The late night slot at the Festival Tent? No one will be there, I thought, except for my sister, her husband, and a few of the organizers kind enough to bear the crippling cold. The other festival-goers will all be in the pub. Or wrapped up warm in front of a blazing fire, absorbed in their freshly-signed, crisp copies of Horatio Clare and Jeanette Winterson’s latest offerings. Or they’ll be mulled-wining and dining and having stimulating conversations elsewhere…
But it seems I was wrong! There in the twinkly twilight was a sea of faces, waiting, wanting… wanting to hear, wanting to feel.
And it was warm! The warmest tent I have ever had the pleasure of being in, and the warmest, most attentive of audiences.
We played. I sang. I sang the words that were only ever meant for one person, to a sea of strangers. And the sea of strangers became a gathering of friends.
This morning, a facebook post read: "Mesmerising... I couldn’t stop smiling in wonder. Snapped up a CD of Tro for my welsh Mum, wishing not for the first time that she had taught me her mother tongue… Diolch!”
And so say all of us: Diolch Hay for your hospitality; your croeso, and for reminding us all that words and music can warm our souls, draw us closer together, and bring light on the deepest, darkest of nights.
Writer, poet and musician Gwyneth Glyn presented the live experience of her new album Tro at Hay Festival Winter Weekend on Saturday 24 November 2018 with band members Rowan Rheingans, Dylan Fowler and Gillian Stevens. Tro, Welsh for ‘turn’, is the first major solo album from one of Wales’ most intriguing and talented artists, with a passion for language, who applies her delicate craft and exquisite gift to a compelling new work.