Live Review: FOCUS Wales International Showcase Festival 2023
Welcome to Wrexham.
It's become more than just a greeting on the roadsign in recent years. The profile of North Wales's biggest urban area has increased on a global scale at an unprecedented rate. When Hollywood stars Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney came to town and decided to take over Wrexham Football Club, many doubted their long-term commitment to the cause. Just two short years later, Wrexham found themselves promoted back into the Football League for the first time in nearly two decades. The atmosphere around the City has never been as confident or as proud as it is right now. For a city so immersed in football culture, that nearly lost its source of pride for financial reasons several times, it's been a dream scenario. Wrexham is buzzing.
Just two days after the team and their celebrity owners toured the city centre on an open-top bus to celebrate their success to thousands of fans, the party continued with the arrival of FOCUS Wales 2023. The annual showcase festival has become a staple on the festival circuit, which is all the more surprising when you're aware of its humble beginnings. In just 12 short years, it has grown to be a viable alternative and supplement to its bigger and more prominent contemporaries such as The Great Escape.
The main stage of the festival at Llwyn Isaf - the library field by the college which I may or may not have used to get stoned on. Those days are a bit of a blur. The headliners this year are a combination of bands and artists who have broken into alternative consciousness in different timeframes - Billy Nomates, Squid and The Coral.
There is no doubt that Billy Nomates has an immense amount of talent, particularly vocally, but it's difficult for her to stop minds from wandering on such a big stage. Just a backing track for company does get slightly smothered in a large space and it doesn't quite work as it would in a more intimate arena. I'm not going to dwell on Squid, because it's a bit of..errr...damp squib. That joke will be my eternal legacy. This review will get much more positive, I promise.
The Coral comes with a vast array of riches for a back catalogue and the largest crowd of the weekend lap it up. This is their first gig of the year, but they sound far from rusty. With songs like 'Pass It On', 'Skeleton Key', 'Simon Diamond' and 'In The Morning' sounding brilliantly tight, it's easy to forget just how many hits the band had in their past. Finishing on their biggest hit 'Dreaming of You', the crowd can't help but belt the song back at the band. Now that's how you headline a festival.
Beyond the main stage is where the bulk of the bill can be found and it's full of hidden gems from all over the world. New York Art Punks Mary Shelley are on their first UK tour after ruffling a few feathers in their native Brooklyn. Their sound is crammed full of influences to make sardonic punk that makes you want dance with reckless abandon. They have similar thought processes to their contemporary leading lights like Idles and The Viagra Boys, but there are nods to bands from New York's past, shoegaze, and even good old-fashioned country duets. They're not easy to pin down and compromise doesn't seem to be in their vocabulary. I like a challenge.
The band are due to play three shows in the space of three days, but end up playing double that due to cancellations. I make four of the six gigs and they're full of incidents that make them such a compelling live proposition. Mary Shelley's shows are not for the faint-hearted - in fact, they seem to attract blood, sweat, and tears. Singers Jackson and Sam like to make the shows memorable, by climbing on bars, dancing with the crowd, and causing as much mayhem as possible in a short time frame. Guitarist Taylor can shred beyond the capabilities of many punk guitarists her senior and brings a stoic cool to counter the tomfoolery, whilst drummer Charlie is a beast behind the kit.
Even when things go wrong, it almost seems like part of the show. In one gig, a rowdy moshpit leads to one reveler falling and cutting his head. Another barely happens at all due to technical difficulties, but the frustration seems to spur them on to produce a ferocious shortened set that leaves the crowd pleading for more. As the days go on, more and more festival goers seem to be coming to the shows as word of mouth seems to spread; it's fascinating to watch. Hands down THE band of the weekend for me.
Dust
Two other bands from further afield make an impact as well. Aussie's Dust have the misfortune of bumping into a certain drunken, rambling bearded writer outside before their show. They stay focused despite the horrors they were no doubt subjected to. The band blends the darker elements of post-punk with improvisational jazz that is hard-hitting but keeps its audience entranced. It's not for everyone and they lose some, but the deep thinkers in the room are completely won over. Los Premios from Spain bring a similar level of experimentation to the table, but it manifests itself in extended psych jams that reignite a few hungover brains from the night before.
Sometimes I find it difficult to find pride in being British, but a continued slew of up-and-coming bands from nearer home at FOCUS certainly make it more likely to occur. Teenage Punk Rockers Noah and The Loners have been getting rave reviews for their urgent and energetic take on the punk blueprint. Trans frontman Noah is a star in the making and songs like the new single 'Protest Anger' combine the perfect blend of teenage rebellion and idealism to kick against the pricks. There's even time for a cheeky pre-Coronation cover of The Sex Pistols 'God Save The Queen' with updated lyrics.
Noah and the Loners
I see members of Mancunian post-punks The Accident Group on the train to Wrexham on Saturday afternoon and it reminds me to catch their set later that afternoon. The band has a great sense of humour that permeates their songs and keeps them from straying into the kind of mundane territory many a more self-involved band wanders into. The new single 'The Myth of Sisyphus' is a rowdy finale to a set that shows a band that is full of creativity and wins them many new fans.
Anglo/Canadian duo Shelf Lives produce an extraordinary performance late on Friday night. It's a difficult slot to play with those there all weekend at their most flighty and perhaps as drunk as they'll be all week. Using that energy to her advantage, Singer Sabrina brings the sass out in spades as she owns the stage with an attention-grabbing performance. They combine brash and confident electro with Jonny's choppy punk guitar tone and it's a revelation. Expect them to be playing much bigger stages than this in future months.
Shelf Lives
Then we come back full circle. The origins of FOCUS Wales lie in its support of local acts that deserve a bigger audience to play to. The festival may well have grown beyond that, but these bands continue to play at some point in the weekend and they must continue to get the chance to.
Old friends and NNWNF favs such as Baby Brave, Sustinere and Campfire Social all play impressive sets over the weekend. The former have a prime slot in the big tent and continue to impress with their Disco-inspired noise pop. Singer Emmi looks nervous but gets increasingly confident as the set unfolds and by the end has won over the casual viewer.
Sustinere play one of their biggest shows to date and barely seem able to comprehend the size of the crowd at The Rockin' Chair. The combination of monster riffs and pounding drums are on to a winner and the crowd swell as their set reaches its thrilling conclusion.
An extraordinary moment occurs on Saturday night, as Campfire Social take to the streets of Wrexham after the P.A in the Old No.7 doesn't play ball. They play a beautiful acoustic set outside the bar and the crowd increases as people realise what is unfolding, sensing a moment. The police arrive and threaten to turn it into some sort of Fugazi guerrilla gig circa 1991, but they're more interested in suppressing Anti-Capitalist free speech than soaring melodic Welsh Emo Pop these days. A moment I will never forget.
There are so many more moments that I will never forget because FOCUS Wales is full of them. I'm already thinking of other things I could write about, but I'm in danger of overdoing it. Apologies if I rambled at you, I'm rarely that excitable. The welcome we had in Wrexham is beyond the pale for an average festival and will live long in the memory. There's a reason Rob and Ryan chose to invest here, the spirit of giving and North Walian warmth is undeniable. I look forward to such a warm welcome in 2024.
Take a listen to our FOCUS Wales playlist below and check out some of the acts we had the pleasure of seeing over the weekend.
Early bird tickets for FOCUS Wales 2024 are available for a limited time from HERE
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