Performer Name: The Gentle Good

Show Name: The Gentle Good

Show Description

The Gentle Good is the moniker of Cardiff-based musician and songwriter Gareth Bonello. Gareth is known for his enchanting melodies, intricate guitar style and beautiful acoustic arrangements. As a former winner of both the Welsh Language Album of the Year and the Welsh Music Prize, Gareth has long been a prominent musician on the Welsh music scene. A captivating performer, Gareth has performed all over the world, from the Smithsonian Folklife Festival in Washington DC to the Forbidden City Concert Hall in Beijing. He has toured extensively in the UK, performing at prominent festivals such as Glastonbury, The Green Man, Latitude and Cambridge Folk. His recent works include the solo guitar and vocal album Galargan, a stripped-back exploration of Welsh folk song that garnered a rare 5* review in the Guardian. The Gentle Good’s new album ‘Elan’ is a psychedelic portrait of the Elan Valley in Powys, Wales. Nominated for the Welsh Music Prize 2025, the album was written during a year-long residency in the Cambrian Mountains. Elan draws on folk-rock, psych and pop influences to invoke the dramatic lanscapes of the region, which was flooded in the Victorian era to create a series of reservoirs for drinking water. In recent years Gareth has become a highly regarded musical collaborator, having worked extensively with artists from China and India. His award winning album Y Bardd Anfarwol (2013) broke new ground with its unique combination of Welsh-language storyteling and Chinese traditional music. He is a founder member of the acclaimed Khasi-Cymru Collective with artists from the indigenous Khasi communities of Northeast India. Closer to home, in 2025 Gareth recently worked with the Welsh National Opera (WNO) and fishermen and women based in the UK to compose new classical pieces which were performed alongside the WNO’s award-winning production of Peter Grimes. For loads more information please visit www.thegentlegood.com

Image for show
The Gentle Good is the moniker of Cardiff-based musician and songwriter Gareth Bonello. Known for his enchanting melodies, intricate guitar style and beautiful acoustic arrangements, Gareth writes in both English and Welsh and is one of the foremost songwriters on the Welsh music scene. The Gentle Good’s previous work has attracted widespread critical acclaim, having previously won both the Album of the Year award at the National Eisteddfod and the Welsh Music Prize. His 2023 release Galargan, a stripped-back exploration of Welsh folk song garnered a rare 5* review in the Guardian newspaper and was listed in the top 5 folk albums of 2023. The Gentle Good’s new album ‘Elan’ is a psychedelic portrait of the Elan Valley in Powys, Wales. It was written during a year-long residency in the Cambrian Mountains and explores the landscape, history and politics of the valley, which was flooded at the end of the Victorian era to create a series of reservoirs for drinking water. The album features a full band, synths and strings and draws on folk-rock, psych and pop influences to invoke the dramatic landscapes of Elan. A captivating soloist, Gareth has performed all over the world, from the Smithsonian Folklife Festival in Washington DC to the Forbidden City Concert Hall in Beijing. In recent years he has become a highly regarded musical collaborator, having worked extensively with artists from China and India. His award winning album Y Bardd Anfarwol (2013) broke new ground with its unique combination of Welsh-language storyteling and Chinese traditional music. He is a founder member of the acclaimed Khasi-Cymru Collective, a collaboration with artists from the Khasi communities indigenous to Northeast India.