As part of Gŵyl 2021 Cate Le Bon and her band took part in a digital version of Festival Voice in March 2021 performing her beautifully futurist album, 'Reward' in our Donald Gordon Theatre.
Emergencies bring in new terminologies fast. The preferred term in Welsh for a streamed concert - one that’s emerged over the current pandemic is that of a 'cyngerdd rhithiol' - which translates as a hallucinated concert.
The performance directed by Gruff Rhys, documented the rise of one of our great contemporary artists on the occasion of her big homecoming - a red mist, a hallucination, a concert to nobody - a boat ride into the abyss.
Originally from Carmarthenshire in West Wales, Cate Le Bon first captured the public's attention supporting Gruff Rhys on his 2007 UK solo tour and later appeared as a guest vocalist on Neon Neon's 2008 single, 'I Lust U'.
Described as 'one of the best making music out there' by Jeff Tweedy of Wilco fame, Cate's unorthodox approach to creating music makes her sound incredibly distinctive - from surrealist song craft to audacious avant pop.
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Her first official release was a Welsh language EP, Edrych yn Llygaid Ceffyl Benthyg on Peski Records in 2008 followed up by her debut album, Me Oh My in 2009.
Cate currently lives in Los Angeles and released her fifth studio album, Reward in 2019. Aside from performing for us with her band here in March 2021 she is also going to guest curate our next Festival of Voice.