Cardiff Music City Festival: gigs and DIY nights to try

The Cardiff Music City Festival is taking over the capital until Saturday 17 October, and rather than sitting in one building, it is spread across the whole city. Run by Cardiff Council with backing from the Welsh Government, it pulls together Sŵn Festival, Llais and the Welsh Music Prize into one programme of gigs, talks, pop-ups and special events. For anyone planning a music weekend, the upside is that you can pick and choose between big-room shows, small DIY nights and free evening sessions in the middle of town.

The busiest stretch is the Sŵn weekend, from Thursday 15 to Saturday 17 October, with more than 150 artists playing across 10 stages in nine venues. The line-up so far includes Cerys Hafana, Ifan, Pys Melyn, WRKHOUSE, Working Men's Club and Honeyglaze, and Irish folk artist Dove Ellis makes his Cardiff debut. Among the bigger one-off shows, French hip-hop and trip-hop producer Wax Tailor plays a solo set with a video show at the CULTVR dome on Saturday 17 October. Doors open at 7pm, Napoleon Da Legend supports from 8pm, and Wax Tailor is on from 9pm to 10.30pm. Tickets cost £28.50 and the event is 18+. His sets mix hip-hop samples and cut-up sound bites, often with a cellist and a flautist on stage, set against his own videos.

If you prefer something rougher around the edges, the DIY side of the festival is well represented by Church of Noise, which runs a few days of nights from today until Wednesday 14 October. The programme opens with Punk House Poets on Monday 12 October, followed by a night called Noise in the Capital. Noise from the Capitol on Tuesday 13 October, when there is also a screening of the film 'Lo Sound Desert'. On Wednesday 14 October there is a screening of 'Noise and Resistance' and a session called Build Your Own DIY Utopia: The 309 Punk Project and Rockaway Park. Laurie Anderson, the American avant-garde artist, is also on the bill at Llais, and the festival opened with a performance by Acid Casuals marking 20 years since their album 'Omni'.

The evening music that runs in the middle of the festival is found at Cardiff Market on St Mary Street. As part of the Cardiff Music City Night Market, the Victorian hall is open from 5pm to 10pm on Thursday 15, Friday 16 and Saturday 17 October, and it is free to enter. Radio Sudd broadcasts live from the market during the day, with artist interviews and guest slots, and in the evening DJs Sarah Sweeney, John Rea, Deckshark, Ceyda and Willow take the decks. Ifan, Pypi Slysh and the John Mouse Multiverse play on a balcony stage overlooking the market floor. Because the market and the Sŵn venues are only a short walk apart, it is easy to catch a session at one and then head to the other, though it is worth checking each set time before you go.