Rudry Parish Hall, Caerphilly
Fri 7 + Sat 8 July
Founded in 2016, the Rudry Festival is a community event which profits provide funds for the idyllic rural venue, Rudry Parish Hall, as well as the communities of Waterloo, Rudry and Draethen. This year, all profits from Between The Trees will also be donated to SANE, a leading UK mental health charity, in a campaign which encourages people to open up about their mental health.
The festival comprises two-days of performances in genres such as folk, Americana and acoustic roots. Climbing Trees, a five-piece multi-instrumental multi-vocal ensemble from Pontypridd, are set to perform on Friday. Following their recent album, Borders, Between The Trees is one of many festival performances set for the band this year. Friday’s lineup also includes Ofelia, runners-up in the Big Gig competition last year, and Mahouts. Saturday’s performances include Marc O’Reilly, Firewoodisland and familial alt-rock collective Flight Brigade.
Festival goers are also given the opportunity to participate in exciting activities such as interactive science experiments and spoken word. Graffiti and stencil artist Anthony J Smith (Consumersmith Fine Art) also invites attendees to join in on a group mural, as well as witness a demonstration of his skills with a spray can. In cohesion with the theme of mental health, BTT will provide a healing area where philosophy, morning yoga and contemporary therapy are some of the activities available to participate in.
Tickets: £40/£20 kids/free under-14s. Info : www.betweenthetreesfestival.co.uk (BB)