Scotland at focus wales
7 - 9 MAY 2026
WREXHAM, WALES
We’re heading back to Wrexham from 7-9 May 2026 for FOCUS Wales! 🏴
Eleven brilliant artists from Scotland will showcase across the festival lineup, presented by PITCH, Showcase Scotland and Wide Days. On Thursday we will be hosting a joint Scottish reception where you can meet the delegates and showcase artists.
SHOWCASE ARTISTS
Arthur Coates & Kerran Cotterell
Arthur Coates & Kerran Cotterell are a powerhouse folk duo blending Scottish fiddle fire and English guitar gravitas with driving foot percussion and soulful vocal harmonies. Their mix of groove, wit, and inventive arrangements bridges tradition with modern edge – music that smoulders, sparks, and occasionally catches fire.
Esther Swift
Esther Swift explores ritual, connection, isolation, and the natural world in her performance with pedal harp and voice. She tours internationally with her own music as both a soloist and with her band and large ensembles.
A prolific, boldly innovative harpist, composer and singer, Esther works across genres as diverse as classical chamber music and free improvisation, and writes for ensembles large and small. Having studied at Edinburgh’s St Mary’s Music School and the Royal Northern College of Music, as well as with harp pioneer Catriona McKay, she has received numerous prestigious commissions and featured in many international collaborations.
She has travelled to Vietnam, New Zealand, Malaysia, Mongolia, and beyond with her music, and shared international, music lead collaborations with musicians and other artists around the world.
She has recently been commissioned by Celtic Connections, Edinburgh International Book Festival, East Neuk Festival, Chamber Music Scotland, Manchester Jazz festival and The Edwin Morgan Trust, among others.
Esther’s debut solo studio album, Expectations of a Lifetime, was released in June 2024, with the sister EP Moon Dreams released in November 2025.
Becky Sikasa
Becky Sikasa is a Scottish singer, songwriter, and producer who blends neo-soul and alternative R&B into rich, introspective soundscapes. Her poetic lyrics explore love, identity, and personal transformation, earning her critical acclaim and growing national recognition.
She released her debut EP Twelve Wooden Boxes in 2022, followed by The Writings and the Pictures and the Song in 2024, both of which were shortlisted for the Scottish Album of the Year Award. Becky has toured with Nile Rodgers, supported Corto.Alto, Joy Crookes and Crane Wives amongst others and was recently named BBC Introducing’s Scottish Artist Of The Year 2025.
FAEDA
FAEDA is a four-piece indie rock band from Thurso in the Scottish Highlands, made up of Robbie McNicol (vocals), Sam Cowan (drums), Cole Cummings (bass), and Jamie Mackay (lead guitar). Known for their captivating and relentlessly energetic stage presence, they have quickly become one of the most exciting emerging acts in the UK music scene. Their electrifying live performances have seen them share stages with artists such as Sam Fender, The View, The Lottery Winners, THE HARA, The Luka State, King Charles, Neon Waltz, and many more. FAEDA have sold out back-to-back headline tours across Scotland and made waves at major festivals, including the Isle of Wight Festival (55,000 capacity), Belladrum Festival, playing the main stage (25,000 capacity) and Liverpool Sound City, with recognition from NME and other leading music publications.
Conscious Route is a London-born, Edinburgh-based rapper, MC and poet whose work blends sharp lyricism, introspection, and the deeper ethics of conscious hip hop. Drawing from hip hop, reggae, soul, garage, and drum & bass, his acclaimed projects Lost Routes, Belterz and Shadows have earned multiple 4-star reviews and national radio support across BBC Introducing, Rinse FM, Itch FM, and more. His track “Jazz Unsung” was selected for British Airways’ Next Big Thing, placing it in rotation across Scotland flights through 2025.
On stage, Conscious Route has supported an impressive roster including Dead Prez, Akala, Dabbla, Marlowe, Wiki, Jelani Blackman, Onyx, Manga Saint Hilare, Dizraeli, Pan Amsterdam, and Jeru The Damaja. He has also appeared alongside Pro Focus for Souls of Mischief and Kryptik for Fliptrix.
Expanding his vision, he formed The Collective, a powerful ensemble of musicians and guest vocalists. Together they headlined The Queen’s Hall Edinburgh and delivered standout sets at Kelburn Garden Party, cementing his reputation as one of Scotland’s most compelling live hip hop acts.
Conscious Route & The Collective
Her Picture
Presenting under an alias inspired by Virginia Woolf’s ‘To the Lighthouse’, Her Picture is the public confessional of singer Anny Tahaney, whose honest songwriting is bewitching listeners in Scotland and beyond. A former English Literature student, storytelling is at the heart of Tahaney’s music, with her catalogue exploring themes of working-class frustration, generational trauma and healing. Backed by producer and co-writer Finlay Smith, Her Picture’s sound is characterised by its cinematic dynamics, where screeching guitars and haunting melodies blend together to create a unique soundscape that situates feminine rage and emotion at the forefront. She has been championed by CLASH and NME, and her concept EP ‘Feed Me Hope’, was labelled “one of the most arresting releases to emerge out of the UK underground.” (LOCK Magazine) Drawing inspiration from Ethel Cain, Daughter and Aurora, Her Picture is on the cusp of releasing her most personal work yet; marking a defining year ahead.
IDLEWILD
Cult Scottish Alternative rock band Idlewild return for their first full UK tour in six years. Formed thirty years ago in Edinburgh by vocalist Roddy Woomble, Guitarist Rod Jones and Drummer Colin Newton, the band have released nine studio albums and toured worldwide as a headline act, alongside as support to REM, U2 and Pearl Jam amongst others. For the last decade Idlewild’s line up has been completed by multi instrumentalists Andrew Mitchell on bass and Luciano Rossi on Keyboards.
Initially gaining a fanbase and reputation in the late 90’s for their raucous and chaotic live performances (with NME famously comparing their love sound to ‘A flight of stairs falling down a flight of stairs’) Idlewild’s punk rock sound evolved naturally over several albums into a unique, richly melodic alternative rock which took them into the UK mainstream for several years. Later albums introduced elements of both art rock and folk rock to their classic sound, always underpinned by Woomble’s poetic lyrics and consummate gift for melody.
Idlewild influence on Scottish music is undeniable, and their live shows provide (according to The Guardian) – ‘a well-judged reminder of their ingrained class, and successfully reignites a back catalogue so rich in great choruses even some of its choruses have choruses’.
Man of Moon
Since their beginning Man of Moon have been a standout live act. The Glasgow-based duo possess an extraordinary talent for cross-pollinating genres and styles but their sound is not hybridised, rather they are a synthesis of their influences; a pure sonic distillation of what has come before. You hear the mesmeric drones of Mogwai, the dynamic shifts of Radiohead, the harmonic angularity of Tool, the industrial amalgam of Nine Inch Nails, even hints of Pink Floyd’s austere and abstract lyricism. Man of Moon are so much music in one band. And yet they’ve always sounded uniquely themselves; there is deep intentionality in every song’s construction.
Ryan Young
Ryan Young brings new and exciting ideas to traditional Scottish music, receiving international praise for his spell-binding interpretations on the fiddle. His debut album was recorded with four time GRAMMY winner Jesse Lewis (who has worked with the likes of Bela Fleck and Yo Yo Ma) and launched at Feakle Traditional Music Festival in County Clare, accompanied by renowned guitarist, Dennis Cahill (Martin Hayes; The Gloaming). Ryan was nominated for Album Of The Year at the 2024 MG ALBA Scots Trad Awards; Live Act Of The Year at the 2023 Awards, and Musician Of The Year at the 2022 Awards.
Ryan brings new life to very old, often forgotten tunes by playing them in his own unique way. He sings through the fiddle and his playing is often described as poetry without words. Ryan’s music is brimming with fresh melodic ideas, an uplifting rhythmic drive and a great depth of dynamics and precision. His sound is very distinctive and takes the listener on an emotional and adventurous journey in any performance.
He holds both a first class honours and a Masters degree from the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, was twice a finalist in the BBC Radio 2 Young Folk Awards, and twice a finalist in the prestigious BBC Radio Scotland Young Traditional Musician of The Year. He was awarded ‘Up And Coming Artist Of The Year’ at the Scots Trad Awards in, nominated for the Horizon Award at the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards and awarded Folking.com‘s Musician Of The Year title. Ryan Young was also the only UK artist selected to perform at the prestigious World Music conference, WOMEX, in 2019.
Tom Campbell Trio
The Tom Campbell Trio is a vibrant presence in the Scottish traditional music scene, blending Scottish and Irish influences with contemporary innovation. Formed in 2018, the trio consists of Tom Campbell on flute, Callum Convoy on bodhrán, and Gillie O’Flaherty on guitar. Their sound fuses original compositions with traditional folk, infused with a modern edge. The trio garnered significant recognition as finalists at the BBC Folk Awards 2019 and as winners of the 2021 Battle of the Folk Bands. Tom Campbell’s musical roots are in the Isle of Lismore, further developed at Plockton Music School and Lews Castle College in Benbecula. His background with flute, whistle, pipes, and bodhran, along with his passion for composition, gives the trio a unique sound. His works have been recorded by artists like Kevin Meehan and 3 on the Bund, influencing the evolution of traditional music. The Tom Campbell Trio offers a fresh, exhilarating interpretation of traditional music, stretching boundaries while honouring their rich cultural heritage.
WENDS
Genre-fluid vocalist Wends has been rising up the UK Sound System scene over the past few years, steadily growing hype and mashing up dances across the country. Hailing from Glasgow, Wends has recently hosted esteemed sounds like Mungo’s Hifi & Sinai Soundsystem, on home soil and as far south as Dub Camp in France.
Combining reggae-inspired toasting and soulful singing, Wends has evolved her style while emceeing on Dub & Reggae, Hip Hop, 140, Garage, Drum & Bass, Jungle and more.
LISTEN
GET IN TOUCH
If you’d like to meet up at FOCUS Wales, need further info on the showcase artists, want to connect with Scottish delegates at the convention - or just want some more info on Scotland’s music industry, drop us a line!