The Wizard Of Oz
Gwyn Hall Orchard Street, Neath, United KingdomBallet, presented by Ballet Theatre UK. Tickets: £21/£13.50 under-16s.
Martin Carthy: Song & Conversation
The Welfare Brecon Road, Ystradgynlais, Powys, United KingdomTwo dates in the hillsides for a titan of the British folk tradition as it’s flourished since the mid-century revival: Martin Carthy has amassed a vast repertoire both solo and in myriad ensembles, including a familial grouping as Waterson:Carthy. Now aged 82, he’ll be chatting to Jon Wilks here – and you, if you ask …
Heads up! Death metal Poles DECAPITATED’s first ever show in Merthyr this Sunday
Redhouse Old Town Hall, High Street, Merthyr Tydfil, Merthyr TydfilFollowing a sold-out summer show for UK death metal big dogs Carcass in this venue, here’s one headlined by Polish genre icons Decapitated. Active since the 90s, they’ve rarely been frit of showing off their technical prowess, including on cringily-titled latest album Cancer Culture. German tour support Obscura will likely outstrip them for flashiness, too.
Grandmaster Flash: Birth Of A Culture
The Queens Hall High St, Narberth, PembrokeshireSecond Welsh date for Flash in the last few months, following a late-summer set in Wrexham. This one has its own subtitle and is pitched as a “multimedia extravaganza,” which I assume means film footage and spoken bits in between the stuff everyone’s actually there for, pertaining to hip-hop’s recent 50th birthday as a genre.
Snuff
Bunkhouse 24 Park Street, Swansea, SwanseaUnstoppably ribald London punk rockers, on-off extant since the late 80s, play a Welsh show either side of Christmas. Unusually, tickets are cheaper for the full-band one, in Swansea, than for the stripped-down acoustic set, in Newport on Fri 19 Jan, although that one also has support The Oldfield Brothers, formerly of local 90s punk …