Sesiwn Fawr returns to Dolgellau this weekend to celebrate its 30th birthday.

From 15 to 17 July, the rugby club will be filled with festival-goers, and there’s a brand new addition to this year’s festival schedule with a Sunday night gig at St Mary’s Church on its closing night.

As the festival celebrates its 30th anniversary, 54 bands will be performing across nine stages bringing an eclectic mix of folk, rock and world music to the town.

This year’s line-up includes popular Welsh bands Yws Gwynedd, Sŵnami, Tara Bandito, who are joined by world-renowned Scottish folk band, Skerryvore; N’famady Kouyaté from Guinea north Africa; and The Trials of Cato.

Tara Bandito, one of the artists performing on the Main Stage at The Ship said: “I’ve been to the Sesiwn Fawr on a jolly many times, but this is the first time for me to play at the festival, and I’m so excited! It will be a real treat to bring Tara Bandito to the 30th anniversary celebrations this year.”

Weekend tickets for Sesiwn Fawr sold out at record speed, but there are still opportunities to enjoy the festival with new tickets released for the successful Friday and Saturday night gigs at the rugby club, and the Sunday night concert at St Mary’s Church.

Following the festival’s tradition, the town centre will be shut off to traffic on Saturday (16 July), with opportunities to enjoy family-friendly, free entertainment at a variety of stages across the town centre. Further details can be found in the festival timetable on their website sesiwnfawr.cymru.

Gerwyn Murray, one of the festival organisers in charge of the rugby club gigs said: “The stage at the rugby club is a fairly recent addition to the festival schedule but has developed to be just as popular as the main stage. It will be hosting some of the main artists from this year’s line-up including HMS Morris, Eädyth, Mellt and Kim Hon.

“The rugby club gigs were a sell-out in 2019, and judging from the ticket sales so far, we expect to see the same this year - so grab them whilst you can! ”

For the first time, a new exclusive concert will be held at St Mary’s Church with performances by Casi Wyn x Seindorf, Vrï and Beth Celyn on Sunday night, closing the musical line-up for 2022.

Sesiwn Fawr’s committe chairperson Guto Dafydd said: “After two years of virtual festivals, we are looking forward to welcoming new and old friends back to Dolgellau to enjoy Sesiwn Fawr in person again. It has been a real pleasure to deliver such a strong line up to mark the festival’s 30th anniversary this year.”

Sesiwn Fawr’s main stage sponsors, BBC Radio Cymru, will broadcast highlights from the festival; and there will be a chance to catch up and look back at the weekends’s events the following week in a special 90-minute highlights program on S4C on Saturday, 23 July.

S4C entertainment and music commissioner Elen Rhys said: “It’s a privilege to celebrate the festival’s 30th anniversary across our platforms, giving our viewers a taste of what this special and historical festival has to offer. We’re proud of the partnership, and look forward to the Sesiwn in July.”

The festival’s full line up along with the ticket details are available at www.sesiwfawr.cymru and across Sesiwn Fawr Dolgellau’s social platforms - @sesiwnfawr / #SFD30