INDIE folk band Calan are back on the road with its infectious rhythms and high energy routines, in a seasonal stop off at Bangor’s Pontio.
Calan are Bethan Rhiannon, Patrick Rimes, Angharad Jenkins, Sam Humphreys and Shelly Musker Turner.
The award winning band’s new Christmas album is entitled A Christmas in Wales and its yuletide show features Welsh bagpipes, harp, fiddles, step dancing - and a horse’s head!
It is a homage to the Welsh tradition of Mari Lwyd - which saw a white horse’s skull, mounted on a pole, draped with a white sheet, being paraded from house to house.
Revellers, would sing songs and be invited in for a festive drink.
“We call our version a Veggie Lwyd, because it’s made of cardboard and papier-mâché,” says Calan’s accordionist, clog-dancer and vocalist Bethan Rhiannon.
Besides the Mari Lwyd, expect flaming reels, sparkling jigs and some familiar traditional songs. Look out for a rendition of Plygain singing - a Welsh tradition of harmony singing, popular in chapels.
There are still areas in Wales where it happens including Mallwyd and Llanllyfni in Gwynedd.
A Calan Celtic Christmas In Wales is on at 7.30pm, at Theatr Bryn Terfel, Pontio, on Saturday, December 21.
See: https://www.list.co.uk/event/1373755-a-celtic-christmas-in-wales-with-calan/ Tickets: (£16/£14) call Pontio: 01248 382828.
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