Thinking about what might happen in the world over the next 12 months is a daunting prospect on many levels, but if there’s one surefire bet it’s that all the people, groups and companies featured in Buzz’s annual Ones To Watch for 2025 will enjoy the fabulous success they deserve. And how’s that going to happen? With the help of YOUR purchasing power and staunch support!
Noisemakers
ADJUA

Hailing from Splott in Cardiff, Adjua Mensah worked on her debut EP Self for a good 18 months before its eventual release in summer 2023, but it opened doors and rightly so: r’n’b flourishes and subtle vocal loops mingle with a spindly, perhaps folky type of jazz guitar playing, from the self-taught Adjua herself. This year she’s played a sheaf of festivals, was one of three winners of the Welsh Music Prize’s Triskel Award for hot-tip acts, and has just released her first new music of 2024, Is It Ending Or Beginning? Co-produced by Adjua and MKFWI, it’s a full-band affair with keys and sax, lending ambient weight to alt-soul intimacy. The prospective audience for music this good feels unlimited. (NG)
Info: linktr.ee/adjua
AISHA KIGS

Aisha Kigs’ 2024 could, maybe should, have been her 2020, but various factors in and outside of her orbit delayed the launch of her career in earnest for four years. Fire Hazard, this Cardiff-based artist’s debut EP, dropped in April with a launch gig at the Wales Millennium Centre, and is a full-throated five-song success. “It’s like a pop project, but [the songs] also touch on elements of funk, r’n’b, hip-hop and Afropop,” she said to Buzz’s Emma Way in spring: no lies detected, but if anything this undersells the amount of individuality that Kigs brings as both singer and songwriter. Subsequent live performances – in Brooklyn, London and at the Big Love Festival among others – are where her jazzy bandleader side emerges. (NG)
Info: linktr.ee/aishakigs
THE BRASS BAMBEES

Furious punk rock from small town Merthyr Tydfil, The Brass Bambees effortlessly live up to their name with an energetic frontman in Rhys Davies, captivating a room’s attention with his trademark stomach-pumping bellows. In latest single Unlucky Rabbit, gritty guitars sing of sticky beer-soaked floors, paired with a driving bassline and piercing backing vocal, both provided by bassist Sofia Reffell. Though their influences range across various subgenres, from postpunk to indie rock, guitarists Ainslee Rees and Jamie Thomas collectively construct a wall of fuzz, with the wall’s groundskeeper drummer Owen Evans and his metallic cymbal hits. The five-piece are set to follow up their floppy-eared single in 2025 with an EP produced by Buzzard Buzzard Buzzard’s Tom Rees. (EW)
Info: thebrassbambees.com
DARK AND TWISTIES

This new alt-folk supergroup from Swansea truly is all kinds of amazing. Featuring former members of Lost Tuesday Society and Rag Foundation, Dark And Twisties are a stunning distillation of years of songwriting, live performance and intuitive ensemble playing. The three fantastic singer-songwriters who front the band – Sarah Birch, Kate Ronconi and Sarah Passmore – cover piano, fiddle and guitar between them whilst supplying equally sweet and sinister three-part harmonies. Danny Kilbride and Huw Rees provide the bass and drum backbone that raises the band to a whole other level. Live, they are something to behold too, so get to a gig soon and check out debut single, The Wild, to get in from the beginning. (JPD)
Info: Bandcamp
THE FAMILY BATTENBERG

If you’ve been out and about in the Cardiff music scene over the past few years you’ve undoubtedly fallen upon the Welsh psychedelic epidemic that is The Family Battenberg. All of their ‘spider rock’ releases – Fuzzy Features, Rocket Dustbin and Feed Yer (Nganga) – have earned them countless streams, along with festival appearances across Europe and the UK, with packed-out rooms soaking up their energy and confidence. During their autumn appearance at multi-venue festival Sŵn, frontman Eliot Jones announced an EP was officially in the works for 2025. Highly anticipated, I’m interested to see whether it’ll be self-produced, as the four-piece have previously showcased a DIY ethos, Jones engineering and mixing previous singles himself. (EW)
Info: linktr.ee/thefamilybattenberg
Visualisers
ASIAN PURRSUASION

Born of the formidable Welsh Ballroom Community, Asian Purrsuasion is an LGBTQ+ and QTIPOC South Asian cabaret troupe founded by Alia Milan and Muz ‘Supreme’ Razman of the WBC, along with their writer/performer pal Aiman Rahim. Since 2022, Asian Purrsuasion has been booking semi-regular performance spots at Chapter and the WMC. Their performance art aims to affirm that LGBTQ+ creatives have an indelible history in both East and West. This September saw the release of their self-portrait documentary Trailblazers – directed by Sobia Bushra, it follows the community fighting to preserve their cultural heritage through performance. “I want South Asians, especially queer South Asians, to know that they don’t need to run away from their culture in order to be queer,” Aiman reflects. (JB)
Info: Instagram
BOMBUS REMADE

Creating 90% of their products from discarded clothing and textiles, sustainable fashion brand Bombus Remade offers a selection of charming novelty items – from bumbags and trinket pockets to luxury handmade jackets and reusable fabric gift wrap. Devoted to extending garment lifespan and upcycling materials, the brand endeavours to be zero waste, reusing offcuts on other products as well as offering free repairs on bags and clothing. Bombus is the scientific name for the bumblebee, and Amber Jones – founder, designer and maker – is the busy bee in this one-person team. “As a fat, queer and mixed-race person, I’ve often been excluded from a lot of fashion,” says Jones. “Everyone deserves to be represented. All sizes, races, genders, representations and abilities.” (JB)
Info: bombus-remade.com
MADFABULOUS

Expected to be released in summer 2025, Celyn Jones’ forthcoming Madfabulous is a biopic of the flamboyant 19th-century aristocrat Marquis Henry Cyril Paget and his short but scandalous life. Paget, played here by Callum Scott Howells (It’s A Sin), is a cross-dressing eccentric and ‘black sheep’ of his family, spending his inheritance on costumes, theatre and lavish parties as if to turn his life into a kind of dramatic performance. Inheriting Anglesey’s Plas Newydd estate, Paget quickly gained a reputation for running his fortune into the ground, facing destitution – and, ultimately, a tragic death. Shot on-location in Jones’ homeland of Anglesey, Madfabulous is set amidst rugged coastlines and secluded beaches, tributing the island’s wild natural beauty. (JB)
Info: here
MEL OWEN

Do we love a female, Welsh comedian? The answer is yes. What’s the only thing we love more? That’s right, a bilingual one. Mel Owen has already been described as ‘one to watch’ by The Scotsman, but we’re going to call say it again here because we thinks she deserves it. Cutting her teeth supporting Welsh giants of comedy Kiri Pritchard-Mclean and Elis James, Owen has been holding her own with the biggest and brightest that Welsh comedy has to offer. Fresh, energetic and fiercely sardonic, Owen’s comedy is a breath of fresh air, and following a hugely successful run at the Edinburgh Fringe with her Chunky Monkey show, she brings it to the WMC’s Cabaret stage in February. (HB)
Info: linktr.ee/melowencomedy
OSIAN MEILIR

Professional dancer and performance artist Osian Meilir is no stranger to the limelight but is poised for an even brighter future. Originally from west Wales, Osian has performed across the UK and internationally, becoming an artistic associate of the National Dance Company of Wales in 2022. In 2021, Osian choreographed and directed his debut production Qwerin, which has since gone on to tour internationally. A portmanteau of ‘gwerin’ (folk) and ‘q’ (for queer), this equally joyful, energetic and folkloric work delves into the colourful intersections of queer Welsh identity. Staged outdoors in various green spaces such as forests, fields and hills, the choreography fuses the intricate patterns of traditional Welsh folk-dancing with the exuberant flair of queer club culture. (JB)
Info: osianmeilir.com
Foodies
CEGIN Y BOBL

Cegin Y Bobl – ‘The People’s Kitchen’ in Welsh – is an initiative designed to educate and reshape Wales’ relationship with food. It builds on the work of Carmarthen-based Cook 24, a scheme set to end this month. The idea stems from award-winning restaurateur and broadcaster Simon Wright, who has partnered with a diverse group of chefs to inspire a transformation in how Wales cooks.
Wales boasts a rich culinary heritage, from world-renowned lamb to laverbread, cockles, Glamorgan sausage, and Welsh cakes. However, the growing prevalence of fast food outlets has contributed to unhealthy eating habits, increasing pressure on the NHS. Cegin Y Bobl carries forward the spirit of Cook 24, which was part of Coleg Sir Gâr’s Shared Prosperity Fund initiative. Through this program, chefs shared their skills to empower communities and encourage better cooking habits.
As Cook 24 nears its end, Cegin Y Bobl faces the funding challenge of raising £250,000 to continue this important work. Chef Jen Goss states, “We’ve seen children as young as seven using sharp knives and heat to create something delicious – the difference it’s made is incredible.” The project aspires to tackle diet-related disease, food security and the issues facing farming in Wales. (DJ)
Info: ceginybobl.co.uk
WHOCULT

Earlier this year, I wrote about a doughy explosion happening in Wales: the rise of the indie doughnut shop. Far from the typical supermarket or big-chain bakery fare, single or small-chain artisans are whipping up gourmet, bready confections intended to assault your sweet tooth, riding on the popularity of dessert-only restaurants. Many are worthwhile spotlights, but few have made the impact that Whocult have.
With a sharp focus on eye-catching branding, its Cardiff outpost had punters queuing around the block upon opening this year. This is bolstered by merchandise (clothing, accessories, mugs and more) produced by sister company Whoclo, graphic designers inspired by streetwear and tattoo art. Following Cardiff, Swansea became the site of the company’s sixth venue, continuing a lockdown success story borne from online orders.
“It has been a crazy time for us,” owner Scott McGill told WalesOnline in July. “We’ve been able to organically grow. We’ve had no outside investors, it’s all been done in-house; everything is made in-house and is fresh every morning. We kind of haven’t had time to stop and take a breather, to be honest, it’s been a case of ‘on to the next’.” You can also find Whocult in Newport, Porthcawl, Barry and its original spot, Bridgend. (HC)
Info: whocult.com
DARK ELEMENT BREWERY

Since ‘craft beer’ became, for better or worse, a codified term in the UK, Welsh brewers of such have certainly played their part. It is, though, notable how domestic the country’s beer scene remains. Excepting Newport’s Tiny Rebel, now a supermarket staple, and the smaller-scale but ambitious Polly’s from Mold, if you want to drink hoppy beer from Wales you usually have to be in Wales.
Dark Element, from Caerphilly, launched less than 12 months ago and have bucked the aforementioned rule by selling their beers to specialist bottle shops across the UK. This is one indication that they might grow into something bigger in 2025, another being that their beers are really good. You will, it should be noted, have to like hop-forward IPAs in their various micro-categories, as that’s what Dark Element specialise in.
They’ve brewed around 30 distinct beers at the time of writing, including several collaborations with other locals like Crafty Devil and Beer Riff, and whether they’re gunning for bitterness, dankness or juiciness seem to always hit the mark. At the more ribald end of the scale, Blender – a fruit smoothie sour – is well worth picking up, and news of a stout made (at Cardiff brewery Flowerhorn) with bacon, maple syrup and pancakes certainly sounds like expanded horizons. (NG)
Info: darkelementbrewing.co.uk
Wordsmiths
ANTHONY SHAPLAND

Anthony Shapland is a man whose work on the Cardiff art scene has become an institution in itself. Responsible for running and curating artist-led space G39 since its beginning in 1997, he’s now ready to present to the world another side of his talents: after previously having short fiction included in anthologies published by Parthian and Seren, his debut novel A Room Above A Shop is published by Granta in March. The book tells a story of two men, M and B, whose relationship faces huge social and political scrutiny amidst the atmosphere of 1980s south Wales. Anthony’s writing is unique, sparse and poetic – a true art in itself – and this is not to be missed. (GB)
Info: linktr.ee/anthonyshapland
BEYOND / TU HWNT

Set to be published in early January through Lucent Dreaming – a creative writing journal turned publishing imprint, founded in 2018 by Jannat Ahmed from Cardiff – Beyond / Tu Hwnt is a collection of work by 32 Welsh writers who identify as Deaf and/or disabled, and in this respect is a groundbreaking venture. It’s edited by Bethany Handley, Sioned Erin Hughes and Megan Angharad Hunter: Handley and Hughes also contribute writing here, while the concept for Beyond stemmed from a writing retreat Handley and Hunter arranged in 2022. Featured among the lineup is Kaite O’Reilly, whose movie The Almond And The Seahorse hit UK cinemas in May, and Joshua Jones, who featured in Buzz’s equivalent list for 2024 and has had a pleasingly visible year. (NG)
Info: lucentdreaming.com
HUW AARON

Welsh author, graphic novelist, illustrator and presenter Huw Aaron recently signed a seven-book deal with Puffin. After a stint as an NHS financial manager, Huw has written or illustrated over 60 Welsh language books for children – most importantly his two daughters – while his scrawling sketches of silly creatures earned him Tir na n-Og and Welsh Children’s Book Of The Year awards in 2023. (He’s had cartoons published in The Oldie and Private Eye, at the other end of the age spectrum.) Picture book Sleep Tight, Disgusting Blob and middle-grade graphic novel Unfairies are due in March and August respectively; two additional titles will follow in 2026, extending Huw’s joyfully absurd universe of whimsical beings, vivid personalities and anarchic humour. (JB)
Info: huwaaron.com
KATHRYN TANN

“Kathryn Tann writes with an alertness and a compassion that is a true pleasure to read,” wrote Buzz’s CJ Wagstaff back in May, reviewing this Penarth native’s first published essay collection, Seaglass. It’s named after the smoothed-out bits of broken bottle one finds on the beach, which Tann has been collecting since childhood; in her telling, this low-effort pastime is a catalyst for deeper thoughts about the power of the ocean and the inexorable passage of time. Tann’s first big project of next year, meanwhile, is the launch of Folding Rock – a Welsh literary journal co-founded with Robert Harries, set to publish its first issue in March – and she’s also on the writers’ programme at Literature Wales’ Ty Newydd Writing Centre. (NG)
Info: kathryntann.com
STEVEN KAVUMA & MARED LLYWELYN

As a National Youth Theatre Wales production, Dal Gafael / Hold On was missed by the majority of Wales-based theatregoers. That doesn’t stop us being incredibly excited to see what’s coming next for co-writers Steven Kavuma and Mared Llewellyn. Dal Gafael offered an insightful and modern insight into the climate crisis and the world that young people are growing into, but without patronising the young people that the play was catered for. Llewelyn and Kavuma are both innovative Welsh writers in their own right: Kavuma wrote on National Theatre Wales’ Galwad in 2022, and Llewellyn’s show Croedenau went on a national tour last year. Regardless of whether they collaborate again, these two show no signs of stopping. (HB)
Info: Steven on Twitter / Mared on Twitter
Changemakers
LONE WORLDS

The name of this LGBTQ+ collective likely refers to the year of its inception, 2020, when we were all feeling a little more lonely: a small taste of the isolation queer people can face throughout their lives, lockdown or no lockdown. Based out of Cardiff, Lone Worlds is a CIC that helps artists realise installation, audio and visual art that chimes with their belief in “spontaneity and organic methods of creative production.” Supports can engage as mentors, audience members or event volunteers.
While the group is in an R&D phase, its profile has been raised towards the end of the year by a collaboration with Cardiff bar Hey Mary: Total Party Slay, an actual-play D&D campaign hosted by queer performers every last Thursday of the month at Porter’s. As well as sustaining the organisation through its latest incubation period, the idea sits at a unique intersection of nerdy, queer fun that, although hosted by a bar, doesn’t rely on a boozy, loud atmosphere for attendees to be entertained and socialise in the evening. You neither have to identify as LGBTQ+ or a D&D fan to go: the atmosphere is thoroughly inclusive on both fronts. Even better, it’s totally free. (HC)
Info: linktr.ee/loneworlds
STEPHANIE BAILEY-SCOTT

Actress, theatre maker and workshop leader Stephanie Bailey-Scott is a trailblazing community champion on the Welsh arts and theatre scene. Serving as Participation, Access & Inclusion Officer at Taking Flight Theatre and lead facilitator for their youth wing – which is Wales’ first and only youth theatre for Deaf and hard of hearing young people – Bailey-Scott is a forerunner in advocating inclusive artistic expression for all.
In a historic achievement, Bailey-Scott has become not only the first Deaf recipient but also the first Wales-based winner of the J.M. Barrie Award (“celebrating people and organisations doing outstanding work within children’s arts”), in its 20th anniversary year. Receiving the Education Award, this accolade exemplifies her outstanding contributions to children’s arts education as she has opened doors for countless young people, ensuring the creative lifeline is kept alive across future generations. A role model to both her mentees and other professionals, Bailey-Scott’s work goes beyond advocating Deaf and disability visibility, but also empowering these communities to claim centre stage. (JB)
Info: here
DANI LUNA

Dani Luna is a British wrestler and one-time All Wales Champion who calls the Cathays area of Cardiff home. Yet her ambitions stretch far beyond, as she also reigns as a tag champion for TNA Wrestling, the third-largest wrestling promotion in America. In her most recent bout, against Ash By Elegance in early November, Luna delivered a strong performance despite narrowly being defeated at the end. As expected in the world of wrestling, the match was brimming with theatrics – dramatic exaggerations, pantomime-style antics, and an animated event host who added to the spectacle. Ash and her tag partner, Heather By Elegance, eventually combined to take down Luna.
Luna admires wrestlers known for their hard-hitting style, and her impressive upper-body strength reflects that influence. She cites legendary British wrestler Nigel McGuinness as one of her inspirations, and it shows in her fierce and determined approach to the sport. Her wrestling journey began at 16, training with NXT UK, before stepping into the pro wrestling scene at 19. Originally from Croydon, she moved with her family to Gloucester and then to Cardiff. Her bright hair and personality shines through in her performances and big things beckon. (DJ)
Info: Instagram
words HARI BERROW / JULIA BOTTOMS / GOSIA BUZZANCA / HANNAH COLLINS / JOHN-PAUL DAVIES / NOEL GARDNER / DAVID JAMES / EMMA WAY