Music

Kairos  

Pop-up Music

Thursday 26 November 2026, 5.35pm – 5.55pm –  Hay Castle – Great Hall

Enjoy an uplifting performance by local musical duo Kairos – musicians Anna Lockett and Jill Horner – as they take over Hay Castle’s Great Hall. Expect beautiful harp, flute and recorders together with romantic, folk, baroque and contemporary musical arrangements. Be sure not to miss this warm and heartening musical interlude!

Kairos  

Pop-up Music

Thursday 26 November 2026, 7.05pm – 7.25pm –  Hay Castle – Great Hall

Enjoy an uplifting performance by local musical duo Kairos – musicians Anna Lockett and Jill Horner – as they take over Hay Castle’s Great Hall. Expect beautiful harp, flute and recorders together with romantic, folk, baroque and contemporary musical arrangements. Be sure not to miss this warm and heartening musical interlude!

David Gray and Mary Colwell  

Music and Conversation Connecting us to Nature

Thursday 26 November 2026, 7.30pm – 9pm –  Castle Marquee

Best-selling singer-songwriter David Gray and conservationist Mary Colwell come together in a unique collaboration celebrating our emotional connection with nature.

They’ll mix conversation with live music from Gray, focusing in particular on their shared passion for the protection and conservation of the curlew. David Gray’s album White Ladder remains one of the bestselling British albums of the 21st century. He’ll perform his own songs, including some well-known favourites, in this very special evening to celebrate the natural world.

Silent Film with Live Organ Accompaniment  

The Phantom of the Opera

Thursday 26 November 2026, 7.30pm – 9.30pm –  St Mary’s Church

Experience the spine-tingling chills of the silent horror classic heightened by an electrifying live organ score, and thrill with suspense just as audiences did a hundred years ago.

The historic St Mary’s Church in Hay-on-Wye provides the atmospheric setting for this unique and immersive screening of The Phantom of the Opera, while organist and composer Father Richard Williams, former vicar of the church, provides a soaring live accompaniment on the Bevington Organ.

The film was first released in 1925, starring Lon Chaney as the phantom who haunts the Paris Opera House, causing murder and mayhem in an attempt to make the woman he loves a star.

The Brothers Gillespie  

Pop-up Music

Friday 27 November 2026, 5.05pm – 5.25pm –  Hay Castle – Great Hall

In this 20-minute interlude between events, Northumbrian folk duo The Brothers Gillespie share their soaring harmonies, playing songs from their new record Kingfisher alongside others featured in the documentary film The Solway (showing at Hay Festival Winter Weekend on Friday 27 November, 7.30pm).

The alt-folk troubadours (siblings James and Sam) are still something of a secret on the UK music scene and yet have a dedicated following all over the land.

Olivia Harrison  

George Harrison’s Personal Photo Collection

Friday 27 November 2026, 5.30pm –  Castle Marquee

Take an unprecedented look inside the world of The Beatles through The Third Eye, as Olivia Harrison discusses the extraordinary collection of more than 200 behind-the-scenes photos taken by her late husband, George.

George Harrison travelled the world with his bandmates, Pentax in hand, chronicling the intimate moments behind their incredible rise to global fame. These unguarded images of Paul, John, Ringo, George and the band’s entourage as they rocketed to stardom brim with wit, experimentation and the joyful madness that came to be known as Beatlemania.

Andrew Zolinsky  

Hay Music: Piano Concert

Friday 27 November 2026, 7.30pm – 9.15pm –  St Mary’s Church

Experience an unforgettable evening of virtuoso piano music in the austere Gothic setting of St Mary’s Church. Internationally-acclaimed pianist Andrew Zolinsky has performed at prestigious venues across the world – and now brings his unique style and interpretations to Hay-on-Wye. Here he presents a concert showcasing pieces for all tastes, with a programme ranging from Copeland’s ‘Piano Blues’ through Beethoven and Debussy to Michael Tippet’s final piano sonata. This is an unmissable chance to witness one of the most distinctive musicians of a generation.

Programme:

Maurice Ravel Sonatine

Ludwig van Beethoven Sonata No 30 in E major Op 109

Claude Debussy Étude Pour les Arpèges Composés

Claude Debussy L’isle joyeuse

Aaron Copeland Nos 3 and 4 from Four Piano Blues

Michael Tippett Sonata No 4.

Llareggub Brass Band  

In Concert

Friday 27 November 2026, 9pm – 10.15pm –  Castle Marquee

Round off your evening with a joyful and lively helping of funky brass music, mixing up influences from New Orleans marching bands through to Bronx-inspired Hip Hop and closer-to-home Welsh language pop.

Paying their debt to the age-old tradition of brass bands from the slate mining villages of North Wales, Llareggub Brass Band rise from the ashes of the past to deliver an energetic performance and enough hwyl to get you dancing!

Formed by band leader Owain Roberts in 2015, the band has released several studio albums and EPs. They have toured internationally, and won a BAFTA Cymru award for their documentary Cyrn ar y Mississippi (‘Horns on the Mississippi’).

Got 2 Sing Choir  

Pop-up Music

Saturday 28 November 2026, 11.05am – 11.25am –  Hay Castle – Great Hall

Enjoy an exhilarating performance by Got 2 Sing Choir as they sing uplifting numbers from top of the charts to golden oldies and festive classics, with plenty of fun and laughter.

Our pop-up music sessions offer magical interludes between events in the atmospheric Great Hall at Hay Castle.

Got 2 Sing Choir  

Pop-up Music

Saturday 28 November 2026, 12.35pm – 12.55pm –  Hay Castle – Great Hall

Enjoy an exhilarating performance by Got 2 Sing Choir as they sing uplifting numbers from top of the charts to golden oldies and festive classics, with plenty of fun and laughter.

Our pop-up music sessions offer magical interludes between events in the atmospheric Great Hall at Hay Castle.

Hay Shantymen  

Saturday 28 November 2026, 3.35pm – 3.55pm –  Hay Castle – Great Hall

Feel the Hay Shantymen’s soaring voices all around as they fill Hay Castle’s 13th century Great Hall with their renditions of foot-stomping seafaring songs and traditional shanties. Relax beside the Hall’s roaring fireplace between events, soak up the castle’s historic atmosphere and immerse yourself in music and the moment.

Hay Shantymen  

Saturday 28 November 2026, 5.05pm – 5.25pm –  Hay Castle – Great Hall

Feel the Hay Shantymen’s soaring voices all around as they fill Hay Castle’s 13th century Great Hall with their renditions of foot-stomping seafaring songs and traditional shanties. Relax beside the Hall’s roaring fireplace between events, soak up the castle’s historic atmosphere and immerse yourself in music and the moment.

Simon Armitage, Rosie Boycott, Larry Lamb, Liv Little, Kate Mosse, Owen Sheers and Guests  

Alternative Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols

Saturday 28 November 2026, 8.30pm – 9.45pm –  St Mary’s Church

A Christmas tradition with a difference! Poet Laureate Simon Armitage leads artists from across our programme in a literary reinvention of the traditional Nine Lessons and Carols.

Each speaker will perform a reading inspired by the themes of the original service, from the funny to the moving, the thought-provoking to the entertaining.

A unique and unforgettable evening curated in collaboration with our friends at the London Review of Books.

Love To Sing Choir  

Pop-up Music

Sunday 29 November 2026, 11.05am – 11.25am –  Hay Castle – Great Hall

Enjoy a short, upbeat musical interlude between events, as Love To Sing Choir returns to Hay Festival following their popular performance last year. Love To Sing is a double gold award-winning, inclusive popular music choir based in Pembridge, Herefordshire. They promote togetherness, fun, belonging and a shared passion for singing.

Love To Sing Choir  

Pop-up Music

Sunday 29 November 2026, 12.35am – 12.55am –  Hay Castle – Great Hall

Enjoy a short, upbeat musical interlude between events, as Love To Sing Choir returns to Hay Festival following their popular performance last year. Love To Sing is a double gold award-winning, inclusive popular music choir based in Pembridge, Herefordshire. They promote togetherness, fun, belonging and a shared passion for singing.

Synergy A Cappella  

Pop-up Music

Sunday 29 November 2026, 2.05pm – 2.25pm –  Hay Castle – Great Hall

Enjoy this 20-minute performance between events. Abergavenny’s friendly Synergy choir has evolved a barbershop-style male, close-harmony a cappella. They sing material from across the 20th century, from the melancholic tones of ballad standards to their own take on upbeat numbers with questionable choreography!
Synergy has a winning track record at the prestigious Cornwall International Choral Festival (winning UK Best Small Choir three times) and the Bangor International Choral Competition, coming away with several first and second prizes, Best Visiting Choir and Best Musical Piece.

Synergy A Cappella  

Pop-up Music

Sunday 29 November 2026, 3.35pm – 3.55pm –  Hay Castle – Great Hall

Enjoy this 20-minute performance between events. Abergavenny’s friendly Synergy choir has evolved a barbershop-style male, close-harmony a cappella. They sing material from across the 20th century, from the melancholic tones of ballad standards to their own take on upbeat numbers with questionable choreography!
Synergy has a winning track record at the prestigious Cornwall International Choral Festival (winning UK Best Small Choir three times) and the Bangor International Choral Competition, coming away with several first and second prizes, Best Visiting Choir and Best Musical Piece.

Elizabeth Alker talks to Jude Rogers  

Everything We Do Is Music: How 20th-Century Classical Music Shaped Pop

Sunday 29 November 2026, 4pm –  Hay Castle – The Gallery

We often think of classical music and contemporary pop as being poles apart – but are they really so different? Here Elizabeth Alker, host of BBC Radio 3’s Unclassified and Classical Live, uncovers their strong connections, revealing both the classical innovators and their fans and collaborators in the world of pop.

Talking to music critic Jude Rogers, Elizabeth draws a direct and fascinating lineage from the experimentalism of Pierre Henry to The Beatles, from Stockhausen to Donna Summer and from Bruckner to Sonic Youth via Glenn Branca. We’ll hear how artists challenged the idea that these musical worlds are mutually exclusive.

Innominati Singers  

Pop-up Music

Sunday 29 November 2026, 5.05pm –  Hay Castle – Great Hall

Join one of Hay-on-Wye’s most fun-loving singing groups for an irresistible music session. The Innominati Singers hail from diverse musical backgrounds including folk, musical theatre, classical, pop, jazz and Welsh music. Settle in by the roaring fire in Hay Castle’s Great Hall for an eclectic, unpredictable and lively moment of song.

Festival Finale of Carols with John Potter  

Sunday 29 November 2026, 7.30pm –  Castle Marquee

Come together for a festive finale to the Winter Weekend with this musical celebration of Christmas carols. Professional singer and author, John Potter presents his historical guide to carols (Christmas Carols - An English Enchantment) taking us from their beginnings as secular songs sung in medieval and Tudor courts, through the Victorian era where they were used to encourage revellers into church, to their place at the heart of our modern Christmas traditions.

Of course there'll be plenty of opportunity for carol singing too. A local choir will lead the music to match the storytelling, with a chance for everyone to join in and share in the Christmas spirit.