Improvised Unplugged Stage

Curiad Bangor is a new free music festival born out of the open mic scene in Bangor. There were four stages at the festival, with the unplugged Stage in Ty Gwydr given support by NTW Team.

The unplugged stage was humble. We put out 24 chairs, shone a couple of lights on the performance area, improvised a stage back drop out of red satin and wallpaper, wrote the program up in the window and put the kettle on. Everyone who came through the door was offered a panned.

Empty room ready for Curiad

Program poster in the window of Ty Gwydr

For me, it is the event's grassroots nature that is it's greatest strength. It's not that I'm against bright lights, international tour itineraries,  ticket prices and artist's fees, but to have a weekend celebrating local talent among my own community has given me a gentle and deep satisfaction. It's how the celebration affirms the community and allows it to recreate itself - this is how I see culture functioning - It's the antidote to my life on the road and it's intensity and superficiality. For the community, it strengthens our self image against the glamour of celebrity.

Full house for Shalalal Chakra Sound Journey

Over the two days the unplugged stage presented 10 hours of performance to 200 people featuring 4 storytellers, 7 poets and 5 acoustic music acts. In the meeting room at Ty Gwydr 30 people is a full house, but 10 people still felt like an engaged and inspiring audience. It was free. It was humble. What costs we had were covered by NTW Team and I applaud their flexibility and positivity in empowering us to create our own event.

Osian Rhys

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