10/03/10
Welsh music ventures South by South West in Texas takeover
A corner of Texas will be turning Welsh this month (17th-21st March 2010) as musicians and businesses from across Wales descend on the South by South West (SxSW) music and film festival.
Cate Le Bon, who will be playing Wales Party at SxSW on March 18th 2010.
‘Music From Wales', organised by the Welsh Music Foundation and Creative Business Wales as part of the strategy to develop the creative industries by the Welsh Assembly Government, will showcase eight artists in venues across the city of Austin while supporting nine music and interactive companies attending the event on a first-ever trade mission.
The hot ticket of the trip is the third Music Wales Party, which is set to turn the volume up on four of this year's most hotly tipped acts; Penboyr's Cate le Bon, Sweet Baboo from Trefriw, north Wales; Pontypridd's indie-rock outfit Straight Lines; and Wrexham girl-fronted rock group, Polly Mackey and the Pleasure Principle.
The event, hosted by BBC Radio 1's Bethan Elfyn, takes place at the British Music Embassy on Thursday March 18 from 3pm-6pm.
The music insiders will be trying to promote Welsh music on a world stage and drum up interest in the region's diverse music scene to more than 12,000 attendees and 1,400 bands and artists from across the globe.
Lisa Matthews, manager of the Welsh Music Foundation, who celebrate their tenth anniversary this year, said: "The trip has been organised as a way to make sure that Welsh music has a separate identity to the rest of the UK and to showcase some of the best up-and-coming acts from across the country to industry big hitters."
"This is the first time that a strategic trade mission to the US has been organised to build relationships with people working across the music industry from all around the world - and where better to do this than at one of the world's best music festivals.
"The Welsh music industry is about so much more than just the singer and the song and that's why, as well as the artists, we're also taking the ‘hidden heroes' out to export their services. We're actively working towards building an infrastructure for talent in Wales and we want to show that there is fertile ground for the creative industries to flourish here."
Claire Heat, Development Manager, Music & New Media, Creative Business Wales, said: "By working with the Welsh Music Foundation, we are trying to strengthen and build on the music infrastructure and creative industries sector across Wales. There is a wealth of budding talent here and it is really important that the right frameworks are in place to make sure that we can continue to produce world-class music, interactive and audio visual sectors."
Dane Campbell, drummer of SxSW first-timers, Straight Lines, said: "After practicing and recording in a garage and touring non-stop around the UK, we are really eager to prove ourselves in Texas. It is where a lot of the bands that we really like have had their big breaks over the past few years, so we are really psyched to see what might come of it."
Tom Lyons of Cardiff-based Integrated Tour Solutions (ITS), a business that provides flexible tour packages to musicians touring throughout Europe and the UK hopes the Texas trip can benefit its bottom line: "SxSW is of vital importance to the growth of ITS, as we predict that around two thirds of our business will come from North America. SXSW 2010 will enable us to build strong and lasting relationships, allowing us to expand our operation within south Wales".
