Despite being situated in Wales’ North, away from the vast majority of the country’s population, Wrexham plays host to Wales’ flagship music showcase festival: FOCUS Wales. Attended by around 20,000 people, FOCUS hosts over 300 bands (around half of whom are Welsh), welcomes delegations from all over the Earth (from Sweden to New Zealand) and plays hosts to dozens of panels, talks and film screenings, in various nightclubs, churches and venues. The small team behind the festival do immaculate work as, essentially, cultural diplomats, bringing Welsh acts to similar festivals across the world, such as SXSW. But this is their main event, their big weekend that brings a whole world of alternative music fans together, to a small North Walian town that has recently become known for its more Hollywood cultural connotations.
This year, FOCUS runs from Thursday to Saturday. Straight into proceedings on Thursday afternoon we have Tokomololo. The North Walian crafts a soulful brand of electronica a la Caribou and his solo use of multiple synths, mics and laptops makes for an impressive watch in the HWB tent. Following this, it’s back across town to nghtclb to catch Heartpiece. The Cardiff trio (usually a four-piece) are lit by the room’s stark lighting, which suits their similarly raw slowcore/emo sound. Their blend of deep, restrained vocals and dynamic shifts (imagine Sun Kil Moon covering Nirvana) is impressive and loses none of its power despite their depleted line-up.
—
—
These kinds of festivals are all about running back and forth across a town or city centre, so it’s back in the direction we’ve just come from to Wrexham’s main arts centre Ty Pawb for Talulah. The Welsh neo-soul/jazz vocalist is a bit off a rising star and her Friday set is a typically cool and uplifting delight. As the warm evening descends, the following two sets crank up FOCUS’ energy. First up are beloved Cardiff indie five-piece Half Happy, who have great stage presence and are currently operating as a pristine, well-oiled machine. Immediately after, around the corner in The Parish, Em Koko offers up a contender for set of the weekend. Em is a fantastic (and brilliantly weird) frontwoman and her and her band play some mind-blowingly brilliant new tracks that sound like a tantalising blend of Ethel Cain, M83 and Nine Inch Nails. Very excited to hear these new tracks and see where Em and her band can go next.
—
—
To close out the night, The Rockin’ Chair plays host to three sets that, back to back, are among the most exhilarating of the weekend. Manchester trio YAANG play a killer set of trance-inducing, psych-dance-punk. Then comes Mclusky. The Welsh noise rock legends open with their classic ‘Lightsabre Cocksucking Blues’ and proceed to send the room absolutely mental for 45 minutes. Choice quip from frontman Falco; “this is a new one, if you want to check your phones”. The evening ends back in Room 2 with Cardiff’s teethin. During soundcheck, frontman James Minas is so hyped you worry he might kick a hole through the venue wall. He channels this intensity quite brilliantly into a half hour of audacious electronic punk, offering further evidence of teethin’s singular vision and exhilarating live show. A seriously exciting band on the verge of great things.
Following such a full-on Thursday (attendees, band members and delegates alike all tend to go very hard late into the early hours on FOCUS’ first night), Friday is more of a gentle slow-burn. The weather continues to be glorious and the vibe around Wrexham is high, in spite of a few sore heads. Martha O’Brien serenades a large afternoon crowd beneath the wooden beams of The Royal Oak pub, hitting some delicate emotional buttons with her serene folk. Following a tip-off from Half Happy guitarist Gav, it’s over to FOCUS’ ‘main stage’ Llwyn Isaf. Beneath the large tent, local lads Hazmat play a fun brand of grunge/shoegaze/nu metal that’s not exactly original, but makes engaging use of a great frontman and a stage presence that belies their young ages.
—
—
Following a brief sojourn down the road to Ty Pawb for Danish art rocker Hjalte Ross, it’s back to nghtclb, where Wales’ Forté Project host a mixer that draws seemingly half of the country’s music scene. Opened by indie kids Shale, the mixer proves a welcome chance to see many familiar faces and learn more about Forte and the vital work they’re doing in helping to nurture Welsh musical talent. Talking of Welsh talent, up the road in Penny Black, ultra-skilled Cardiff rapper Razkid plays a great set that, via his dexterous, Cardiff-accented flow, tilts from chill to uptempo tracks with impressive elegance. Raz is one of a bunch of Wales’ sharpest contemporary rappers playing FOCUS this year and it’s great to see the festival highlighting a sound that’s hitting a real golden age in Wales right now.
The church of Papa Jupe’s T.C. closes the Forté mixer. This author has seen the six-piece on more occasions than he can count and this may well be the best. It’s certainly the best-sounding set he’s seen from them. Their brand of surf-disco-sleaze-rock feels especially funky this evening, partly due to the toe-vibrating prominence of the bass in their mix. The band’s funny, swaggering performance reaches the energy levels of the previous evening’s joyous carnage and, as they close with ‘Course We’re Going Out’, they send everyone off into the Wrexham evening with a spring in their step and beer in hand. Not long after, the evening crescendos back in Ty Pawb with TRAMHAUS. The brand of off-kilter indie-punk deployed by the Dutch band has the fit-to-burst room bouncing and moshing; a delightfully sweaty mode following a slow-burn of a day.
—
—
Words: Tom Morgan
Photography: Timothy Rooney
—
Join us on WeAre8, as we get under the skin of global cultural happenings. Follow Clash Magazine HERE as we skip merrily between clubs, concerts, interviews and photo shoots. Get backstage sneak-peeks and a view into our world as the fun and games unfold.
Live Report: FOCUS Wales 2025 – clashmusic.com
