Gwilym Bowen Rhys and friends

Performer Name: Gwilym Bowen Rhys

Gwilym hails from the small village of Bethel which lies at the foot of Snowdon in north-west Wales. Welsh is his first and native language and his appreciation and understanding of his country’s history and culture runs deep. He was raised in the Welsh tradition of competitive singing at Eisteddfodau and during the last decade he has performed in many Welsh language bands including award winning rock band 'Y Bandana' and alternative folk trio, 'Plu'. He has won many awards including ‘best musician’ at the Selar awards (the Welsh language music magazine) and has performed at events such as the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards. He has also represented Wales in international musical projects, namely NEXO in Argentina and TOSTA which travelled to Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Cornwall, Friesland, Galicia and the Basque Country. ​ His music is a combination of new and old, often combining traditional melodies with original words, or experimenting with Welsh poetic verse whilst creating contemporary and fresh sounds. His debut album, ‘O Groth y Ddaear’ (from the womb of the earth) was released in August 2016.