Over twenty concerts will be held at the major venues in town – Theatr Brycheiniog, Brecon Guildhall, Castle Hotel, Brecon Cathedral and The Muse.
There will be street entertainment and activities in Bethel Square, a ‘Food Feast’ next to the Wellington Monument and Brecon Farmers Market at the Market Hall. In addition, Brecon Fringe Festival will ensure there is music for every taste in scores of different venues across the town.
On Friday, the festival commences with a reception and live music at Theatr Brycheiniog and an exhibition on Women in Jazz opening at the Guildhall. Later in the evening, The Castle Hotel and Brecon Jazz Club present the Teddy Smith big band with vocals and dancing to launch the concert programme, followed by Wales’s own Kizzy Crawford at the Theatre.
Saturday will see day one of Brecon Jazz: FuturesBrecon Jazz: Futures at Theatr Brycheiniog with workshops and more street entertainment plus headline concerts at Brecon Cathedral, the Guildhall and the Theatre. Rounding off the day will be the ever popular Jazz Jam session.
Sunday highlights include the Brecon Cathedral Jazz Service, the climax of the Futures programme at Theatr Brycheiniog and concerts at the Cathedral and Guildhall.
Brecon Fringe Festival
The Brecon Fringe Festival hosts events place all over the town of Brecon, organised by local landlords, venue owners and individuals. The majority of events are free, with others asking for a very small fee. The Fringe offers a range of musical tastes from local artists and those from further afield. Acts this year include Ragsy- a previous contestant of the popular tv programme 'The Voice', Glamawayne- Birmingham based singer song writer with a smooth Roots Reggae style and many Welsh bands to enjoy. See a full line up of events here.
Brecon Jazz Club
With the theme of “Alive & Well” running through this year’s Brecon Jazz, there is a celebration of Jazz and Festive Wellbeing. As well as soaking up some great sounds, you can book one of Brecon Jazz Club’s workshops which are led by talented musicians that you can also hear playing throughout the festival.
Choose from three different Wellbeing workshops with bassist Erika Lyons which focus on music therapy techniques that allow the participants to connect with and channel our innate musicality, helping us to face and cope with the challenges of life.
Fri 12th Aug 12.15pm MUSIC & WELLBEING FOR ALL – Guildhall £8 (90 mins)
Use instruments (supplied) and/or the voice to explore how to deepen help communication, awareness of others and a sense of self.
Sun 14th Aug 11am JAZZ & GUIDED IMAGERY – Guildhall £8 (75 mins)
Use personal visualisations inspired by a carefully chosen sequence of recorded jazz to explore our inner world and wisdom and how they may relate to the “big picture” of life.
Sun 14th Aug 1pm MINDFULNESS & MUSIC – Guildhall £8 (90 mins)
Participants will start with a short mindfulness practice and then explore how the intentional use sound can help us become more aware and to communicate more clearly.
JAZZ GUITAR WORKSHOP led by masterclass leader Trefor Owen
Sun 14th Aug 11am – Guildhall £10 (2 hrs)
Learn all about jazz improvisation and solo playing techniques.
This superb jazz guitar workshop is open to students of mixed abilities, from beginners to advanced players. There are no age restrictions, but beginners should have basic guitar skills i.e. the ability to play pentatonic scales or major scales, and be able to play Barre Chords. With Intermediate and advanced students, their current musical level will be discussed, and the workshop tailored accordingly with individual help throughout. All attendees must bring a guitar as the workshop will include plenty of playing.
VOICE & PERCUSSION WORKSHOP Led by Cathy Jones
SUN 14th Aug 1.30pm – Guildhall £8 (90 mins)
Cathy originally studied classical piano, violin and viola, until a strong interest in rhythm also found her playing percussion and drums, leading to an exploration of Brazilian and Afro-Cuban Music. She is widely acclaimed for her Latin Jazz especially Brazilian percussion and vocals.
Brecon Frazz Parade
The Brecon Jazz and Fringe Festival are combing to hold a parade through town on Saturday. The event, which is supported by a number of community groups, is described as a chance to dress in your most colourful clothes and celebrate the weekend with everyone invited to join in.
Those wanting to join in should gather at Theatr Brycheiniog at 2.30pm, for a 3pm start, and the parade will finish at Brecon Cathedral.
Essential Info:
Staying: Interested in making it a weekend trip so that you can soak up all the Jazz you can? Check out the Brecon Beacons website for all of your accommodation needs.
Getting here: Whether you’re travelling by bus, train or car, here are some tips on getting to Brecon.
By Train and Bus: Via Paddington/South Wales line for train. www.traveline-cymru.info
For bus use the TrawsCymru T4 http://www.trawscymru.info
By road: SAT NAV LD3 7EW (Theatr Brycheiniog)
M4 – coming from the East, enter via the A449 to Raglan picking up the A40 or via the A470 at Cardiff
M4 – from the West, enter via A4067
M5 – enter via the M50 to Monmouth and join the A40
Parking: Cambrain Way, Brecon, LD3 7HR £5 per day, 10am to late
Check out our guide to the Town of Brecon for more information here.
We hope you enjoy!
