Llais Festival

Event Info

Llais, Wales Millennium Centre’s international arts festival, is back from 11 – 15 October with an eclectic programme inspired by the instrument that connects us all – the voice.

The first wave of announcements includes Both Sides Now: Celebrating Joni Mitchell – an ode to the iconic performer performer featuring an incredible line-up of all female singers including Cardiff’s very own Charlotte Church, British singer Laura Mvula, multi-instrumentalist ESKA and Gwenno. The four formidable talents will be joined by the BBC National Orchestra of Wales in a world first orchestral performance of Both Sides Now.

On top of this, Bat for Lashes will also appear at Llais, performing iconic hits from her five albums which awarded her three Mercury Prize nominations.

The Unthanks will host a special all-day event featuring concerts, participatory events and performances from their critically acclaimed albums The Bairns, Here’s The Tender Coming and Last.

There’s more live music from Mariza, Qawwali Flamenco, The Staves, Tomos Williams and Angeline Morrison plus Battlescar, a virtual reality experience that will transport you to the punk scene of 1970s New York.

There will also be a packed schedule of free workshops and events across every space of Wales Millennium Centre plus a few extra acts that we’ll be able to share in the coming months. Watch this space!

This year’s festival has been co-curated by Gwenno, who received the Welsh Music Prize for her 2014 album release Y Dydd Olaf and her latest release Tresor (2022) was shortlisted for the Mercury Prize. She’ll be appearing on the Donald Gordon Theatre stage on the Sunday evening with a retrospective performance of songs taken from all three of her albums.