JUNE 16th 2012 Nant Peris

2012 will be the ninth year of the Snowdon Fiddle Festival. The festival started as an offshoot of the local fiddle club Clwb Ffidil yr Wyddfa, with the aim of raising the profile of traditional fiddle playing in the area, giving Welsh fiddle music some well deserved exposure and providing a chance to hear and learn from the foremost exponents of fiddle playing from further afield.  Set in the picturesque village of Nant Peris at the foot of Snowdon, the festival has become known for fine music and for its warm and friendly atmosphere. 

This year features the fabulous Nancy Kerr and James Fagan. One of folk music’s great partnerships, Nancy and James celebrate 15 years on the road in 2012. In that time they have won three BBC Folk Awards including the very first Best Duo award in 2003, a feat they repeated in 2011. English fiddler and singer Nancy Kerr came to prominence in her groundbreaking duo with Eliza Carthy before meeting Australian singer and multi-instrumentalist James Fagan in 1995. They released their first CD in 1997 and have toured internationally ever since. They have played just about every folk club and festival in Britain on a regular basis, and are well-loved for their joyful and powerful live performances.

From Cardiff we are delighted to present Robert Evans. Perhaps best known for his role in the duo Bragod, Robert Evans has been an influential figure in the revival of Welsh fiddle playing whose music has inspired a new generation of fiddlers. He is also one of the foremost exponents of the crwth, an ancient bowed lyre played in Wales from medieval times until the eighteenth century.

Expect also some fine tunes from local fiddlers Clwb Ffidil yr Wyddfa, and as usual a short set from the organisers Cass Meurig, Nial Cain and Idris Morris Jones, riding again as Y Tri Mwsciadur - we might even play the fiddle this year if you ask us nicely...

 Festivities start on the Friday night with an open session in the cosy back room of the Vaynol Arms. During the day on Saturday there are workshops for fiddle for all abilities.

One of the high points of the festival is the open-mike concert in the pub at lunchtime, where musicians of all ages and abilities can be heard, followed by an all-afternoon session to which all are welcome. Following last year's success there will again be a family ceilidh in the afternoon, hosted by Clwb Ffidil yr Wyddfa. The evening concert takes place in  Rehoboth Chapel, conveniently situated opposite the pub for the session afterwards.

Last year's festival featured the exquisite playing of Paul Anderson from North-East Scotland, Imogen Gunner, Over the Moon and Pigyn Clust who played a short set in memory of their singer Ffion Haf. 2010 focussed on the music of the Norwegian hardanger fiddle, with guest artist Ånon Egeland from Rauland, Norway as well as music from our own mountains with Cass Meurig and Nial Cain, and excellent fiddlers Patrick Rimes and Angharad Jenkins from Welsh band Calan. Previous lineups have featured Ceri Rhys Matthews and Christine Cooper, Dan Morris, Gwilym Hardy, Roots'n'Galoots, Stephen Rees, John Dipper, Maria Jonsson and Ian Carr, KilBride, Siân Phillips, Christine and Jo Cooper, SILD and the New Rope String Band, as well as numerous local fiddlers.

Come, enjoy and be inspired!

Youtube footage  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t8gg5gcmnOY

 

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