Wales is the featured nation at the Festival Interceltique de Lorient in 2018, Friday 3rd to Sunday 12th August. We’re looking for musicians to perform in the Wales Pavilion during the ten days of the festival. This is a great chance to showcase Wales’ rich culture, heritage and tourism, as well as an opportunity to reach new audiences and network with international musicians. The closing date for submissions is Friday 2nd March 2018.
Festival Interceltique de Lorient (FIL) is a festival promoting the contemporary cultures and traditions of the Celtic regions and diasporas. The festival takes place each year, attracting some 700,000 visitors over ten days. Celebrating the 48th festival in 2018, it will bring together thousands of musicians, dancers, poets, writers and visual artists. FIL is now the largest festival in France, the leading celebration of Celtic cultures in the world and winner of the Best Urban Festival award in France’s National Festival Awards 2017.
Each year the festival gives one Celtic nation a particular focus, as the Nation of Honour. This year it will celebrate the music and arts of Wales as part of the main programme, as well as a dedicated Wales Pavilion in the centre of the city. This pavilion will feature a daily programme of music and performances, as well as providing Welsh food and drink, and information about our heritage, tourism and culture. The Year of Wales is supported by Welsh Government and the Arts Council of Wales, and delivered through Cerdd Cymru:Music Wales, in partnership with Festival Interceltique de Lorient.
We are looking for musicians who represent traditional and contemporary Welsh culture. As the festival celebrates Celtic culture, we’ll be giving particular focus to music that reflects this. Performers will be selected against the criteria set out below.
All performers selected will be expected to perform twice on the days they are programmed in the Wales Pavilion. Each individual performer will receive a fee of £150.00 per day (on performance days) as well as per diems for all days at the festival, travel and accommodation in Lorient. It is unlikely that a performer or group would be at the festival for the whole ten days, so it is important that we have a clear idea of your availability and preferred dates. The selected artists will be able to sell merchandise and CDs at the Pavilion.
Submissions will be considered by a panel of music industry professionals including representatives from Arts Council of Wales, National Advisers, trac, Wales Arts International, the media and PR. Our aim is to provide a mixed and varied programme of music and events at the Wales Pavilion and the panel will be assessing submissions with regard to the whole Wales in Lorient programme.
If you are selected, all performers must be willing to undertake press interviews and photoshoots as required for the Wales in Lorient project. Performers will be required to provide some written feedback on their Festival experience, including any new contacts made or opportunities that might result from their performances and profile within the Year of Wales programme at Lorient.
Your work should demonstrate a relationship with traditional/folk and contemporary Welsh culture.
You should be able to demonstrate a track record of making and performing quality and distinctive music.
You must be able to provide access to current tracks online e.g. Soundcloud, Spotify, websites.
You should specify dates that you are available between 3rd and 12th August 2018; be in possession of a current passport and be eligible to work in France.
Please provide information about your most current work.
Please provide details of recent performances, both in the UK and/or internationally and links to any press reviews.
Please provide an Electronic Press Pack (EPK) if you have one, or links to images and any live video footage of your work.
Please specify the number of performers and the dates that you are available for performances between Friday 3rd and Sunday 12th August 2018.
Please email your submission to lorient18@celf.cymru reference Lorient 2018 by 5pm on Friday 2nd March. We will send you an acknowledgement that your application has been received.