Festivals Get Excited About… Cardiff Music City Festival 2025
The Welsh capital will be taken over this month for a series of must-see performances, installations and talks - and we’re here to give you our picks!
It’s easy to assume that, within the UK, the musical cities that matter most are the likes of London, Manchester or Liverpool, but that couldn’t be further from the case. As illustrated through our collaboration with Dydd Miwsig Cymru - Welsh Language Music Day, for the non-Welsh speakers among us - back in February, Wales has become a hub of creativity for artists from across all disciplines, but music especially, and that’s something that the country’s capital will be celebrating across the month of October.
Having kicked off last weekend, Cardiff Music City Festival is not your average event, and over a two-week period (it takes place from 3rd until the 18th October), will be celebrating music in all of its many forms with over 200 performances happening across 20 different venues. What’s more, it’ll be capped off with this year’s edition of the incredible Sŵn Festival, the city’s multi-venue celebration of emerging talent.
Already, the event has included performances from the likes of CVC and Tom Rasmussen, as well as the 2025 Welsh Music Prize (more on that below!), with loads more to come. Here are just a few of the schedule’s highlights that we’re getting excited about…
6th October: The Welsh Music Prize 2025
Okay, so, technically, the Welsh Music Prize 2025 ceremony has already taken place (it happened earlier this week in the iconic Wales Millennium Centre) but that doesn’t mean we can’t celebrate the winner a little in retrospect. Chosen from a list of fifteen albums - including releases from the likes of Panic Shack, Melin Melyn, Kelly Lee Owens and Gwenno - this year’s winner was named as Welsh beatmaker Don Leisure - aka Aly Jamal - for his record ‘Tyrchu Sain’, which saw him dive into the back catalogue of Sain Records, Wales’ oldest independent record label, and give it a new lease of life.
Want to learn more? Of course you do! Revisit our interview with Don Leisure below.
9th October: Cate Le Bon
Having released her new, seventh album just over a week ago, Cate Le Bon’s performance at the Wales Millennium Centre is set to be a very special on indeed. Landing six years on since her last album - the Mercury Prize-shortlisted ‘Reward’ - her latest record ‘Michelangelo Dying’ is a rich, multi-faceted effort that was made between the Grecian island Hydra, Cardiff, London, Los Angeles, and ultimately finished in the Californian desert. Seeing it performed live in one of its spiritual homes - as part of this year’s Llais Festival, an event focussed on celebrating the human voice) will undoubtedly be an incredible moment.
11th October: Adwaith
As if getting to watch invigorating, Welsh-singing trio Adwaith once wasn’t enough, the band will be taking to the stage at the city’s Weston Studio for two(!) incredibly special performances. Again taking place as part of Llais, first up is ‘O Dan y Haenau’; at 6.30pm, the band will delve into their back catalogue to perform a set of re-imagined tracks from across their early discography (including 2018’s ‘Melyn’ and 2022’s ‘Bato Mato’). Then, their later, 9.30pm show will see them performance their recently-released opus ‘Solas’ in full - yes, all 23 tracks! - for the final time. It’ll very much be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
11th October: Ishmael Ensemble’s Immersive Live Performance
As we mentioned earlier, Cardiff has become a home for many different kinds of creativity and music, and that will perhaps be best encapsulated by Ishmael Ensemble’s one-of-a-kind, immersive live performance, which is taking place at CULTVR on Saturday 11th October. Having opened back in 2019, CULTVR has established established itself as a hub for immersive arts and XR (Extended Reality), and for this special performance - taking place as part of the Soundscape Sessions - they’ll be hosting a special set from the Bristol genre-blending collective, as they performance alongside live visuals created by award-winning studio 4Pi
Productions.
12th October: Los Campesinos!
You love them, we love them, and we’re so glad that they’re firmly back in our lives; it couldn’t be any other band than Los Campesinos! Having returned to our ears last year with the incredible ‘All Hell’, the Cardiff indie icons will be firmly back on hometurf for what’s sure to be a celebratory night of nostalgic singalongs and misty eyes. As it stands, their appearance at Y Plas - the Cardiff Students’ Union, naturally - is the only live show in their schedule right now, so do not miss out on what’s sure to be the most fun we’ve had since 2006.
Need a good dance (or, tbf, a good cry)? Head here to grab a last minute ticket.
16th — 18th October: Sŵn Festival 2025
It’s safe to that every year, Cardiff’s own Sŵn Festival is a major highlight on the musical calendar. Taking place after things have finally started to slow down, across an array of brilliant venues, the event always boasts not just an excellent line-up, but immaculate vibes (if you don’t believe us, just revisit our review from 2024 down below!). This year’s set to be no different, with the likes of Moonchild Sanelly, Mykki Blanco, DEADLETTER, Lime Garden and Man/Woman/Chainsaw all set to play across its three days. What’s more, for anyone with an interest in the wider music industry, they also host Sŵn Connect; a conference that aims to offer support and guidance to young artists and professionals alike.
Head to the Sŵn Festival website to find out more, or buy yourself a ticket.
Cardiff Music City Festival takes place from 3rd to 18th October 2025 in venues across the city of Cardiff. To discover the rest of the schedule, or just to find out more, head over to their website now.
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