their Bigcartel site. A number of gigs here have been cancelled or postponed, albeit with few fresh dates confirmed. The annual Eradication Festival, showcasing extreme metal each May, will skip a year and run from Thurs 20-Sun 23 May 2021. American death metallers Decrepit Birth, booked for Mon 24 Aug, have already set their minds on next year too.
The planned launch of David Morgan Davies’ Another Surface exhibition in this Usk artspace on Sat 4 Apr will instead take place in virtual form, with all pieces available to view and purchase on the website.
Rescheduled shows in this converted church in Roath, Cardiff so far include:
The Trials Of Cato, Sat 21 Mar – now on Fri 13 Nov
10cc’s Graham Gouldman, Sat 4 Apr – now on Sat 19 Sept
Wales Goes Pop!, Fri 10-Sun 12 Apr – now on Fri 2-Sun 4 Apr 2021, with all of this year’s lineup invited to play
David Ford & Jarrod Dickenson, Sat 25 Apr – now on Fri 11 Sept
Calan, Fri 1 May – now on Sat 14 Nov
Adam Buxton, Sat 23 May – now on Thurs 1 Oct
The Cardiff Bay branch of this UK-wide comedy-and-more venue has announced the following rescheduled dates:
White Yardie, Sun 29 Mar – now on Sun 27 Sept
Kiri Pritchard-McLean, Thurs 2 Apr – now on Mon 12 Oct
Vivienne & Baga Chipz, Mon 6 Apr – now on Tue 7 July
World Comedy Clash, Sun 12 Apr – now on Sun 1 Nov
Lloyd Griffith, Wed 15 Apr – now on Mon 5 Oct
Mighty Kids Beatbox Comedy Show, Thurs 16 Apr – now on Thurs 29 Oct
Adore Delano & La Demi, Sun 19 Apr – now on Tue 17 Nov
Simon Brodkin, Tue 21 Apr – now on Wed 14 Oct
Tom Stade, Sun 26 Apr – now on Sun 4 Oct
Kerry Godliman, Thurs 30 Apr – now on Tue 18 Feb
Steve Williams & Steve Hall, Thurs 14 May – now on Thurs 20 May 2021
Cheryl Hole & Blu Hydrangea, Mon 18 May – now on Mon 17 Aug
Shaun Ryder, Thurs 21 May – now on Wed 28 Oct
Grace Petrie, Thurs 28 May – now Tue 10 Nov
Aaron Crascall, Sun 5 July – now on Sun 14 Mar
An Afternoon with Jacqueline Wilson on Sat 25 Apr has been cancelled.
While this mid-sized Cardiff venue remains closed, you can also support their staff – and that of sibling venue the Tramshed – at this location by either ordering from their bar stock, or purchasing a “virtual pint” which can be redeemed in person at a later date. Meanwhile, here’s a big stack of freshly minted dates:
Brazil & Beyond, Sat 28 Mar – now on Sat 6 Mar
Slow Readers Club, Sun 29 Mar – now on Thurs 29 Oct
Gun, Thurs 2 Apr – now on Mon 21 Sept
Motley Crude + Poizon, Fri 3 Apr – now on Fri 9 Apr
Roxy Magic, Sat 4 Apr – now on Fri 26 Feb
The Goldhawks, Fri 10 Apr – now on Sat 19 Sept
Martin Turner, Sat 11 Apr – now on Fri 22 Jan
The Bon Jovi Experience, Sun 12 Apr – now on Fri 18 Dec (previously moved to Fri 24 July)
The Night Café, Mon 13 Apr – now on Thurs 10 Sept
Ultimate Coldplay, Fri 17 Apr – now on Sat 20 Feb
Ferocious Dog, Thurs 23 Apr – now on Thurs 17 Sept
Whitesnake UK, Fri 24 Apr – now on Fri 29 Jan
The South, Sat 25 Apr – now on Thurs 8 Oct
Himalayas, Thurs 30 Apr – now on Thurs 26 Nov
La Villa Strangiato, Sat 25 Apr – now on Sat 12 Dec
The Handsome Family [above], Mon 4 May – now on Tue 2 Mar
Kawala, Tue 5 May – now on Wed 18 Nov [previously in Clwb Ifor Bach]
Winston Reedy, Sat 9 May – now on Sat 3 July 2021
The Hara, Sun 10 May – now on Sun 8 Nov
BC Camplight, Thurs 14 May – now on Tue 6 Oct
The Stevie Wonder Experience, Fri 15 May – now on Fri 30 Apr 2021
Beardyman, Sun 17 May – now on Sun 15 Nov
John Coghlan, Fri 29 May – now on Sat 17 Apr
Transmission, Sat 20 June – now on Sat 22 May
This unrelated Globe, in the bookish border town of Hay-On-Wye as the name suggests, is in the process of securing several new dates for their gigs, which lean towards the folky and countryish side of the tracks (with some token family theatre in there too). So far we have:
Young Soul Rebels film night, Thurs 16 Apr – now on Thurs 15 Oct
Mr Tea & The Minions, Sat 25 Apr – now on Sat 31 Oct
Honey & The Bear, Fri 12 June – now on Fri 11 June 2021
The Jungle Book, Sun 2 Aug – now on Sun 1 Aug 2021
All other gigs here until the end of June have either been postponed with a new date TBC, or had their tickets removed from sale until there are clearer indications of how long social distancing might be expected to last in the UK.
One of Swansea’s most esteemed places of art, closed as part of a wider shutdown of non-essential services under the jurisdiction of the city’s council, has launched a daily online activity programme – including, says the gallery, “regular looks back at past exhibitions, the weekly sharing of work by artists, writers and performers, the highlighting of art created by the public and a weekly focus on the favourite online art content from around the world.” Bookmark their YouTube channel and keep an eye on their Facebook page for updates.
As a company who specialise in outdoor walking activities in the Brecon Beacons, working in small groups, Good Day Out had initially hoped they might be able to continue their practise safely, but as governmental advice on social distancing became increasingly more punitive, acceptance followed that they too would have to bunker down. GDO head, Julia, states that she’ll extend vouchers for at least a year from now.
Porthcawl’s no.1 theatre is hard at work rescheduling, here’s what’s confirmed so far:
Seinwedd, Sat 21 Mar – now on Sun 11 Oct
Welsh Wrestling, Wed 8 Apr – now on Fri 5 Feb (previously rescheduled to Fri 14 Aug)
The Burlesque Show, Thurs 9 Apr – now on Sat 21 Nov
Milkshake! Live, Sat 11 Apr – now on Sun 7 Mar
Owen Money’s Jukebox Heroes III, Sat 18 Apr – now on Sat 24 Apr 2021
NCI CHoral, Wed 6 May – now on Wed 18 Nov
Chris Ramsey, Fri 15 May – now on Sat 28 Nov
Ultimate Floyd, Sat 6 June – now on Sat 26 June 2021
Los Pacaminos, Fri 12 June – now on Fri 13 Nov
The Foundations, Fri 19 June – now on Sat 19 Sept
Rich Hall, Sat 20 June – now on Thurs 19 Nov
Showaddywaddy, Sat 11 July – now on Fri 28 May 2021
The Magic Of Motown, Fri 17 July – now on Sat 7 Aug 2021
Abba Mania, Sat 8 Aug – now on Sat 28 Aug 2021
Lipstick On Your Collar, Sat 15 Aug – now on Sat 14 Aug 2021
Bernie Marsden, Fri 11 Sept – now on Fri 1 Oct 2021
Will Young, Thurs 1 Oct – now on Thurs 9 Sept 2021
John Lydon, Fri 2 Oct – now on Mon 8 Nov 2021
Toploader (Fri 4 Sept, rescheduled from Fri 26 June), Rose Royce (Thurs 10 Sept, rescheduled from Thurs 7 May), Talon (Sat 12 Sept), Mal Pope (Sun 13 Sept, rescheduled from Thurs 30 Apr-Sat 2 May), Sarah Bolter Quartet (Wed 16 Sept, rescheduled from Thurs 14 May), Come What May: The Ultimate Tribute To Moulin Rouge (Thurs 17 Sept), Goldie Lookin Chain (Fri 18 Sept), The Foundations (Sat 19 Sept) and The Porthcawl Elvis Festival (Fri 25-Sun 27 Sept) have all been cancelled.
The home of light entertainment in Swansea has a comprehensive ‘rescheduled’ list already, to wit:
Seven Drunken Nights, Tue 17 Mar – now on Sat 10 Oct
Sam Avery, Sat 21 Mar – now on Sat 10 Oct
Come What May, Wed 25 Mar – now on Tue 24 Nov
Henning Wehn, Thurs 26 Mar – now on Tue 8 Sept
The Simon & Garfunkel Story, Fri 27 Mar – now on Tue 27 Apr 2021
The Magic Of Motown, Sat 28 Mar – now on Thurs 24 Sept
Phil Wang, Sat 28 Mar – now on Tue 22 Sept
Jo Brand, Tue 31 Mar – now on Tue 25 Mar
Friends! The Musical Parody, Wed 1 Apr – now on Sat 28 Nov
Owen Money’s Jukebox Heroes III, Fri 3 Apr – now on Sat 3 Apr 2021
A Beautiful Noise, Sat 4 Apr – now on Thurs 26 Nov
Mal Pope & Kev Johns, Thurs 9 Apr – now on Wed 4 Nov
The Illegal Eagles, Sat 18 Apr – now on Sat 21 Nov
Rumours Of Fleetwood Mac, Mon 27 Apr – now on Mon 7 Sept
Josh Widdecombe, Wed 29 Apr – now on Tue 20 Apr
Lipstick On Your Collar, Thurs 30 Apr – now on Thurs 15 Oct
Funny Girls, Fri 1 May – now on Wed 2 Sept
Menopause The Musical 2, Tue 5 May – now on Sat 6 Mar
An Audience With Cannon & Ball, Sat 9 May – now on Tue 9 Mar
Tim Vine, Thurs 14 May – now on Thurs 4 Feb
Rob Beckett, Fri 22 + Sat 23 May – now on Wed 11 + Thurs 12 Nov
Catfish & The Bottlemen (at Singleton Park), Sat 23 May – now on Fri 4 Sept
Jack Dee, Sat 6 June – now on Fri 5 Mar
Luther, Fri 19 June – now on Thurs 21 Jan
80s Mania, Sat 20 June – now on Fri 4 Sept
Found in Llanwrtyd Wells, mid-Wales, and infamous for contests in fields such as bog snorkelling and man v horse racing, Green Events’ first postponements of 2020 are the Devils Staircase Ultra Trail Race, (Sat 4 Apr; now on Sat 3 Oct) and the Welsh Open Stone Skimming Championships (Fri 22 May; now on Sun 16 Aug).
New dates for this theatre in Neath include:
Mike Doyle, Fri 27 Mar – now on Wed 29 Jan
Ball & Boe, Sat 28 + Sun 29 Mar – now on Sat 12 + Sun 13 Sept
Ultimate Classic Rock Show, Fri 3 Apr – now on Sat 10 Oct
The Carpenters Experience, Fri 17 Apr – now on Sat 24 Oct
Mal Pope, Fri 24 Apr – now on Sat 14 Nov
The Wizard Of Oz, Fri 7-Sun 9 May – now on Thurs 24-Sun 27 Sept
Francis Rossi, Sat 14 May – now on Sat 8 May 2021
The Drifters, Thurs 11 June – now on Fri 14 May
Morriston Orpheus Male Choir & Briton Ferry Musical Theatre Company, Sat 13 June – now on Sat 6 Feb
Twirlywoos, Thurs 25 June – now on Tue 2 Mar
Showaddywaddy, Fri 26 June – now on Fri 7 May 2021
Claiming to be the oldest festival in Wales, for which you have to discount the Eisteddfod admittedly, Gregynog has existed in some form since the 1930s and mainly takes place at Gregynog Hall in Powys. Unavoidable uncertainty leading up to its Mon 15-Sun 21 June stretch, however, has prompted the festival to take 2020 off.
Home variously to rock and rave and based in central Swansea, Hangar 18 has launched a 24/7 internet radio station with a view to promoting the sort of acts who might have been playing there. Details of how to get your music on it are available on their Facebook page (linked above).
Two live music updates for this widely praised Southern American style restaurant. Martin Harley, originally on Sun 22 Mar, is now set for Sun 27 Sept; while The Honey Dewdrops (Sun 17 May) have cancelled all their tourdates.
The first – one would hope only – ever Hay Festival Digital ran from Fri 22-Sun 31 May, and its free live broadcasts and Q&As were deemed a great success in terms of numbers of viewers and donations raised in the process. The organisers intend to return for 2021, but stress that emergency funds may be needed for this to happen; accordingly, they outline how people can contribute at this page.
This annual LGBT+ film festival, held across several days and a few venues in Cardiff each October, has taken the decision to go online this year. It’ll still run over the same dates, Tue 6-Sun 11 Oct, and still have £30,000 up for grabs as the grand prize. All screenings, talks and events will be viewable online for free, and will be revealed in August.
New dates for bookings at this Aberdare rock venue:
Snake Oil & Harmony, Fri 20 Mar – now on Fri 20 Nov
U2UK, Fri 10 Apr – now on Sat 10 Apr 2021
Electric Six, Thurs 21 May – now on Thurs 27 May 2021 (initially announced for Thurs 20 May 2021)
UKBlondie, Sat 27 June – now on Sat 24 Oct
Offering arcade games, table tennis and backroom raves during less viral times, the Cardiff branch of Kongs has moved three events so far:
Drwm Collective present Critical Impact, Sat 21 Mar – now on Sat 12 Sept
Team Up!, Fri 27 Mar – now on Fri 28 Aug
Cardiff Comics Carnival, Sun 29 Mar – now on Sun 18 Oct
The ArtHole showcase of local artists, which was to be on Sun Apr 12, will now happen during summer at some point. Kongs have also put their name to the live Instagram Story broadcast of some bedroom DJ sets, featuring a person or people from promoters Rotary Club and dubbed the Social Distancing Streaming Service.
Run by Gemma Forde, these popular craft workshops are set to run in Roath’s M.A.D.E. space (see their listing below), as follows:
Thurs 3 Sept: Adults Beginners Sewing Workshop, 10.30am-1pm + 6.30-9pm, £25
Tue 8 Sept: Macrame Jewellery Making Workshop, 10.30am -1pm + 6.30-9pm, £28
Tue 8 Sept: Resin Jewellery Making Workshop, 10.30am-12.30pm + 6.30-9pm, £45
Thurs 17 Sept: Leather Journal Making Workshop, 10.30am-12.30pm + 6.30-8.30pm, £25
Fri 25 Sept: Lipstick & Lipbalm Making Workshop, 6.30-8pm, £25
Thurs 1 Oct: Macrame Plant Hanger Workshop, 10.30am-1pm + 6.30-9pm, £25
Sat 3 Oct: Jesmonite Coaster Making Workshop, 10.30am-1pm, £30
Weds 7 Oct: Brush Lettering Workshop, 6.30-9pm, £40
Tue 13 Oct: Chunky Yarn Snood Workshop, 10.30am-12pm + 6.30-8pm, £15
Tue 20 Oct: Memo Board Making Workshop, 6.30pm-8pm, £20
Thurs 29 Oct: Macrame Owl Workshop, 6.30-9pm, £28
Newport’s community-minded bar and gig venue has had to cancel a slew of goodies in forthcoming weeks, including Amber Cross on Fri 24 Apr, Cloud Rat on Fri 1 May and the Record Store Day alldayer, held in association with record shop Diverse and initially moved from Sat 18 Apr to Sat 12 June. New dates however include:
Gaye Bykers On Acid, Wed 27 May – now on Wed 10 Feb
Jesse Malin, Thurs 2 July – now on Thurs 4 Feb
Le Pub also have a vegan fast food menu and are offering takeaways every Tuesday and Saturday (6-10pm both days). You can order some alcohol from them at the same time, including their infamously good value cocktails, as long as you get £6 or more’s worth of food.
The 2020 run of this UK-wide touring 80s/90s retro festival has been pulled entirely and rescheduled for May and June 2021. The sole Welsh date will hit Tredegar Park in Newport on Sat 5 June next year, with the following currently billed: Adam Ant, OMD, ABC, Howard Jones, Kim Wilde, Chesney Hawkes, The Art Of What!?, T’pau and Betty Boo.
LLANDAFF CATHEDRAL CHORAL SOCIETY
A concert celebrating the 900th anniversary of Llandaff Cathedral, narrated by the BBC’s Huw Edwards and scheduled for Sat 28 Mar, is expected to take place later in the year – date to be confirmed.
Pausing its busy schedule of exhibitions and classes over in Cwmbran, LGAC say that their staff will still be working hard while the building is closed, and also encourage you to support them via donations if able.
These veteran folkies meet in the Pontyclun Institute Athletic Club every week, often bringing guest artists from around the world. Well, they don’t right now, but with a view to getting back in biz again, they’re postponing (as opposed to cancelling) as much as possible; so far, the following new dates are confirmed:
Tania Opland & Mike Freeman, Wed 25 Mar – now on Wed 9 June 2021
Julie Croad & Adam Jenkins, Wed 1 Apr – now on Wed 16 Dec
Geoff Lakeman & Rob Murch, Wed 3 June – now on Wed 9 Dec
State Of The Union, Wed 8 July – now on Wed 23 June 2021
Jack Dawgs, Wed 29 July – now on Wed 3 Feb
Sadie & Jay, Wed 12 Aug – now on Wed 11 Aug 2021
Hungrytown, Wed 2 Sept – now on Wed 1 Sept 2021
Held fortnightly in Newport’s Crindau Constitutional Club, this long-running club’s programme from March to June has been postponed, but Judy Cook (Thurs 19 Mar, now on Thurs 1 Apr 2021), Dan McKinnon (Thurs 2 Apr, now on Thurs 29 Apr 2021) and Sally Ironmonger & Brian Carter (Thurs 21 May, now on Thurs 27 May 2021) will all return to play next year.
Zoe Gingell and the M.A.D.E team in Roath are attempting to make their IRL programme as digital as possible, with images from their current exhibition (Fy Nghymru – My Wales by photographer Kyriacos Asprou) being uploaded to their Facebook page. The annual spring exhibition will also be shown online from Thurs 23 Apr. And the gallery’s Facebook page will highlight one artistic work per week until the point M.A.D.E reopens, with said works intended to be displayed in an exhibition in the gallery itself. Send work or request more info by emailing [email protected].
Additionally, crafter Gemma, who takes several classes a month here as Lark Design Make, will return to live action in September; her programme for that month plus October is listed above.
Located near Port Talbot, this park has been closed to the public, and all events within it until Fri 12 June called off. Additionally, the only Welsh date for the UK-wide Great British Food Festival, originally on Sat 27 and Sun 28 June, will now be in 2021 on dates TBC.
Housing and selling work by some of Wales’ most esteemed 20th century artists, this Cardiff gallery will, they say, “be open by appointment only until further notice. For all enquiries please contact us by email: [email protected].” Their current exhibition is also possible to view online: at present, galleries two and three here feature a changing exhibition by leading Welsh artists spanning several eras.
Sometimes also known as the Memorial Hall Theatre, this Barry spot has rescheduled the following with more to come:
Welsh Wrestling, Sat 18 Apr – now on Tue 27 Oct
Michael Ball & Alfie Boe, Tue 21 Apr – now on Sun 13 Sept
An Evening With Sam Warburton, Wed 22 Apr – now on Tue 6 Oct
T. Rexstacy, Fri 24 Apr – now on Wed 18 Nov
You can also donate to the venue at this link.
Annual weekend event in Merthyr town centre, paying tribute to its radical left-wing tradition, is operating in digital streaming form from Fri 12-Sun 14 June. Live music (from acts including Florence Black, The Moon Birds and Dirty Alex) plus talks, poetry, DJs and more still TBC. The 2021 edition of Merthyr Rising is scheduled for Fri 28-Sun 30 May.
Cardiff’s most venerable rock/alternative type club can currently be found streaming DJ sets via Facebook Live and Twitch TV, with The Radar, Meltdown and Lose Yourself – normally on Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays respectively – broadcasting at their normal time during lockdown.
An old-skool drag and cabaret bar down a central Cardiff alley, Minsky’s 25-plus-year tenure was already in peril as a result of their building’s new landlord deciding to move them on. Its chiefs Owen Sendell and Nathan Barker are still looking to relocate when possible, although they’ve said that their search to date has failed to find anything within their price range. For now, residents including Miss Kitty and Opal Fruits have been broadcasting cabaret and bingo nights in their time-honoured styles, except from home.
This Swansea art space are currently streaming family-friendly Criw Celf artist activities on their website each Saturday.
Do you live in or visit Cardiff? Do you like going to small-scale inexpensive gigs? Do you want to do that, like, ever again? Yes? Send The Moon some money while they’re closed, then. You can get t-shirts and things in return. Meanwhile, here’s the new dates they have planned for when people are moseying on down to Womanby Street once more:
The Velvet Hands, Tue 24 Mar – now on Wed 12 Aug
Grace Petrie, Tue 31 Mar – now on Fri 29 Jan
Suns Up, Thurs 2 Apr – now on Tue 16 June
Carolines, Thurs 16 Apr – now on Thurs 10 Sept
Tom Lumley & The Brave Liaison, Thurs 23 Apr – now on Thurs 16 July
The Lutras, Thurs 7 May – now on Thurs 24 Sept
Rats, Thurs 14 May – now on Thurs 17 Sept
Wharves, Thurs 21 May – now on Thurs 22 Oct
Two acts booked for Cardiff Psych & Noise Fest (Fri 22-Sun 24 May) have been rebooked at The Moon for later in the year: The Baggios (Tue 17 Nov) and Helen Money (Wed 16 Dec).
Wales’ biggest entertainment venue that isn’t a stadium is in the process of shuffling like a card dealer, here’s what’s confirmed:
Adam Hess, Fri 20 Mar – now on Fri 25 Sept (in Exit 7)
David Gray, Sun 22 Mar – now on Sat 13 Mar
Planet Earth II, Thurs 26 Mar – now on Sat 31 Oct
The Joe & Dianne Show, Fri 27 Mar – now on Thurs 22 Apr
The Who, Mon 30 Mar – now on Sat 27 Mar
Sam Fender, Tue 31 Mar – now on Tue 15 Sept
Pussycat Dolls, Mon 6 Apr – now on Sat 24 Oct
Craig David, Mon 13 Apr – now on Wed 14 Apr
Simple Minds, Tue 14 Apr – now on Tue 9 Feb
Rick Astley, Fri 17 Apr – now on Sun 18 Oct
Elbow, Sat 18 Apr – now on Fri 17 Sept 2021 (previously rescheduled to Sun 4 Oct)
Fat Freddy’s Drop, Wed 29 Apr – now on Sat 24 July
Paul Heaton & Jacqui Abbott, Fri 1 May – now on Fri 16 Oct
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds, Sun 3 May – now on Mon 26 Apr 2021
McFly, Mon 4 May – now on Mon 2 Nov
WWE Live, Wed 6 May – now on Mon 5 Oct
Championship Boxing, Sat 9 May – now on Sat 3 Oct (previously rescheduled to Sat 11 July)
Gregory Porter, Sun 10 May – now on Fri 5 Mar
Jeff Dunham, Wed 13 May – now on Tue 29 Sept
5 Seconds Of Summer, Mon 18 May – now on Sat 17 Apr
Strictly Come Dancing: The Professionals, Fri 22 + Sat 23 May – now on Sat 22 + Sun 23 May 2021
Barry Manilow + Curtis Stigers, Tue 2 June – now on Thurs 27 Aug
Pet Shop Boys, Wed 3 June – now on Tue 25 May 2021
Dua Lipa, Sun 7 June – now on Tue 19 Jan
Ronan Keating, Sun 14 June – now on Mon 4 Jan
Crowded House, Tue 16 June – now on Sat 12 June 2021
Mrs Brown’s Boys, Fri 26 + Sat 27 June – now on Fri 25 + Sat 26 June 2021
Brian Wilson, Sat 30 June – now on Fri 9 July
Paw Patrol, Tue 4 + Wed 5 Aug – now on Wed 11 Aug 2021
Jeff Dunham, Tue 29 Sept – now on Thurs 20 May 2021
Newly announced for Fri 4 + Sat 5 Dec meanwhile, with tickets on sale at 7pm on Fri 10 Apr, are two gigs for the Manic Street Preachers. The first is a free entry gig for NHS workers, who can claim two tickets per person; the following evening is ticketed in regular fashion, with profits to be donated to NHS Wales charities.
Collabro (Sat 10 Oct) is now at St David’s Hall on Thurs 14 Oct 2021. Disney On Ice (Wed 22-Sun 26 Apr), Joe Bonamassa (Sat 2 May), Whitesnake + Foreigner + Europe (Mon 1 June), Niall Horan (Wed 21 Oct) and 80s Classical (Thurs 12 Nov) are all cancelled.
This company are currently broadcasting workshops and classes each Wednesday on their social media channels (YouTube link here), and on Wed 6 May there’ll be a Discover Dance class with a rugby-specific theme. This will be followed on Thurs 7 May by a chance to watch NDCWales’ rugby-themed peice, Rygbi: Annwyl I Mi/Dear To Me. If you miss either of these dates, both broadcasts will remain uploaded for watching later.
On Mon 24 Aug the Welsh capital’s contribution to the seven-strong Museum Wales portfolio announced it was to reopen as of Thurs 27 Aug, every Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday until further notice. There are various conditions to bear in mind: visits remain free but must be booked online in advance; visitor numbers will be reduced, and some areas of the building won’t be open yet; one-way systems, signs aiding with physical distancing and extra hygiene facilities will all feature. Other museum openings across Wales are as follows (the National Museum Of History in St Fagans and the National Slate Museum in Llanberis are already open):
National Waterfront Museum, Swansea – reopening Fri 28 Aug
Big Pit National Coal Museum, Blaenafon – reopening Tue 1 Sept
National Roman Legion Museum, Caerleon – reopening Wed 2 Sept
National Wool Museum, Dre-fach Felindre – reopening Thurs 3 Sept
Known formally as the Memorial Hall but invariably called the Memo, the first two things to be assigned new dates are:
The Bohemians, Sat 11 Apr – now on Sat 20 Feb (previously rescheduled to Fri 19 June)
Wedding Fair, Sun 26 Apr – now on Sun 4 Oct
Hail Cremation! (Mon 23 Mar-Thurs 2 Apr) and A Dino Dash (Tue 14 Apr) have both been cancelled.
The seven Welsh museums collected under this umbrella have all confirmed re-opening dates as of Tue 28 July, detailed below. Pre-booking is essential in all cases. Info on exhibitions and other events is to be confirmed shortly.
National Museum Of History, St Fagans – reopens Tue 4 Aug. Outdoor spaces only – most historic buildings remain closed.
National Museum Cardiff – reopens Thurs 27 Aug. A one-way system will be in operation.
National Waterfront Museum, Swansea – reopens Fri 28 Aug. A one-way system will be in operation.
Big Pit National Coal Museum, Blaenafon – reopens Tues 1 Sept.
National Roman Legion Museum, Caerleon – reopens Wed 2 Sept.
National Wool Museum, Dre-fach Felindre – reopens Thurs 3 Sept. A one-way system will be in operation.
New Theatre, new dates, as follows:
The Syd Lawrence Orchestra, Thurs 9 Apr – now on Sun 21 Mar
Andy Fairweather-Low & The Low Riders, Sun 12 Apr – now on Sun 11 Apr 2021 (previously rescheduled to Sun 27 Sept)
One Night In Dublin, Thurs 16 Apr – now on Wed 2 Sept (previously rescheduled to Thurs 9 July)
Joe Brown, Fri 17 Apr – now on Sun 10 Oct (previously rescheduled to Fri 7 Aug)
Dial M For Murder, Tue 28 Apr-Sat 2 May – now on Tue 2-Sat 6 Feb
John Grant, Mon 4 May – now on Sun 16 May 2021 (previously rescheduled to Mon 31 Aug)
Menopause The Musical 2: Cruising Through Menopause!, Wed 6-Sat 9 May – now on Wed 26-Sat 29 May 2021
A Beautiful Noise, Thurs 2 July – now on Sun 28 Mar
Craig Revel Horwood, Sat 11 July – now on Sun 18 Oct
Ceri Dupree, Fri 4 + Sat 5 Sept – now on Fri 3 + Sat 4 Sept 2021
Islands In The Stream, Thurs 1 Oct – now on Sun 7 Mar
The Thunder Girls, Tue 20-Sat 24 Oct – now on Tue 19-Sat 23 Oct 2021
Educating Rita (Mon 20-Sat 25 Apr), The Amazing Bubble Man (Sun 3 May), Geisha (Tue 12-Sat 16 May), The Kite Runner (Tue 19-Sat 23 May), The Birthday Party (Tue 26-Sat 30 May), A Bunch Of Amateurs (Mon 8-Sat 13 June), Giraffes Can’t Dance (Sat 4 + Sun 5 July), Some Guys Have All The Luck (Fri 10 July), Richard & Adam (Sun 12 July), The Cat & The Canary (Mon 13-Sat 18 July), Dragons & Mythical Beasts (Mon 3-Wed 5 Aug), The Golden Age Of Hollywood (Fri 21-Mon 24 Aug), Tiddler & Other Tales (Wed 26-Sun 30 Aug), A Splinter Of Ice (Tue 15-Sat 19 Sept), Abba Arrival (Sun 4 Oct, originally rescheduled for Fri 26 June) and Quiz (Mon 2-Sat 7 Nov) have all been cancelled.
This Cardiff Bay institution has cancelled all events until the end of May, with a current hope of reopening on Mon 1 June. Should that be possible, confirmed listings include:
Yoga classes: every Monday at 12.30pm and 6pm
Art exhibition: Share A Life. Telling a story to encourage conversation though a collection of portraits, designed to engage the community in breaking down barriers of homelessness in Cardiff. (From Mon 1 until Sun 14 June)
Craft Market: Sat 6 + Sun 7 June, 10.30am-4pm. Free entry.
Gallery Gift Shop: displaying and selling artisan crafts from Mon 15 June until Sun 19 July.
This circus company’s marquee show (literally – it was going to be in a big top in Cardiff Bay) for spring, Lexicon, had its planned dates of Wed 8-Sun 26 Apr pushed back to July and has now been postponed until further notice. Community circus classes are also postponed, as are NoFit State’s annual summer holiday Youth Circus Schools. However, teachers are volunteering to run free online circus sessions (details here) and the first week of August will see a NoFit online summer festival aimed at ages 5-18 (details here).
The monthly Ocean Mic nights (that’s open mic, but with a sort of punny name) at this multi-purpose Cardiff Bay-ish arts venue have moved online for the moment. Thurs 4 June has Francesca’s Word Salad as the evening’s host and Tomos Lewis as special guest, and if you check up on this event you can get details of how to watch when it starts at 7pm.
This gallery near Buzz’s offices in Canton, Cardiff has just opened a new exhibition by Adrian Paul Metcalfe, The Shape Of The Sea [above]. As a result of its enforced closure, Metcalfe has said he may be able to offer private viewings to single individuals, and also plans to upload a ‘video tour’ of the show to YouTube. Contact him via his website with any enquiries.
As an active part of a close-knit neighbourhood in Crickhowell, this gallery says it’s continuing to work “supporting the local community and business behind the scenes” while its doors are locked.
Based in Carmarthen, Oriel Myrddin currently intends to close until July at the earliest. “Furthermore,” they add, “we understand that many of our customers are concerned following the latest government guidance and have been in touch to ask about the status of bookings and payments. We will not be charging customers during periods of closure and will be looking at options to freeze, defer, or reimburse payments where applicable.”
Previously found inside Narberth’s Queens Hall, Oriel Q have seized the opportunity to get a new place while their old one remains shut. They’re now part of The Studio, at 11 Market Street Narberth, and open on Fri 5 Sept with the launch of their first exhibition: paintings by Porth-based artist and Stuckist group member Jacqueline Jones, delayed from earlier in 2020 and given an era-appropriate title, The Socially Distanced Woman. It runs until Sat 17 Oct, and for now the expected safety measures (limited capacity, screens, sanitiser etc) will be in place.
This gallery on University Of South Wales’ Treforest campus however intends to reschedule the exhibition that was due to run across April: Speak To Me, a showcase of art created by Syrian and Sudanese refugees.
This theatre company’s spring programme having been torpedoed, The Other Room expect to next be hosting plays at their venue inside Cardiff bar Porters come August, with the first set to be staged forming the 2020 Young Artists Festival – although it’s too early to be more specific. In the meantime, why not make a donation to them?
The company have also launched Blue Sky Online, which they describe as “a new digital season of creativity, wellbeing and connection” and which has three main components. TOR Toolbox is a downloadable quasi-newsletter for people invested in the creative process; Your Room is released on social media each Wednesday and takes the form of creative prompts; OpenRoom, again weekly, offers one-on-one Zoom meetings with Other Room members.
Veteran Swansea venue rejigs its calendar as follows:
Fight Night Swansea, Thurs 26 Mar – now on Thurs 8 Oct
Diamond Head, Fri 27 Mar – now on Fri 7 Aug
Trevor Nelson, Fri 10 Apr – now on Sat 12 Dec
FM, Fri 17 Apr – now on Sat 10 Apr 2021 (previously rescheduled to Sat 19 Sept)
Hardline, Sat 18 Apr – now on Fri 20 Nov
Newton Faulkner, Sat 2 May – now on Fri 27 Nov
H.E.A.T., Sat 30 May – now on Sun 11 Oct
Cats In Space, Sat 11 July – now on Sat 13 Mar
Minimal hedging of bets from this venue, which has closed until Mon 15 June at the earliest, and is pushing much of its spring and early summer programme into late summer and beyond. Here’s what’s found new dates thus far:
John Bramwell, Sat 21 Mar – now on Sat 26 Sept
Soul Train, Fri 27 Mar – now on Fri 7 Aug
Eliza Carthy, Fri 3 Apr – now on Sat 30 Jan
John Shuttleworth, Sat 4 Apr – now on Thurs 17 Sept
Seann Walsh, Fri 17 Apr – now on Sat 14 Nov
The Amazing Bubbleman, Sat 18 Apr – now on Mon 26 Oct
Only Fools And Boycie, Thurs 21 May – now on Wed 23 Sept
The Zombies, Sat 23 May – now on Sat 27 Feb, and moved to The Welfare, Ystradgynlais
Cysgu ‘Da Mici, Wed 3 June – now on Tue 11 May 2021
The Rising Stars Theatre Company showcase (Sun 29 Mar) and Paul James & The Drowned Lovers (Fri 11 Sept) have been cancelled; everything else on the Centre’s live programme is hoped to be rescheduled, pending a suitable date.
A Cardiff bar popular with the city’s theatre community, Porters has been moving as many of its recurrent live events to online streams as possible. The open mic night is now broadcast via their Instagram account every Tuesday at 8.30pm, the quiz night on the last Sunday of each month via their Facebook page and the monthly musical singalong night on the first Tuesday of each month via Facebook and Zoom. Porters also add that when they reopen, they’ll be looking to bounce back by booking as much live music as possible, so get in touch via one of the above links should that be relevant to your interests.
Absent the possibility to mingle in the normal fashion this August bank holiday, Cardiff’s annual LGBT+ festival has arranged a Big Online Week of relevant activities which interested parties can watch, stream, interact with etc. Running from Mon 24-Sun 30 Aug, full listings are here; click on each day to be taken to an array of Eventbrite pages, where you can register to be a spectator.
As with Margam Park, this venue in Port Talbot is currently setting Fri 12 June as its date for reopening, although Neat Port Talbot council stress that this is subject to change depending on events. Ticketed shows are being rearranged where possible, confirmed dates so far being:
Wannabe, Fri 20 Mar – now on Thurs 27 May 2021 (previously rescheduled to Thurs 25 June)
The Upbeat Beatles, Thurs 9 Apr – now on Thurs 10 Sept
Adele: The Story So Far, Fri 17 Apr – now on Fri 10 Sept 2021
Sam Warburton, Tue 21 Apr – now on Tue 13 Oct
The South, Fri 24 Apr – now on Thurs 12 Nov
Navi: King Of Pop, Wed 29 Apr – now on Wed 18 Nov
Owen Money’s Jukebox Heroes III, Fri 8 May – now on Sat 27 Mar
The Rolling Stones Story, Fri 22 May – now on Fri 12 Feb
Supreme Queen, Fri 5 June – now on Thurs 17 Sept
Johnny Cash Roadshow, Thurs 11 June – now on Fri 5 Feb
Abba Mania, Fri 19 June – now on Fri 26 Mar
Strong Enough: The Ultimate Tribute To Cher, Sat 27 June – now on Sat 22 May 2021
Joseph & The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Fri 3 + Sat 4 July – now on Wed 4-Sat 7 Nov
Oliver! (Wed 1-Sat 4 Apr), Lee Mead (Fri 26 June), Legally Blonde (Thurs 9-Sat 11 July) and Joe Pasquale (Fri 14 Aug) have all been cancelled.
Not only cleared of entertainment events but used as an emergency hospital for a period, two summer events will return on (nearly) the same dates next year:
Rammstein, Sun 14 June – now on Wed 16 June 2021
FIM British Speedway Grand Prix, Fri 17 July – now on Sat 17 July 2021
The Nitro World Games on Sat 23 + Sun 24 May have been cancelled.
“If you have purchased tickets or packages for future events, please keep hold of them till we come back to you with our new dates. Why not sign up to our newsletters to keep up to date or save this link, which is where we will be posting our updates,” suggest the Cardiff branch of this nationwide student club chain.
The main area of this Narberth venue is to be closed until Tue 1 Sept at the earliest. The postponement of all music events before that date was compounded on Thurs 19 Mar by a fire in the kitchen of Sospan Fach, the adjoining café; Sospan Fach had planned to provide space for certain classes, but both it and the Oriel Q exhibition area will now require repairs as well as being mandated to close. Confirmed new dates at present:
The Jam’d, Sat 18 Apr – now on Sat 10 Apr 2021
The History Of Soul, Fri 24 Apr – now on Sat 24 Oct
Endorphinmachine, Sat 2 May – now on Sat 27 Feb
The History Of Rock, Sat 16 May – now on Sat 30 Oct
Made In Tennessee, Sat 6 June – now on Fri 2 Oct
Queen Will Rock You, Fri 12 June – now on Fri 23 Apr 2021
Sorted, Sat 20 June – now on Sat 6 Mar
Live Wire, Sat 4 July – now on Sat 24 July 2021
Open again as of late June, from Sat 1-Sat 29 Aug this Neath gallery hosts a Lockdown Art Exhibition featuring submitted work created at home since March of this year. The gallery website will display everything submitted, what with there being no space to run out of. Anna Hale is the curator.
The local wing of this UK-wide vodka establishment has been using their Facebook page (linked above) to stream the sort of DJ sets you might catch in there of a weekend.
Here’s what’s been moved around (and cancelled) at this esteemed Newport theatre:
Bowie Experience, Fri 20 Mar – now on Fri 26 Feb
The Bohemians, Sat 3 Apr – now on Thurs 15 Apr
Woman Like Me: Little Mix Show, Fri 10 Apr – now on Sat 17 Apr (previously rescheduled to Sat 22 Aug)
Owen Money’s Jukebox Heroes III, Sat 11 Apr – now on Fri 26 Mar 2021
Day At Night: The Doris Day Songbook, Thurs 23 Apr – now on Tue 2 Feb
Back To Bacharach, Fri 1 May – now on Fri 9 Oct
An Audience With Mark ‘Billy’ Billingham, Thurs 7 May – now on Mon 2 Nov
Upbeat Beatles, Fri 8 May – now on Fri 29 Jan
Seven Drunken Nights, Sat 9 May – now on Sat 6 Mar
Francis Rossi, Wed 13 May – now on Thurs 22 Apr 2021
Giselle, Fri 22 + Sat 23 May – now on Fri 6 + Sat 7 Nov
The Bon Jovi Experience, Sat 30 May – now on Sat 30 Jan
The Carpenters Story, Thurs 4 June – now on Fri 26 Feb
The Johnny Cash Roadshow, Sat 13 June – now on Fri 30 Apr
The Ladyboys Of Bangkok, Sun 14 June – now on Sun 13 June 2021
Walk Right Back: The Everly Brothers Story, Fri 19 June – now on Mon 3 May
Lost In Music, Sat 27 June – now on Sat 27 Feb
Ballet Cymru 2 (Tue 31 Mar), Fagin? (Wed 1 Apr), Lost In The Rhythm (Thurs 2 Apr), Kin (Wed 8 Apr), West Side Story (Thurs 16-Sat 18 Apr, previously rescheduled to Thurs 16-Sat 18 July), Pryd Mae’r Haf (Thurs 30 Apr), Rachel Parris (Fri 15 May), Joint Choir Concert (Sat 16 May), Cosi Fan Tutte (Wed 27 May), Liverpool Legends (Thurs 28 May), Chores (Fri 29 May), Big Mac’s Wholly Soul Band (Sat 13 June, at Newport Centre), Ian Waite & Vincent Simone (Thurs 18 June) and Believe: The Cher Songbook (Sat 20 June) have all been cancelled.
This venue within a Pembrokeshire manor house appears to have removed all its listings from the website until Sun 28 June, when pianist Sofya Gulak performs there, as well as any evidence they were performing there in the first place. Suffice to say, if you were interested in attending Joanna Macgregor, Green Ribbons, The Gould Piano Trio, Peggy Seeger & Callum McColl or Ma Bessie’s Prohibition Blues there, they’re either cancelled or postponed.
ROYAL WELSH COLLEGE OF MUSIC & DRAMA
The AmserJazzTime 2020 Online Festival runs from Thurs 4-Sat 6 June and comprises four events: find out full details here. The interactive improv jazz experience of Tin Men & The Telephone, who perform on Sat 6, might seem especially tricky to transfer to the livestream realm, but the plans sound intriguing for sure. Additionally, the RWCMD’s Atmospheres Radio station, whose name references the experimental music festival which went ahead virtually at the start of May, is set to continue broadcasting weekly until Fri 26 June.
Members of this Cardiff venue/company have launched Interval, which they describe as “an evolving series of projects to support the artistic and freelance community”. One of the first projects, Ten, was a callout to new writers to submit a five-minute monologue – ten of which have now been selected, to be performed by a pro actor and shown on YouTube. Rick Allden, Connor Allen, Emma Cooney, Katie Elin-Salt, Kelly Jones, Sarah Louise Madden, Elin Phillips, Alexandria Riley, Alun Saunders and Owen Thomas are the writers who’ll be rewarded thus.
With many students forced to mothball this year’s work before being able to show it properly, The Showcase Initiative will see Sherman artistic director Joe Murphy watching showcase pieces submitted by students from the Royal Welsh College Of Music & Drama, who have a longstanding relationship with this theatre. Similarly, under the title Notes, creative engagement manager Timothy Howe is offering half-hour sessions with local actors based on their audition videos.
Postponements-wise, the following have been announced currently:
Mark Thomas, Wed 25 Mar – now on Wed 2 Sept
Jay Rayner [above], Thurs 26 Mar – now on Tue 8 Sept
Matt Forde, Thurs 2 Apr – now on Thurs 19 Nov
What A Wonderful World, Mon 6 + Tue 7 Apr – now on Fri 4 + Sat 5 Sept
Horrible Histories, Wed 8 + Thurs 9 Apr – now on Wed 28 + Thurs 29 Oct
Josie Long, Fri 15 May – now on Fri 23 Oct
Jinkx Monsoon & Major Scales, Thurs 4 June – now on Thurs 29 Apr 2021
Sofie Hagen, Sat 13 June – now on Wed 4 Nov
An Enemy Of The People (Thurs 30 Apr-Sat 16 May) is to move to a set of Spring 2021 dates TBC. Deliciously Ella (Tue 19 May), Twm Siôn Cati (Fri 12 June), Jenni Murray (Sat 4 July) has been cancelled.
New dates for bookings in this reliable rock’n’rave haven in Swansea so far include:
Joanne Shaw Taylor, Sat 28 Mar – now on Sun 8 Nov
Dreadzone, Fri 17 Apr – now on Fri 4 Sept
Buzzard Buzzard Buzzard, Fri 24 Apr – now on Fri 25 Sept
100% Old Skool presents Todd Terry, Sun 24 May – now on Sun 29 Aug
Based in Cardigan, Small World are hoping to offer classes online where possible – check back at their website for updates on this. Additionally, they make the point that as a small, independent theatre and registered charity, they rely on ticket sales for much of their revenue, and request that anyone who’s purchased a ticket for a now-cancelled event donates the value of that ticket if in a position to do so.
A delicatessen and sometime venue for acoustic gigs in Rhiwbina, Cardiff, Snails are asking customers if they might want to buy a voucher during this time to be redeemed when they reopen. More here.
With a reopening date no earlier than September, ‘the Hall’ have been rebooking at a rate of knots – here are the fruits of their labour:
Cardiff Philharmonic Orchestra, Fri 20 Mar – now on Wed 16 Sept
Ed Byrne, Sat 21 Mar – now on Fri 5 Feb
Clannad, Sun 22 Mar – now on Thurs 12 Nov
Jamie Cullum, Tue 24 Mar – now on Fri 18 Sept
Banff Mountain Film Festival, Wed 25 Mar – now on Tue 15 Sept
The Bowie Collective, Thurs 26 Mar – now on Fri 8 Jan
Burn The Floor, Sun 29 Mar – now on Sun 7 June
Amy Wadge, Tue 29 Mar – now on Mon 14 Sept
Madama Butterfly, Wed 1 Apr – now on Wed 17 Mar
Foil, Arms & Hog, Sat 4 Apr – now on Sun 2 May 2021
Walk Right Back, Mon 6 Apr – now on Wed 5 May 2021
The Sensational 60s, Wed 8 Apr – now on Wed 14 Apr
Mavron Quartet, Tue 14 Apr – now on Tue 2 Mar
Tabea Debus & Laefer Quartet, Tue 14 Apr – now on Tue 9 Feb
Rumours Of Fleetwood Mac, Wed 15 Apr – now on Sun 28 June
Kidz Bop, Thurs 16 Apr – now on Mon 29 Mar
The Simon & Garfunkel Story, Fri 17 Apr – now on Wed 12 May 2021
Games Of Thrones, Sat 18 Apr – now on Thurs 11 Feb
Queen Machine Symphonic, Wed 22 Apr – now on Mon 11 Oct 2021
Phil Wang, Thurs 23 Apr – now on Wed 23 Sept
Brendan Schaub, Sat 25 Apr – now on Mon 19 Apr
Ross Noble, Mon 27 Apr – now on Wed 27 Jan
Capital City Jazz Orchestra, Tue 28 Apr – now on Tue 27 Apr 2021
Luke Evans, Wed 29 Apr – now on Tue 19 Jan
Josh Widdecombe, Thurs 30 Apr – now on Wed 21 Apr
Luther, Sat 2 May – now on Sat 27 Mar
Remembering The Oscars, Sun 3 May – now on Mon 3 May 2021
Nick Mason’s Saucerful Of Secrets, Tue 5 May – now on Mon 5 Oct
Seven Drunken Nights, Wed 6 May – now on Wed 2 June 2021
Owen Money’s Jukebox Heroes III, Sat 9 May – now on Sat 10 Apr 2021
Ruth Jones, Mon 11 May – now on Sun 6 Sept
Sean Shibe, Tue 12 May – now on Tue 21 Sept 2021
Chris Ramsey, Thurs 14 May – now on Thurs 29 Apr 2021
Jamie Smith’s Mabon, Fri 22 May – now on Tue 30 Mar
Tony Blackburn: Sound Of The 60s, Sat 23 May – now on Wed 10 Feb
The Shires, Sun 24 May – now on Fri 6 Nov
Riverdance, Mon 1-Wed 3 June – now on Sat 4-Mon 6 Sept 2021
The Roy Orbison Story, Thurs 4 June – now on Fri 10 Sept 2021
Big Girls Don’t Cry, Sun 7 June – now on Mon 28 Sept
Midnight Skyracer, Mon 9 June – now on Tue 12 Oct 2021
George Hinchcliffe’s Ukulele Orchestra Of Great Britain, Thurs 11 June – now on Sun 24 Jan
Catrin Finch & Seckou Keita, Fri 12 June – now on Mon 17 May 2021
Karl Jenkins, Sat 13 June – now on Fri 20 Nov
The Drifters, Thurs 25 June – now on Thurs 22 Apr
George Benson, Fri 26 June – now on Sat 26 June 2021
City Voices Cardiff Be Inspired, Sat 27 June – now on Sun 27 June 2021
Rumours Of Fleetwood Mac, Sun 28 June – now on Sun 16 May
Alis Huws, Tue 30 June – now on Tue 16 Feb
Fastlove, Wed 1 July – now on Thurs 17 Sept
World Harp Congress, Mon 27-Thurs 30 July – now on Mon 9-Thurs 12 Aug 2021
Ocean Film Festival, Tue 15 Sept – now on Thurs 7 Jan
David Essex, Mon 19 Oct – now on Wed 15 Sept 2021
A full list of cancellations is here.
Two postponements of rooftop club events due to take place in May: Rumble On The Roof (drum’n’bass) moves from Fri 8 May to Fri 25 Sept, and a housier night headlined by Eli Brown goes from Sat 9 May to Sat 26 Sept.
STREET FOOD CIRCUS / STREET FOOD CINEMA
Intended to kick off over Easter weekend in Cardiff and run until late May, this collection of cosmopolitan food trucks/stalls has been pushed back later into summer (confirmed dates to come) and become a drive-in movie gambit, in light of social distancing concerns. It’s set to be in the grounds of Splott Market rather than the original planned setting of City Road’s Roath Yard. Sign up to their weekly mailing list for news on that, plus recipes and other useful content.
Longstanding promoters of jazz concerts and festivals, now based in Swansea’s Garage venue, have rearranged two gigs booked in March and April. Gary Potter (Wed 18 Mar) will now be on Wed 19 Aug, while Tommy Blaize (Fri 3 Apr) is now here on Fri 7 Aug. UK jazz-funk icons Shakatak’s date on Fri 5 June will now take place in 2021, on Fri 7 May.
This bar and sometime live music venue in Swansea has started hosting cocktail masterclasses on its Facebook page, with mixologist Vasilis Salvarinas showing you the ropes.
“We didn’t want to just steam ahead with planning for a festival that would likely not happen in October, and keep people hanging on for last-minute decisions,” wrote the organisers of this 13-year-old multi-venue Cardiff festival on Wed 16 June, explaining their precise reasons for announcing its cancellation. It “will return in 2021,” they quickly add; their normal timeslot is the third weekend of October.
Third Saturday of June, live from Cardiff Castle, a selection of choice Welsh language musical acts old and new. If it wasn’t for the fact that 2020’s Tafwyl lineup will be performing to an empty field (and whoever tunes into the livestream), it would seem like nothing was untoward in this annual festival’s operations. Here, then, is who’s playing: Al Lewis, Adwaith, HSM Morris, Casi, Alun Gaffey, Mellt, Hana, Mei Gwynedd, Gareth Bonello and Rhys Gwynfor. There’s even food stalls and a market! Although you’ll have to get the produce delivered to your house.
During its closure, the people behind this museum and gallery will make images of their current exhibition, by Sian McGill, viewable online and also available to purchase. They’ll also continue to field research-based enquiries on the museum side of things – email [email protected] if you so wish.
The most northerly node of the Buzz radius, this Newtown venue has confirmed the following:
Footloose, Thurs 2-Sat 4 Apr – now on Thurs 22-Sat 24 Oct
Girlguiding Cymru, Thurs 9 Apr – now on Thurs 29 Oct
Girls Just Wanna Have Fun, Fri 17 Apr – now on Sat 5 Sept
UK Pink Floyd Experience, Fri 24 Apr – now on Sun 12 July
Jethro, Fri 22 May – now on Thurs 21 Jan
Francis Rossi, Sat 23 May – now on Fri 23 Apr 2021
UK Pink Floyd Experience, Sun 12 July – now on Fri 19 Mar
Urdd Dance Eisteddfod (Tue 24 Mar), Tylwyth (Thurs 26 Mar), Kin (Tue 21 + Wed 22 Apr) and Milky Peaks (Fri 1 + Sat 2 May) have all been cancelled.
The Hafren have also started a weekly PDF newsletter during lockdown period – here’s issue one.
This Merthyr theatre makes a concerted effort to serve the local community and youth, and say that they’ll be sharing videos on their Facebook page (linked above) with activities in Welsh for young children and their elders.
Having already announced their closure at the end of March, to be replaced by something with the vaguely pitiful name of Shoreditch, this establishment on Greyfriars Road has instead taken early retirement. It seemed to be working closely with Shoreditch with the handover though, so assuming that goes ahead as planned, info will likely be available on their Facebook page (linked above).
Although a number of late March and early April events in this bar’s upstairs room have been cancelled, so far two have confirmed new dates:
Haunt The Woods, Fri 20 Mar – now on Fri 23 Oct
Gizmo Varillas, Wed 20 May – now on Fri 20 Nov
TORCH THEATRE / ORIEL JOANNA FIELD
Multi-use Milford Haven spot give Thurs 30 Apr as their earliest possible reopening date, confirm they’re attempting to re-accommodate as many events as they can (see below), and – as with the Small World Theatre – highlight their ever-precarious financial situation via a polite plea to forego refunds if you can afford it.
Showaddywaddy, Sat 18 + Sun 19 Apr – now on Wed 5 + Thurs 6 May
Ben Hart, Sat 25 Apr – now on Fri 30 Oct
Crimes, Camera, Action, Tue 12 May – now on Sat 17 Apr
Oh! What A Night, Fri 5 June – now on Sat 6 Mar
Martin Carthy, Thurs 9 July – now on Fri 29 Jan
As with sibling venue The Globe, Grangetown’s Tramshed is closed until Fri 17 Apr at the earliest. The date for London’s Baxter Dury, while just after this (Tue 21 Apr), has however been rescheduled to Tue 29 Sept, as Dury cancelled his tour; you can read the interview Buzz did with him here. We’ve also spoken to techno veterans 808 State, whose Sat 28 Mar show is to be put back until Sat 24 Oct, and you can read that here. Other freshly minted Tramshed dates include:
Twin Atlantic, Fri 13 Mar – now on Tue 13 Oct
Magnum, Sun 22 Mar – now on Thurs 10 Dec
M Huncho, Mon 23 Mar – now on Thurs 17 Sept
808 State, Sat 28 Mar – now on Sat 24 Oct
Circa Waves, Mon 30 Mar – now on Wed 16 Sept
Lloyd Cole, Sat 4 Apr – now on Wed 23 Sept
Those Damn Crows, Tue 21 Apr – now on Fri 2 Oct
Norman Jay & Don Letts, Mon 27 Apr – now on Fri 18 Sept
Mark Lanegan, Wed 13 May – now on Sat 20 Feb
Toots & The Maytals, Fri 22 May – now on Thurs 10 Sept
Cloudbusting, Fri 3 July – now on Fri 14 May 2021
Therapy?, Mon 19 Oct – now on Mon 10 May 2021
You can also support the venue’s staff at this location by purchasing a “virtual pint” which can be redeemed in person at a later date.
Classes in Yin Yoga and Yin Yang Yoga, taught by Victoria Ucele in the form of free short Facebook live sessions twice a week, as well as Yin Yoga audio classes with the aim of focusing on your experience without visual distraction plus regular online workshops. The latter, paid longer sessions, are described by Ucele as “an opportunity to delve deeper into body and mind, and often include elements of meditation, pranayama and the ‘meridian theory’ of traditional Chinese medicine.”
A circus training team located in Tremorfa, Cardiff, Up Side Down’s website says they’re closing doors until Mon 6 Apr – safe to assume this’ll be extended – suggests you check their social media for various communal-if-remote activities, and have added a donation button to the website’s front page in addition to highlighting their gift voucher packages.
Normally found taking weekly yoga classes in Cardiff and Swansea, the practitioners have moved online temporarily. The schedule is in the link above, and classes can be accessed with a £30 payment via that same link. Clients will then need to request membership of the Facebook group Urban Zen Virtual Community.
VALE SPORTS ARENA / VSA WAREHOUSE
This multi-use venue on the very outskirts of Wales’ capital has issued multiple updates in light of its current shuttering. All promoters with events booked in will be encouraged to rebook, if wished, for no extra fee. People who’ve already paid for pitch bookings will get credits which can be used when the pitches reopen. Gift vouchers to book pitches, plus drinks vouchers, can be purchased in advance to support the venue, and memorabilia from the Arena’s meet’n’greets with various sports icons is to be sold for the same reason – phone 07955 270870 if you might be interested. Llandough Hospital nurses, plus over-60s in the area, are being offered free gym membership when the gym reopens.
One reschedule on the clubbing front, meanwhile, is the Trance With Tremor bash due for Sun 24 May – this is now on Fri 1 Jan, an alldayer finishing at 1am.
The one-time bank vault underneath Portland House is in the process of sorting a new date for
Chris Liebing, Fri 27 Mar – now on Fri 20 Nov
DnB Allstars feat. Hazard, Sat 28 Mar – now on Fri 23 Oct
16+ DnB Rave, Sat 11 Apr – now on Sat 5 Dec
Tremor Teens, Sat 2 May – now on Sat 26 Sept
Jungle Cakes, originally at Frontal Lobe Warehouse on Sat 21 Mar, is now here on Fri 25 Sept.
Additionally, The Vaults have set up a YouTube channel for footage of some of their previous parties, starting with High-Fi’s NYE 2019 night there.
With an online store for the myriad prints, crafts and gifts available in its Rhiwbina location, Victoria Fearn Gallery is well placed to continue trading via mail order and delivery, and Fearn is planning to focus on that until further notice. Click on the ‘shop’ section of her website for a display of homely things.
Housed in what was once an Iceland store, this Swansea organisation are turning their hand to family-friendly creative learning online. Starting off, a challenge to design a costume for a pirate character in Volcano’s upcoming production Hispaniola!, an adaption of Treasure Island. More info here.
Cardiff Bay’s flagship venue has made the most unequivocal decision of pretty much any south Wales establishment to date, confirming on Fri 12 June that its period of closure will extend until at least January 2021. There is, say the WMC, a distinct possibility of this being maintained until April, but this will be decided in September. As such, the large majority of its programme for the rest of this year and some of the next has been cancelled entirely. These two have secured new dates:
Joker: Live In Concert, Sun 21 June – now on Sun 28 Mar
The Lion King, Thurs 9 July-Sat 29 Aug – now on Thurs 7 July-Sat 27 Aug 2022
Welsh National Opera: Migrations (Sat 3 Oct), Sister Act (Mon 12-Sat 17 Oct) and The Book Of Mormon (Tue 3-Sat 28 Nov) have been postponed with new dates TBC.
Ystradgynlais’ main community centre has rescheduled the following:
Welsh Wrestling, Sat 4 Apr – now on Fri 25 Sept
Mal Pope, Fri 17 Apr – now on Fri 23 Oct
Grace Petrie, Wed 27 May – now on Sat 10 Oct
The Welfare have also set up a link to donate to the venue should anyone feel so inclined: that can be found here.
Based in Cwmdu School, Crickhowell, Powys, this school offers a variety of art courses, and is making a variety of plans to keep them going (in most cases).
The Masters course for the summer term will be cancelled and replaced with a remote learning programme, conducted by video.
Anatomy with Ben Fenske, Tue 14-Sat 18 Apr – now in September or October (TBC)
Foundation course, Mon 1-Fri 5 June – now on Mon 22-Fri 26 June
Floral Painting, Wed 24-Fri 26 June – now on Wed 1-Fri 3 July
Portrait Painting In Oils, Tue 15-Thurs 17 Sept – now on Wed 14-Fri 16 Oct
At 10 am every Saturday at present, WNO are broadcasting Play Opera, an interactive show aimed at ages 3-8. Members of the WNO Orchestra and Chorus “will perform some special tunes just for you, as well as people behind the scenes who tell you all about what it’s like to work for a real life opera company.” More at this link.
These good sorts from Ynyshir reopened in August and are cracking right back into their planned spring exhibition, a selection of collages from Tory-baiting internet fave Cold War Steve [above]. The International Exhibition Of The People is here until Sat 19 Sept, albeit its premise is that anyone who wants to host the exhibition can do so by merely downloading a folder from Steve’s website. Another rescheduled show – The Slate Sea And Other Stories, photography by Zed Nelson – is also on here until the aforementioned date
Based in Caerphilly and volunteer run, this community arts venue’s only confirmed rebooking at the time of writing is Fleetwood Bac, which moves from Thurs 9 Apr to Sat 3 Oct. Others, including Oasis tribute Some Might Say (Fri 27 Mar) and hard rock tribute ThunderHammer (Sat 28 Mar) are set to get new dates, but those aren’t yet confirmed.
Resident in what used to be the home of Buffalo on Windsor Place, this fave of the Cardiff gay/drag scene is joining the ranks of online partiers, with ubiquitous cabaret host Miss Kitty plus Gina Grigio, Etta Buffet, Ruby Slippers and more names in that rich vein no doubt. Rich Vein might work as a cabaret name, thinking about it.
