Photo Credit Richard P Walton
BAND TO ALSO PLAY ONE-OFF ST. DAVID’S DAY SHOW
WITH BBC NATIONAL ORCHESTRA OF WALES NEXT MONTH
“Traditional Welsh music, incorporating accordion, fiddle, pipes & harp – but the sound
has translated to a modern audience on a grand scale!” Yahoo
Calan have come a long way since they started out busking in the streets of Cardiff to help pay for university fees. Now they tour right across the planet, performing in venues and at festivals as far afield as Canada, USA, Borneo and Australia.
Winners of Best Band at the inaugural 2019 Welsh Folk Awards, Calan will release their much-anticipated fifth album, ‘Kistvaen’, on 3 April 2020.
A kistvaen (or cistvaen) is a tomb or burial chamber formed from flat stone slabs in a box-like shape. If set completely underground, it may be covered by a tumulus. The word is derived from the Welsh cist (chest) and maen (stone).
Prior to releasing the new album, the band are set to play a very special one-off performance with the BBC National Orchestra of Wales (BBC NOW) at Cardiff St David’s Hall on 1 March 2020. Calan join BBC NOW and conductor Grant Llewellyn for a unique performance marking St David’s Day (Sunday 1 March, 3:00pm), presenting the UK premiere of Cân Cnawd y Pridd – a suite of five compositions inspired by collections of traditional Welsh songs and tunes at the National Library of Wales. Dedicated to the memory of song collector Meredydd Evans, the work is a joint commission between BBC NOW and Orchestre Symphonique de Bretagne.
Calan are at the forefront of a wave of new young Welsh bands, riding the wave of a country discovering their heritage of traditional music. In the past it has always been overshadowed by their Celtic cousins or set aside for the more familiar touristy male voice choirs, but here the reels, jigs and pagan harmonies are accompanied with a pounding beat and healthy dose of pop or rap. The Welsh are beginning to believe that folklore rocks. Their brand of high energy routines, verve and raw excitement is far reaching – with broad appeal.
Further to next month’s St David’s Day show with the BBC National Orchestra Of Wales, Calan have also announced that they will tour the UK in spring 2020 – dates are;
3 April Caernarfon – Galeri Caernarfon
4 April Swansea Taliesin Arts Centre
5 April Alfriston – The Old Chapel
6 April Southampton – The Chapel Sessions
7 April Kingskerswell Church
8 April South Molton George Hotel
9 April Dorchester – Dorchester Arts
10 April Oxford Holywell Music Room
11 April Bristol Folk House
14 April Maldon Town Hall
15 April Bury St Edmunds – The Apex
16 April London Kings Place
17 April Bury Met
18 April Richmond Reeth Memorial Hall
20 April Edinburgh Traverse Theatre
23 April Langholm – The Buccleuch Centre
24 April Morecambe – The Platform
25 April Wolverhampton Newhampton Arts Centre
26 April Sheffield – The Greystones
29 April Canterbury Gulbenkian Theatre
30 April Brecon Theatr Brycehiniog
1 May Cardiff – The Gate
Tickets for all shows above are on-sale now
