Live Festival Report: Focus Wales 2025

Wrexham's annual phenomenal International Showcase Festival elevated new music once again

The 15th edition of the festival returned to the heart of Wrexham which was attended by around 20,000 people over the course of three exciting days. FOCUS Wales continues to be one of the greatest multi-venue festivals in the world and brings people together internationally. FOCUS hosted 250+ different artists and bands in 2025 with 300 captivating live sets spotlighting the best in upcoming music from Wales and beyond.

It welcomes delegations from all over the world (from Canada to New Zealand) and hosts a variety of insightful panels with industry professionals, film screenings and talks, in various churches, venues and even nightclubs.

The festival is completely run by a small team who do incredible work to create a safe and seamless experience which brings you a feeling like no other, one of euphoria. Spotlighting and bringing Welsh acts to similar festivals across the world. Collaborating and partnering with organisations and promoters to bring 20 different stages with almost non-stop music.

FOCUS Wales brings people together and helps fans to meet each other no matter where they are from or what they do. Wrexham is growing with Hollywood fame, and this festival is part of what makes the place so special.

This year as always, FOCUS runs from Thursday to Saturday. I attended the festival with the radio station that I manage, Radio Platfform and we were there with our members from Wednesday to Sunday so had the full experience.

Straight into it on Thursday afternoon kicking things off with a panel discussion about support networks for women making music in Wales, and internationally. Hosted by Elan Evans with many inspiring female musicians on the panel, this was a really insightful and useful discussion about different support networks, these talks were all a valuable learning experience where you can network.

There is always something happening at these kinds of festivals so there is a lot of venue hopping across a town or city centre, Wrexham is small and everything at FOCUS Wales is easy to find thanks to the wonderful volunteers. So, with that it was time for our first music stop at the HWB tent for Cyn Cwsg. The Welsh language band are ones to watch with an array of talented musicians who come together to create a unique bedroom rock sound which draws you in. Next was a quick walk back to Wrexham's main arts centre Ty Pawb for Talulah who is an upcoming jazz singer with a beautiful range of vocals accompanied by a full band to get you dancing, a very uplifting set. As the humid evening was upon us, the next sets were full of energy back-to-back in The Rockin' Chair. First up were Cardiff indie five-piece Half Happy who I have seen five times in the past six months, and they never fail to deliver a sublime set full of melodic, instantly recognisable indie bangers. A real force to be reckoned with captivating stage presence. Immediately after in the other room of the iconic venue were a brand-new band to me from Belgium called Meltheads who were immense live, one of my new favourite bands because of their raw energy and intense riffs with pulsating vocals. The best thing about this festival is seeing your favourite bands but also discovering ones that you have never heard of before from across the globe. We saw multiple acts one after the other in this venue because it played host to icons of the Welsh music scene including Mellt who closed out the night for me with an enthralling 30 minutes of live music which captured the essence of heritage through their own brand of indie pop music.

Half Happy

Following a full-on Thursday, the first stop on Friday for us was breakfast in toast cafe and deli which we went to every morning because the coffee and food was so good. After a morning of good toasties, it was time to plan our radio broadcast for Friday, this took a good four hours but was expertly done by our keen radio and platfform members. We went live from three in the afternoon from Old No 7 (which was also hosting gigs) with our broadcast which contained interviews, live reviews and song recordings from the previous two days, all of which was presented by the young people that participate in our work. Following a successful two-hour broadcast and some food, we then headed to the buzzing Rockin' Chair for the very talented band Roscoe who are going to be big very soon and headlining the festival within the next few years because of their natural ability, these guys are somehow only 18 and producing incredible indie rock anthems, they delivered one of the best sets performing songs from their debut EP. I also caught up with the band before their set for a quick interview. Wales Millennium Centre and our Lock Off project hosted a stage at FOCUS Wales again this year where we highlight the best upcoming Welsh Hip-Hop talent in Penny Black including Papaya Noon, DAZO and many more which was all rounded off perfectly by Razkid who is a skilled rapper with flow and high tempo elegance. Then it was straight upstairs in the same venue to see XENITH where we celebrated Molly Palmer's birthday before watching an expertly crafted half an hour of rap, hip-hop and grime music from incredibly talented musicians and some special appearances. After hours of Hip-Hop perfection, we headed over to a new venue for the end of the Forte Project mixer where Papa Jupe's T.C. were the last band on. This is one of the best ever sets from them, sounding brilliant and capturing the attention of the packed venue. Their funny performance reached an ultimate climax with 'Course We're Going Out' which set the tone for the rest of the night for many punters in Wrexham.

Final day and lots more action still to come. Saturday's lineup is packed full of the finest musicians. After a visit to ReVibed Records which is one of the coolest shops in town, it was time for our second live broadcast which I produced, controlled and presented and included interviews with our Lock Off artists, live set reviews and discussions about our highlights from the festival. Before catching the first live set of the day, I caught up with the legends that are WRKHOUSE outside The Rockin' Chair for an interview about their upcoming set later in the evening. Heading inside, you feel the electric atmosphere and buzz around the venue as you watch Bau Cat who are incredibly talented and one of the most charismatic live bands to witness. We then continued with the thrilling alternative pop of Mali Haf which is drenched in Celtic roots, she is an elegant and incredible performer along with an equally as enthusiastic band. Making a quick stop off at Ty Pawb for a coffee, Body Water captured your attention with dark and atmospheric alternative rock music, two women who come together to create a set of mysterious tones with haunting vocals. The FOCUS app is a saviour during the festival and really well designed with lots of detail and helps you find the next performance, so we checked that promptly and headed over to Penny Black. It is well known by now that I am somewhat of a superfan of WRKHOUSE, I have seen them live nine times since they first released music last year and they are one of my favourite bands for good reason, they always deliver a spellbinding live set which is full of energy. Being at the front of the action was the perfect experience with a packed full crowd all enjoying the indie rock and melodic tones, they have it all and are going to be headlining such festivals within the next couple of years. Running straight back over to The Rockin' Chair, we caught a glimpse of Parisa Fouladi who has such a beautiful voice and is accompanied by the lead singer of WRKHOUSE plus a full band for what was another showcase of Welsh talent. Everyone then flooded into the other room to see the highly sought after NOOKEE who are such an excellent band to witness live with their rhymical tunes that get the whole crowd dancing. After this it was another walk back over to Ty Pawb, which is the real hub of the festival, to see the enigmatic The Family Battenberg who delivered a high energy set (despite some technical issues) to a packed room with fellow musicians and radio presenters in attendance who all gathered to witness masters of classic rock, an intense set which gave me goosebumps throughout and a band to watch for the future.

As the final night draws to a close, watching Welsh collective MWSOG, the sense of happiness fills you as you process and reflect upon the eclectic range of music that you have seen live over the past three days, the festival that FOCUS curates is truly a special experience. Listening to Welsh folk and dancing with fellow music fans, you feel a sense of unity as the night draws to a close. Bring on next year.

Tickets for Focus Wales 2026 are on sale here

Words: Gareth Rees

Photography: Gareth Rees and Kathryn Caswell