Performer Name: The Gentle Good

Show Description

The Gentle Good is the stage-name of Welsh songwriter Gareth Bonello. Gareth draws on the language, poetry and melodies of his native country to create beautiful modern folk music in both English and Welsh. As a performer Gareth is well-travelled and versatile, most often performing as a soloist but sometimes seen with a full band and string quartet. A skilled guitarist, Gareth’s intricate playing has prompted many to draw comparisons to the great guitar pickers of the 1960s UK folk revival. In 2009 Gareth was chosen alongside some of Wales’ best traditional musicians to perform at the Smithsonian Folklife Festival in Washington DC. Since then Gareth has performed all over the world, from car parks and bars in Austin, Texas to quayside shows in Lorient, to solo performances at the Forbidden City Concert Hall in Beijing. The Gentle Good have released several critically acclaimed records, all of which feature the essential twin influences of fiddle player and composer Seb Goldfinch and producer Llion Robertson. In 2011 Gareth and Seb collaborated with the Mavron String Quartet as well as Welsh folk sirens Cate Le Bon and Lisa Jên Brown to write and record Tethered for the storm. The album received widespread critical praise and was nominated for the inaugural Welsh Music Prize. Later that year Gareth was awarded the Composer of the Year Award at BBC Radio Cymru’s RAP awards.