The first wave of artists has been unveiled for 2023’s Llais festival, taking place at Wales Millennium Centre in Cardiff on 11–15 October.
One of the programme’s highlights is Both Sides Now: Celebrating Joni Mitchell (October 13), featuring singers including festival co-curator Gwenno Saunders, Laura Mvula, Eska and Charlotte Church performing Mitchell’s songs accompanied by the BBC National Orchestra of Wales.
Gwenno will also perform her own solo show at the festival, and there will be concerts from Bat For Lashes, Angeline Morrison and The Staves, as well as James Yorkston and Nina Persson with The Second Hand Orchestra. The Unthanks will host a special all-day event featuring performances and participatory events.
“It has been such a joy to curate this year’s Llais,” says Gwenno. “I’m a proud Cardiffian and that was always in the back of my mind when thinking of performers and artists to join us. Cardiff is made up of a rich tapestry of cultures and languages that makes the city unique and truly part of the world, and particularly the Docks where Wales Millennium Centre is situated, defines so much of our identity as people of this city, and it was a celebration of this that I was aiming for.”
For more information and tickets – 10% of which will be available on a ‘pay what you can’ basis – visit the official Llais site.