Horizons ( cy, Gorwelion) is an arts scheme and

music festival A music festival is a community event with performances of singing and instrument playing that is often presented with a theme such as musical genre (e.g., rock, blues, folk, jazz, classical music), nationality, locality of musicians, or h ...

launched jointly in 2014 by

BBC Cymru Wales BBC Cymru Wales is a division of the BBC and the main public broadcaster in Wales. It is one of the four BBC national regions, alongside the BBC English Regions, BBC Northern Ireland and BBC Scotland. Established in 1964, BBC Cymru Wales is ...

and the

Arts Council of Wales The Arts Council of Wales (ACW; cy, Cyngor Celfyddydau Cymru) is a Welsh Government-sponsored body, responsible for funding and developing the arts in Wales. Established within the Arts Council of Great Britain in 1946, as the Welsh Arts ...

to develop new independent contemporary music artists. It is curated by BBC presenter

Bethan Elfyn Bethan Elfyn () is a Welsh radio and television presenter. Elfyn was born in Bangor, Gwynedd, was brought up in Newtown, Powys, and now lives in Cardiff with her husband, Clwb Ifor Bach Promoter and Works Manager Richard Hawkins. They had a ...

. The scheme hosts a yearly showcase, but also displays its artists through slots at major domestic and international festivals, as well as securing studio access at the likes of Rockfield and Maida Vale.

Editions

2014

In February 2014, the scheme launched and first took part of the National Eisteddfod in Llanelli, promoting artists including musician Chris Jones on the Llwyfan Perfformio. In May 2014, Horizons was named as 'Horizons 12' and announced the first twelve artists for the inceptive event. Over 300 applicants were reviewed by the scheme, and among the final artists were: *

Candelas The candela ( or ; symbol: cd) is the unit of luminous intensity in the International System of Units (SI). It measures luminous power per unit solid angle emitted by a light source in a particular direction. Luminous intensity is analogous to ...

- an indie rock group from

Llanuwchllyn Llanuwchllyn () is a village and community in Gwynedd, Wales, near the southern end of Bala Lake (Llyn Tegid). It is one of the most sparsely populated communities in Wales. The electoral ward includes the small settlement of Llangywer. The ...

, in

Gwynedd Gwynedd (; ) is a county and preserved county (latter with differing boundaries; includes the Isle of Anglesey) in the north-west of Wales. It shares borders with Powys, Conwy County Borough, Denbighshire, Anglesey over the Menai Strait, and C ...

* Casi Wyn - a singer songwriter from Bangor, based in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

* Chris Jones - a Welsh and Celtic folk singer from

Cwm-y-glo Cwm-y-glo is a small village in Wales, east of Caernarfon, between Llanberis and Llanrug. It is in the Arfon Parliamentary constituency, the community of Llanrug, and the Gwynedd Council electoral ward. Cwm-y-glo ward includes Ceunant and P ...

, near

Caernarfon Caernarfon (; ) is a royal town, community and port in Gwynedd, Wales, with a population of 9,852 (with Caeathro). It lies along the A487 road, on the eastern shore of the Menai Strait, opposite the Isle of Anglesey. The city of Bangor is ...

* Kizzy Crawford - a Welsh language singer songwriter of

Bajan Bajan may refer to: Geography and culture Barbados * Barbadians, known by the colloquialism Bajan(s) (pronounced 'bay-jun') * Barbadian English language * Bajan Creole, a Creole language Other location * Something or someone from Baja ...

heritage from

Merthyr Tydfil Merthyr Tydfil (; cy, Merthyr Tudful ) is the main town in Merthyr Tydfil County Borough, Wales, administered by Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council. It is about north of Cardiff. Often called just Merthyr, it is said to be named after Tydf ...

* Plu - an alternative folk sibling trio from

Snowdonia Snowdonia or Eryri (), is a mountainous region in northwestern Wales and a national park of in area. It was the first to be designated of the three national parks in Wales, in 1951. Name and extent It was a commonly held belief that the nam ...

Sŵnami Sŵnami () are a Welsh indie rock group from Dolgellau, north-west Wales, who sing predominantly in Welsh. They won the Welsh Language Album of the Year prize at the 2016 National Eisteddfod of Wales. Their name is a play on the word 'tsunami' ...

- an indie rock group from

Dolgellau Dolgellau () is a town and community in Gwynedd, north-west Wales, lying on the River Wnion, a tributary of the River Mawddach. It was the traditional county town of the historic county of Merionethshire ( cy, Meirionnydd, Sir Feirionnydd) un ...

* Baby Queens *

Climbing Trees Climbing Trees are a Welsh four-piece "Cymrucana" band based in Pontypridd, South Wales. The group currently features Matthew Frederick (piano/guitar/vocals), Colenso Jones (guitar/bass/vocals), Martin Webb (guitar/bass/vocals) and James Benn ...

* Gabrielle Murphy * Houdini Dax * Seazoo * The People The Poet

2015

In 2015, the scheme began the year with involvement in the inaugural X Music Festival which took place in June in

Bute Park Bute Park and Arboretum () is a park in Cardiff, Wales. It comprises of landscaped gardens and parkland that once formed the grounds of Cardiff Castle. The park is named after the 3rd Marquess of Bute, whose family owned the castle. History and ...

, Cardiff. The 2015 edition of Horizons was held at the

Chapter Arts Centre Chapter Arts Centre (often just referred to as Chapter) is an arts centre in Canton, Cardiff, Wales, opened in 1971. Description Chapter hosts films, plays, performance art and live music, and includes a free art gallery, café and bars. There ...

Canton, Cardiff Canton ( cy, Treganna) is an inner-city district and community in the west of Cardiff, capital of Wales, lying west of the city's civic centre. Canton is one of the most ethnically diverse of Cardiff's suburbs, with a significant Pakistani and I ...

, and at the Swn Festival at the various venues (including

Clwb Ifor Bach Clwb Ifor Bach (, meaning ''Little Ivor's Club'') is a Cardiff nightclub, music venue, Welsh-language club and community centre. It is known to the Cardiff Welsh-speaking community as Clwb ( en, Club, italic=yes) and is often known by others on t ...

) on Womanby Street in the city. 2015 featured group Cut Ribbons would go on to be highlighted by the

Fred Perry Frederick John Perry (18 May 1909 – 2 February 1995) was a British tennis and table tennis player and former world No. 1 from England who won 10 Majors including eight Grand Slam tournaments and two Pro Slams single titles, as well ...

'Subculture' campaign for their track We Want to Watch Something We Loved Burn. Among the artists named were: * A six-member band led by Aled Rheon, brother of

Iwan Rheon Iwan Rheon (, ; born 13 May 1985) is a Welsh actor, singer, and musician. He is best known for his roles as Simon Bellamy in the E4 series ''Misfits'', Ramsay Bolton in the HBO series ''Game of Thrones'', and Mötley Crüe guitarist Mick Mars ...

* Dan Bettridge *

Hannah Grace Hannah Vivian-Byrne, known professionally as Hannah Grace (born 4 June 1993) is a Welsh singer-songwriter from Bridgend in South Wales. Her debut studio album, ''Remedy'', was released on 20 November 2020. History Grace studied Jazz Vocals at ...

- a Welsh singer songwriter from Bridgend * Peasant's King * Mellt *

Violet Skies Hannah Berney, known as Violet Skies, is a singer-songwriter from Chepstow in Monmouthshire, Wales. Musical career In 2013, Violet Skies released her first song, "How the Mighty". ''WalesOnline'' called it "a pulsing, classically arranged elect ...

, a singer songwriter from

Chepstow Chepstow ( cy, Cas-gwent) is a town and community in Monmouthshire, Wales, adjoining the border with Gloucestershire, England. It is located on the tidal River Wye, about above its confluence with the River Severn, and adjoining the western ...

Monmouthshire Monmouthshire ( cy, Sir Fynwy) is a county in the south-east of Wales. The name derives from the historic county of the same name; the modern county covers the eastern three-fifths of the historic county. The largest town is Abergavenny, with ...

* Yr Eira * HMS Morris * Y Reu * Delyth McLean * Cold Committee * Cut Ribbons

2016

2016 saw events showcasing bands from across Wales, with events hosted at Moon Club on

Womanby Street Womanby Street is one of the oldest streets in Cardiff, the capital of Wales. Tracing its name back to origins within the Norse language, its original purpose was to link Cardiff Castle to its quay. In this way it became a trade hub and settling ...

, as well as at the DimSwn event. The scheme also participated in

Festival N°6 Festival N°6 (Festival Number 6) is an annual art and music festival held in and around Portmeirion, North Wales. The festival presents a wide range of music genres across multiple stages. It is advertised as a family-friendly festival, and as su ...

, on the Lost in the Woods Stage. Artists Danielle Lewis and David Ian Roberts were also covered on Folk Radio for their releases that year, which were recorded as a result of BBC and Arts Council funding. * Afro Cluster - a Cardiff-based collective of musicians from all over South Wales * ANELOG * CASEY * CaStLeS - a psychedelic pop trio from Llanrug * Connah Evans * Danielle Lewis - a singer-songwriter from New Quay * Fleur De Lys * Reuel Elijah - a hip-hop/R&B singer from Cardiff * Roughion * Tibet *

We're No Heroes We're No Heroes (often abbreviated WNH) are a three-piece band from Cardiff, Wales, composed of Tom Collins, Michael Owen, and Luke Llewellyn. They first formed in the summer of 2009 at a downtown South Side recording studio in Chicago, US. ...

* Ysgol Sul - a three piece from Llandeilo

2018

The 2018 festival saw a showcase at the Portmeirion

event, including NoGood Boyo,

Alffa Alffa () are a Welsh language blues rock duo from Llanrug in North Wales, formed in 2015. The group currently consists of Dion Wyn Jones (vocals, guitar) and Sion Eifion Land (drums). In 2019, streaming platform Spotify stated that the band ha ...

, Campfire Social, and a headline slot for I See Rivers. The scheme also exhibited at

The Great Escape Festival The Great Escape Festival is a three-day music festival held in Brighton and Hove, England every year in May. It is operated by MAMA Festivals and showcases new music from a variety of genres. The festival was founded in 2006 and roughly hosts ...

Brighton Brighton () is a seaside resort and one of the two main areas of the City of Brighton and Hove in the county of East Sussex, England. It is located south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze A ...

, from The Last Music Bar. It saw performances from

Boy Azooga Boy Azooga are a Welsh indie rock group from Cardiff, Wales. Formed in 2017, the group is led by front man Davey Newington (vocals, guitar), who is joined live by band members Dafydd Davies (drums), Sam Barnes (bass), and Dylan Morgan (keyboa ...

, CHROMA, Mrphy,

The Gentle Good The Gentle Good is the stage name of Gareth Bonello (born 13 April 1981), a singer-songwriter and folk musician from Cardiff who performs in English and Welsh. The stage name is inspired by Bonello's, with "Gareth" traditionally meaning "Gentle ...

, Nia Wyn,

Rachel K Collier Rachel K Collier is a Welsh electronic music producer and performer from Swansea, Wales. She studied Creative Music Technology (BMus) for four years at the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama before moving to London to further pursue her music c ...

, Trampolene, The Himalayas, and

Dream State Dream State are a Welsh rock band from South Wales formed in 2014. They signed to Australian record label UNFD in 2017 and have released two EPs (their debut ''Consequences'' in 2015 and ''Recovery'' in 2018) as well as a studio album '' Primro ...

. The year also saw engagements with

Welsh Language Music Day Welsh Language Music Day ( cy, Dydd Miwsig Cymru) is a music festival founded by BBC Radio 1 DJ Huw Stephens. Events take place on the day at its base in Cardiff, as well as previously in London, Swansea, and even as far as Brooklyn and Budape ...

at Gower College in

Swansea Swansea (; cy, Abertawe ) is a coastal city and the second-largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Swansea ( cy, links=no, Dinas a Sir Abertawe). The city is the twenty-fifth largest in ...

, and in the audience were a range of attendees including Newport rap group

Goldie Lookin' Chain Goldie Lookin Chain are a Welsh comedy hip hop group from Newport, south-east Wales. The group produces humorous, controversial and often explicit songs that satirise hip hop, today's consumer society, the "chav" culture and life in Newpor ...

. The year's selection made a notable decision to select a number of female musicians (consisting of 10 of the 12 person line up) and including artists from indie, reggae, rock, folk and blues genres. The scheme invited

Adwaith Adwaith () are a Welsh language indie rock group from Carmarthen in West Wales, formed in 2015. The group consists of Hollie Singer (vocals, guitar), Gwenllian Anthony (bass, keys, mandolin) and Heledd Owen (drums). Signed to Libertino Recor ...

, Aleighcia Scott, Campfire Social, Marged, Nia Wyn, and I See Rivers to all perform and record at

Rockfield Studios Rockfield Studios is a residential recording studio located in the Wye Valley just outside the village of Rockfield, Monmouthshire, Wales. It was originally founded in 1963 by brothers Kingsley and Charles Ward. Facilities Rockfield is a two- ...

(of

Queen Queen or QUEEN may refer to: Monarchy * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a Kingdom ** List of queens regnant * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Queen mother, a queen dowager who is the mother ...

and

Oasis In ecology, an oasis (; ) is a fertile area of a desert or semi-desert environment'ksar''with its surrounding feeding source, the palm grove, within a relational and circulatory nomadic system.” The location of oases has been of critical imp ...

fame)., as well as hosting a performance at

Tramshed, Cardiff Tramshed is a music and arts venue in Cardiff, Wales, located in a Grade II-listed building that was once the old tram depot for west Cardiff. The newly redeveloped venue opened to the public in October 2015. It has a 1,000 capacity, however this ...

with Himalayas. *

* Aleighcia Scott *

* Campfire Social * CHROMA * Eädyth *

Himalayas The Himalayas, or Himalaya (; ; ), is a mountain range in Asia, separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The range has some of the planet's highest peaks, including the very highest, Mount Everest. Over 100 ...

* I See Rivers * Marged * Nia Wyn * Nogood Boyo * The Pitchforks

2019

The lineup for the 2019 edition was announced in June, described as including "a dreamy indie-pop band whose music has appeared on

Black Mirror ''Black Mirror'' is a British anthology television series created by Charlie Brooker. Individual episodes explore a diversity of genres, but most are set in near-future dystopias with science fiction technology—a type of speculative fictio ...

and

Made in Chelsea ''Made in Chelsea'' (abbreviated ''MIC'') is a British structured-reality television series broadcast by E4. ''Made in Chelsea'' chronicles the lives of affluent young people in the West London and South West areas of Belgravia, King's Road, C ...

, an electro teenage pop artist, a live rock, rap and reggae group, a jazz singer, a dance producer and one of the fastest banjo players in Wales." The artwork for the event was commissioned to Welsh artist Cadi Lane, and installed along Womanby Street. * Codewalkers * Darren Eedens & The Slim Pickin's * Endaf * Esther * Eve Goodman * Gwilym * Hana2k * Jack Perrett * Kidsmoke * Rosehip Teahouse * Sera * Y Cledrau

2022

The lineup for the 2022 edition was announced in February and received its largerst ever funding since its launch. * Alice Low * Anwar Sizbar * Aisha Kigs * Alekxsandr * Asha Jane * Bandicoot * The Bug Club * Chasing Shadows * Celavi * Clwb Fuzz * Cerys Hafana * CI Gofod * Cupsofte * Gwenno Morgan * Hana Lili * Hemes * Teddy Hunter * James and the Cold Gun * K(E)NZ * Kinnigan * Kim Hon * Harry Jowett * LEMFRECK * Lloydy Lew * Luke RV * Mace The Great * Malan * Mali Haf * Mantaraybryn * Mirari More * Niques * Panta Ray * Rebecca Hurn * Roman Yasin * Skylark * Soren Araujo * Sybs * Su Sang Song * Szwe * Tara Bandito * Tapestri * Thallo * Winger Records * Wobbli Boi * Want * Voya * Yazmean * XL Life

References

External links

* {{Cardiff Music festivals in Wales Festivals in Cardiff Annual events in Wales Music in Cardiff Recurring events established in 2014 Welsh music Welsh music awards