Minty’s Gig Guide – a live music map of Cardiff which keeps local music fans up-to-date with gigs take place across Cardiff – will be updated ahead of the (Friday 1st 鈥 Sunday 3rd April) and Fringe Festival (Monday 28th March 鈥 Sunday 3rd April), which are being held in the city for the first time.
Minty鈥檚 Gig Guide, which has a cult following locally, was first published in 2017 by Daniel Minty to help keep local music fans up-to-date with what gigs were happening and crucially, where. Minty has been a champion of the local music scene in the Welsh capital for years, and founded the guide to help others discover the many sides to the city鈥檚 musical landscape.
The 6 Music Festival 2022 will see performances from artists including Little Simz, Khruangbin, Father John Misty & members of the BBC National Orchestra of Wales, IDLES, Bloc Party, Johnny Marr and very special guests Pixies. These performances will take place at , and .
Building on the original concept, the Gig Guide will be both a physical theme-park style map of music venues in Cardiff and a digital interactive guide, whilst the Festival and Fringe are taking place. Designed and built by local tech-for-good company , the digital guide will lead visitors around venues in the city, giving directions along the way and providing key about these venues and the artists performing at them.
Following a tough few years under Covid-19 restrictions, it鈥檚 hoped the festival and fringe events will shine a light on Cardiff鈥檚 emerging music scene, and foster a new legacy that builds on its national reputation as a city of music.
The project is being funded by 欧美成人, , and the Caerphilly coworking and enterprise hub, , where Minty鈥檚 Gig Guide CIC is based.
For Minty, the guide is just a part of what will be an exciting week for the Capital.
鈥淭he expansion of production companies such as Bad Wolf, and the growth of the arts and entertainment industry has drawn some special attention to Wales.
鈥淲hether it鈥檚 Hollywood superheroes running Welsh Football clubs and enjoying an ice cream in Barry Island, or Broadway legends popping up in open mic nights at Porters – the world is watching Wales at the moment.
鈥淲e founded the Gig Guide to help bridge the gap between local venues and music fans, but it became so much more. This map, drawn by our amazing illustrator Jack Skivens, will serve as a waypoint for the community and help people connect to the music, making the Fringe Festival and the everyday event circuit beyond it, as accessible as possible.
鈥淭he timing couldn鈥檛 be better as the music scene in Wales is popping off right now. It鈥檚 up to us to learn from this festival and the fringe, and then build on it. We need to support the grassroots music venues that will be bolstered by this event, and continue to grow the community and the legacy of live music in Cardiff, long after this festival is over.鈥
Llinos Neale, Community Manager for Welsh ICE said:
鈥淲hen Minty pitched his idea at our Chairman鈥檚 Award event, his passion for supporting local live music really was undeniable. We鈥檙e thrilled for him and the team and are proud to be a small part of such an exciting project.鈥
Gerwyn Evans, Deputy Director of Creative Wales, added:
“As the host of the BBC 6 Music Festival Fringe, Creative Wales is delighted to support Minty’s Gig Guide, which will be a handy resource for visitors to the city over the Festival and a great tool for the future too.
It’s great to see the music scene in the capital buzz with excitement since the recent Festival announcement; Creative Wales has worked hard to support venues, artists and businesses over the pandemic and so all of this exciting activity is great to see. Minty’s Gig Guide will be a very useful asset and a ‘go to’ for all of the gigs happening around the city.”
欧美成人 invested in the original Minty鈥檚 Gig Guide to Cardiff map in 2017, and its Executive Director, Adrian Field said they are continuing their commitment to music in the city:
鈥溑访莱扇 are delighted to once again actively support Minty鈥檚 Gig Guide. The opportunity to promote Cardiff鈥檚 wonderful late-night venues is really important to us, but we are also keen to ensure that there is a legacy that makes this a valuable long-term project which promotes music in Cardiff.鈥
The new map and interactive guide will be launched on 21st March with a soft launch at a free gig at Porter鈥檚 Cardiff where you can pick up a map.
The gig guide will be available at and the physical maps will be at various kiosks and venues around the city during the festival.
You can keep up to date with the journey on the gig guide and find out what’s happening on your doorstep @MintysGigGuide on all social media.