Event Details
This event is organised by local community group, Carningli Nights Out. You will be redirected to their site to purchase tickets.
Friday 18th October | 7pm
Word Play was forged among the rocks of the Preseli Hills and the west Wales coastline. A shared love of their landscape and its languages brought its members together in addition to a keenly felt respect for the history of this region; twinned with an appreciation of the originality of each other’s work, whatever the subject matter.
Formed in 2024, a small collective of award-winning poets and singer-song writers, namely: Richard Wheeler, Karen Gemma Brewer, Paul Steffan Jones, Anne Marie Butler, Paul Hayes and Cecile Cailleau. Six distinct voices spanning the worlds of poetry and folk music. Inventive and lively, haunting and vividly imagined, their combined strengths are gentled by the sonorous grace of their language; Word Play, at its best. This marriage of poetry and music harks back to historical examples of collaborating to entertain one’s local community such as the Noson Lawen.
Performing on 18th October are:
Annie Butler: grew up in Cardiff and moved to Pembrokeshire almost fifty years ago. Since leaving school, she worked as a civil servant, dealing with industrial injuries and disablement benefits, changing tracks in her forties to become self-employed. In her fifties, she went to Carmarthen College of Art to study fine art and design and has worked as a landscape artist for many years. Annie loves to paint and write. In 2017, she was awarded the R.S.Thomas Poetry Prize. Her written work has appeared in the Lampeter Review, Red Poets, various webzines and anthologies. She prefers to lead a quiet life right here in her beloved hills and considers Ty Canol Wood to be the centre her world. She is currently working on her third poetry collection.
Paul Steffan Jones: was born in Cardigan. His jobs include working in a factory, a library and many offices where he helped disabled people find work. To date he has published three poetry collections, Lull of The Bull, The Trigger-Happiness and Otherlander.
Paul Hayes: is an award-winning singer/songwriter. Originally from north Manchester, Paul now lives in the Preseli Hills. Paul’s music is a mix of traditional folk songs with his own twist and original songs written with a traditional feel. Paul has been writing, singing and performing all his life and having quit the day job in 2007 he has concentrated on his music. Paul has recorded 6 albums with the latest ‘Life Train’ being released in September 2023. Tracks from all his albums have been played on national, local and specialist radio shows.
Cécile Cailleau: is an Anglo-French singer-songwriter based in West Wales. She built her reputation in the Bristol music scene of the late 2010s with her nylon string guitar and combination of English and French vocals. She brings a distinctive and crowd-soothing voice, touching melodies and an endearing personality to the stage to deliver gentle and honest live performances. Cécile recorded and released her debut EP in 2015; a collection of songs reflecting on time and memories. ‘Ten Past Twelve’ captures the simplicity of acoustic tunes and emotive melodies. Cécile has shared the stage with multiple singer-songwriters including Ailbhe Reddy; she recently collaborated on Gavin Osborn’s album ‘Echo Bridge’. She is currently working on new material, exploring new sounds and side projects.