Concert guitarist and composer Richard Durrant brings his 40 year anniversary tour to Gwynedd as part of Gŵyl Cricieth Festival.

In celebration of his fourth decade as an independent soloist, 'The Art of Levitation', an evening of guitar works including Bach, Scarlatti, Purcell, Renbourn, Jansch, Barrios and Durrant's own compositions including the tour title track, will open the 2026 festival on Saturday, 13 June at Cricieth Memorial Hall.

Richard's principal instrument for this tour is his guitar made from a 5,000-year-old English bog oak. There will also be his trademark stories about his childhood and musical career as he plays to the audience.

Richard is looking forward to playing in Cricieth. He said: “It was in 1983 whilst still a student that I discovered the magical beauty of North Wales.

“Since then I have visited family there hundreds of times and played concerts all over Wales.

“I have even written a quartet, ‘Tan y Bwlch’, marking my love for this area - one movement is titled ‘Gogoniant’ in celebration of the landscape.

“I am genuinely excited to play in Criccieth once again and can picture the road into the town and the lovely hall where I shall play my concert.”

The concerts are intimate, high-quality live experiences in much-loved regional venues. In an era when small venues face mounting challenges, ‘The Art of Levitation’ is both a celebration and a statement: live music, real spaces, transformative experience.

This year Richard celebrates 40 years since graduating from the Royal College of Music and making his London debut at the Purcell Room. But his story is not a conventional one. Raised in a working-class family in Brighton, he struggled at school with undiagnosed autism and ADHD. Yet alongside those challenges came an extraordinary early focus. By his early teens he was composing prolifically, passing Grade 8 guitar, cello and theory at an unusually early age. He led the cello section of Brighton Youth Orchestra, and toured with them in Portugal as soloist in the Concierto de Aranjuez. He had also started playing floor spots in local folk clubs and was double bassist in a busy bluegrass band.

The festival runs from 13-20 June. Organist Gordon Stewart will perform on 14 June at Capel y Traeth. Also that day, MP Liz Saville Roberts will deliver the David Lloyd George Memorial Lecture at the Memorial Hall.

Garden trails will be held around Criccieth on 14 and 15 June.

Originally hailing from different parts of Africa, Alain Rouamba and Servo Mputu, both now based in Bristol, represent the beautiful fusion of West and Central African musical traditions, and they will share their music at the festival at the Memorial Hall on 16 June. They perform again at Ysgol Treferthyr on 17 June.

Author Clare Mackintosh delivers the festival lunch at Caerwylan Hall on 17 June.

Lewis Finch Rimes performs chamber music at the Memorial Hall on 19 June, and a concert to celebrate Cor Eifionydd’s 40th anniversary will take place at the Memorial Hall on 20 June.