Sŵn Festival have announced the second wave of names for its 2022 edition, taking place across the Welsh capital from October 21st to 23rd. They include Sorry, The Lovely Eggs, The Umlauts, Lunch Money Life, VLURE, Joe & the Shitboys, Molly Payton, Low Island, Opus Kink, L’Objectif and more.
Returning for the first time at full-scale since 2019, the tastemaker festival presents a mix of established and upcoming artists for a celebration of the diverse, exciting nature of Welsh and UK music and beyond. These additions join an already strong bill that includes the likes of Sea Power, Los Bitchos, Grove, Billy Nomates, BODEGA, Connie Constance and Murkage Dave.
With their second album, Anywhere But Here, landing on Oct 7th via Domino, hugely buzzy London crew Sorry are set to make a particularly timely visit to Cardiff with their new record promising a “rougher around the edges” incarnation of their distinctive mix of grunge, trap and shoegaze, drawing inspiration everywhere from Slint to Randy Newman.
One of the most beloved institutions on the circuit – six albums in and still wilfully independent – DIY-to-the-core Lancaster duo The Lovely Eggs are in town in support of their latest album, I Am Moron, which went to #1 on the UK Independent Album Chart. For those seeking pulsing electronics, jarring guitars and club-influenced rhythms, Glasgow’s VLURE are not to be missed. Describing themselves as “just your average trans-European, multi-lingual, art-school, post-punk, techno-inspired, über-group/circus-troop/diaeresis,” [deep breath] London’s The Umlauts head to Wales in support of their debut pair of EPs, Ü and Another Fact.
The prolific Lunch Money Life join the Sŵn 2022 bill off the back of a string of EPs and singles that have seen the quintet cement their status as self-appointed purveyors of “apocalypse music” – fusing electronically augmented brass and skull-rattling heavy psych grooves – following their 2020 debut album Immersion Chamber.
For those in the mood for a bit of Scandi goodness, look no further than bisexual, Faroese punks Joe & the Shitboys. A hit in their homeland, where they were established as a means of calling out shitty behaviour, boneless homophobes and misogynists. Fresh from a string of festival appearances and a recent tour with Beabadoobee, London-based, New Zealand-raised indie-pop powerhouse Molly Payton heads to Sŵn on the eve of the release of her new EP, Compromise. Oxford electronic indie quartet Low Island come through town promising a set packed with thoughtful, literary pop that touches upon loss, hope and chaos in equal measure.
Further local Welsh names joining the line-up today include the likes of alt pop wonder Greta Isaac, Sŵnami, Omaloma, CVC and Kiddus.
Today, Sŵn Festival also announces its venues for this year’s event with ten stages taking place across seven locations in Cardiff: Clwb Ifor Bach (two stages), Fuel Rock Club, Jacobs Market (three stages), The Moon, O’Neills, Tiny Rebel, Tramshed (Friday-only).
The festival’s opening night takes place on Friday, Oct 21st at the 1000-capacity Tramshed with BC Camplight returning to Cardiff for their biggest headline show to date in the Welsh capital, armed with an eclectic array of singer-songwriter classicisms, gnarly synth-pop and ‘50s rock’n’roll. Joining them are hometown heroes Panic Shack who continue their breakout 2022 with razor-sharp indie-punk anthems galore, fast-rising Brighton quartet Lime Garden who are on hand to display why DIY have labelled them “the spiritual successors to Britpop’s finest females,” and transatlantic alt-rock duo Prima Queen fresh from opening for The Big Moon on a sold-out UK tour.
Speaking of the latest additions for this year’s festival, Clwb Ifor Bach and Sŵn Festival live manager Adam Williams offers:
“We’re incredibly excited with the second wave of acts that we’re announcing for Sŵn this year. We had the privilege of hosting Sorry here earlier this year, and we’re delighted to have the chance to host them again. Joe & the Shitboys caused chaos at Green Man Festival this year; seeing them do the same in a smaller space is going to be a whole lot of fun.
“We strengthen the local line up with our second wave too, with CVC who have had a huge summer playing Reading & Leeds, The Great Escape, Truck Festival and tons more, Sŵnami who are on the verge of releasing their highly anticipated second album and Greta Isaac, whose latest string of singles and EP has proved that she’s one of pop’s most innovative Welsh artists today.
“In addition to our usual Womanby Street venues family, we welcome O’Neills, Tramshed and Jacobs (who will be hosting three stages this year) back to the festival.”
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