FOMO visits Swansea Fringe 2025
Words: Richard Samuel
Photos: Georgia Collins / Rhian Dixon
Photo: Noon Wolf / Georgia Collins
Thursday
On a cold, dry Thursday night, the revitalized Swansea Fringe festival—re-established in 2017—set the stage for a vibrant celebration of the arts, spanning music, comedy, poetry, art, sketching, cabaret, and more. The evening began at Elysium, where a unique event seamlessly blended comedy, poetry, and music to kick off the weekend.
The weekend opened at Elysium with Chris Barnes, the venue’s resident comic compère, who faced the challenge of warming up a room not designed for comedy. Through sharp crowd work, Barnes managed to draw genuine laughs and set a welcoming tone for the festivities.
The audience was then guided into the art gallery space for an acoustic set by Josh David-Read, frontman of Mojo Jnr and event organizer, standing in for Local Rainbow. Surrounded by evocative works from current gallery exhibitors Ewan Coombs and Heidi Lucca-Redcliffe—recipients of the annual Elysium Graduate Award for outstanding 3-D artists from Swansea College of Art—the setting provided a perfect backdrop for Josh’s stripped-back mojo songs and solo material.
Poetry followed, with readings from Peter Thabit Jones, Rebecca Love, and Guinevere Clark, adding a literary touch to the evening. The crowd then returned to the gig room for a soulful, honky-tonk sprinkled set from Whilbur, whose music resonated with warmth and energy.
The night culminated with a headline performance by Swansea’s Only Rainyday Rainbow, whose groovy, psychedelic sound electrified the younger members of the audience. A bold, unconventional, and certainly left a lasting impression—an exciting start to a festival that promises to showcase the best of Swansea’s creative spirit.
Friday
The second night of the Swansea Fringe festival continued the momentum with a diverse and energetic lineup across multiple venues, starting at the much loved Bunkhouse.
Vain kicked off Friday’s proceedings with a punchy set of alt-rock. This young, Swansea local band immediately impressed with their tight sound, technically brilliant riffs, and infectious energy. Their music drew favourable comparisons to The Cranberries, blending a classic 90s alt-grunge influences into a modern age.
The night continued with Mavue, a three-piece outfit from Newport/Cardiff. Performing without a drummer, they delivered a visceral sound that fused post-punk with shoe-gaze elements. Their cool, experimental approach marked them as “one to watch” in their genre.
Back at Elysium, Pasta Hull brought a funky vibe to proceedings with their Welsh-language set, a refresh of the musical palette from the Alt-Rock treats from the other side of the city. It was then down the High Street and onto Wind Street to Social Dice – A board game hub turned comedy club for the evening – to catch some of the acts curated acts from Swansea’s Kick-Ass Comedy club. The comedy lineup—featuring Tommy Smith, Olivia Green, Gareth Berry and hosted by Kick-Ass resident MC Matt Gossy—faced a tough crowd but added a welcome dose of humour to the night, working hard to extract every single laugh in the room.
As I left the room, to leg it across the city once again to Ty Tawe, the rain lashing down in sheets, the festival spirit remained undampened. Mared was waiting for us and delivered a set with moving from jazzy piano undertones underpinned in the beautiful language of Wales, an absolute treat for the audience to both old favourites and new material with stunning voice control.
The evening wrapped up back at the Bunkhouse with Ealing’s Butch Kassidy, who greeted the crowd with a wall of frantic noise and energy, leaving a lasting impression on all in attendance.
Saturday
Saturday at the Swansea Fringe festival brought a burst of energy and sunshine, perfect for the busking trail that showcased local up-and-coming talent across the city including Joseph Lewis, Cennedy Craven and Steff Burn.
Slak and Urban Adolescence both showcased at The Strand Bar, as part of the 10th anniversary of the Future Blood programme, both with indie/pop punk vibe, brought it to the stage with strong vocals and bouncing performances. Elysium played host to the ever popular ‘Folk at the Fringe’ line up which included Cardiff’s Noon Wolf. Offering a soothing, ethereal sound reminiscent of Florence and the Machine, their set provided a calming contrast to the high-energy acts at The Strand, making for a memorable and relaxing listen in the evening.
Whilst the Drunk Poet Society, had people flocking in during the day at Sessions, it was Port Talbot’s viral comedy sensation Sandro Ford who had a one-in-one-out packed out show early evening, working his way through new material that had the crowd in stitches which was set up nicely by his podcast partner Simon Emmuel with a hilarious 20-minute set, that was a surprise guest to the audience. The night hosted by Gareth P Morris, also saw a very funny Carly O’Connor introduce the audience to what should be Comedy Central’s next hit show – Porn or Pony – where the audience has to guess if it was a pornstar name or the name of a My Little Pony to hilarious effect. The night continued by an in-form fired up Chris Chopping who made 20 minutes feel like 5 as he effortlessly held the audience in his palm, setting up some delicious silliness from Pratik Barman, hilarity from Abi Myles; before Welsh Jesus delivered his comedy sermon to enlighten us all.
Meanwhile at Bunkhouse, Brighton’s Slag delivered a fiery performance, stirring the crowd with their manifesto of making Math Rock sexy. Their enthusiasm and commitment made sure their manifesto pledges were firmly kept. Headliners HMS Morris stood out as one of the highlights of the weekend, captivating the audience with their dynamic stage presence, infectious energy, and strong connection on stage. As a Welsh-speaking alt band, they clearly enjoyed every moment of their performance, which translated into an engaging experience for everyone in attendance regardless of their language.
As the Fringe programme said in its opening message, “In a time when it feels like everything is struggling, your commitment to the arts means the world.” So buy the tickets, take opportunities, chances on something new and avoid the FOMO.