Llais Festival returns to Wales Millennium Centre from 7 – 11 October 2026, bringing together internationally acclaimed artists, unique collaborations and once-in-a-lifetime gigs as part of Cardiff Music City Festival.
Taking over Wales Millennium Centre’s iconic spaces in Cardiff Bay, Llais brings together artists from across the globe for a series of performances designed to surprise, challenge and inspire. From legendary musical pioneers to emerging voices shaping tomorrow’s sound, the festival offers audiences a chance to discover artists beyond the mainstream.
Rooted in Wales’ identity as the Land of Song, the festival celebrates the power of voice in all its forms – from folk and gospel to experimental sound, orchestral performance, storytelling and immersive technology.
Llais is curated as a week of extraordinary musical encounters – exclusive gigs, unexpected collaborations and artists rarely seen elsewhere in the UK. It’s a festival built around discovery, inviting audiences to experience voices and performances they might never otherwise encounter.
Llais, which will run from 7-11 October, continues to position Wales Millennium Centre as a home for adventurous international performance, while championing artists from Wales alongside voices from across the world.
It comes as part of the Cardiff Music City Festival (2 – 17 October), a wider two-week programme that incorporates Sŵn Festival and the Welsh Music Prize, which aims to protect, promote and strengthen the city’s music ecosystem. It is supported by the Welsh Government and Cardiff Council.
Graeme Farrow, Chief Creative Officer at Wales Millennium Centre: “Llais isn’t a festival built by algorithms or streaming charts. It’s a carefully curated week of extraordinary voices, unexpected encounters and unforgettable live experiences. Llais is about discovery. We all spend so much of our lives being recommended what to listen to next, but nothing replaces hearing something new and live and leaving completely transformed. That’s what Llais exists to do.”
The festival opens on Wednesday 7 October with the prestigious Welsh Music Prize, celebrating the finest album released by a Welsh artist over the past year and setting the stage for five days of exceptional music and performance.
Leading the first line-up announcement is pioneering multimedia artist Laurie Anderson, who will perform in Wales for the first time with Friends and Teachers – a specially created performance developed exclusively for Llais.
Grammy-winning gospel legends Blind Boys of Alabama are another act featured in the line-up, supported by the London African Gospel Choir performing Paul Simon’s Graceland. Also performing is acclaimed Irish songwriter Lisa Hannigan, hosting her celebrated collaborative project Sirens, featuring artists such as Theodora Byrne Trio, Jane Patterson, Helen Murray, Amanda Bergman, Kate Stables, Landless, Bess Atwell, Charlotte Church and more.
Further artists include Cuban musical icons Buena Vista All Stars alongside Orchestra Baobab; and composer-sitarist Jasdeep Singh Degun, performing with BBC National Orchestra and Chorus of Wales in a celebration of musical traditions coming together.
Performances in the Weston Studio will involve Shovel Dance Collective + Naima Bock; Bess Atwell; Tristwch y Fenywod + Joanne Robertson + Jasper Llewelyn; and Tomos Williams’ Cwmwl Tystion III / Empathy.
Wales Millennium Centre’s Cabaret venue will host performances from Landless and Jordan Playfair, as well as Oram Awards x Tŷ Cerdd, which champions the work of women and gender-diverse artists exploring sound, music and technology. Developed for Llais 2026, the event brings together the Oram Awards team, Tŷ Cerdd | Music Wales and this year’s award recipients in a special cross-programme collaboration.
VR Cinema at Llais
Beyond the live programme, audiences can also step inside four internationally acclaimed virtual reality experiences in Wales Millennium Centre’s VR Cinema, expanding Llais beyond the stage through immersive storytelling.
The VR Cinema exhibition (28 September – 11 October) includes:
- Just for You Trilogy – Three award-winning immersive films by Taiwanese theatre-maker Craig Quintero, exploring memory, mortality and the space between dreams and reality.
- The Art of Change – A visually striking VR journey by Funilab and DROELOE that explores identity, memory and personal transformation across time.
- Bodies of Water – Canadian XR artist Chélanie Beaudin-Quintin’s immersive work invites audiences to experience the transformative relationship between the human body and water.
- Ôl | Haunts – A VR coming-of-age story by Lucy Hammond and Tom Chetwode-Barton, set in North Wales in 2006, blending memory, music and the Welsh party scene.
Llais Festival highlights
Donald Gordon Theatre
Wednesday 7 October
- Welsh Music Prize 2026
Thursday 8 October
- Laurie Anderson – Friends and Teachers
Friday 9 October
- Blind Boys of Alabama + London African Gospel Choir performing Paul Simon’s Graceland
Saturday 10 October
- Sirens – Hosted by Lisa Hannigan: Featuring special guest artists Theodora Byrne Trio, Jane Patterson, Helen Murray, Amanda Bergman, Kate Stables, Landless, Bess Atwell, Charlotte Church and more.
Sunday 11 October
- Buena Vista All Stars + Orchestra Baobab
Weston Studio
Thursday 8 October
- Shovel Dance Collective + Naima Bock
Friday 9 October
- Bess Atwell
Saturday 10 October
- Tomos Williams – Cwmwl Tystion III / Empathy
Sunday 11 October
- Tristwch y Fenywod + Joanne Robertson + Jasper Llewelyn
Cabaret
Friday 9 October
- Oram Awards x Tŷ Cerdd (on sale soon)
Saturday 10 October (afternoon)
- Landless
Saturday 10 October (evening)
- Jordan Playfair
BBC Hoddinott Hall
Thursday 8 October
- Jasdeep Singh Degun x BBC National Orchestra and Chorus of Wales – Coming Together / Dod Ynghyd
Tickets are now on sale.
