A guitar playing couple are joining a top festival’s fringe after combining their love of music and food at their acclaimed restaurant in Denbighshire.
The Open Mic nights started by Rob Dowell-Brown and his wife, Vicky, at the Nant y Felin restaurant in Llanrhaeadr, Denbigh, have been a huge hit with customers.
Now their success has earned them an invitation to become part of the popular free fringe events at the North Wales International Music Festival that’s being held at St Asaph Cathedral from September 11 to 20.
According to chef Rob and front of house manager Vicky, they’re particularly proud to be the first venue outside St Asaph to be recruited by the festival’s artistic director, royal composer Paul Mealor.
The pair are steeped in music. Scottish-born Rob played in bands around Bristol and the West Country where he was brought up and combined being a busy chef with his music.
He said: “I have played the guitar since I was five and have been in all sorts of bands, often several at once, and even used to earn money as a session bass guitarist for a jazz band.
“Music has followed me round my work as a chef. It’s all artistic, cooking and music. They bring people together to enjoy themselves.
“Music actually brought Vicky and I together because I was working in the White Horse in Hendrerwydd when she brought her dad, Bryn Dowell, along to play with his band and that was how we met.”
Vicky first picked up her dad’s guitar as a child and she added: “We started the Open Mic nights when anyone can come in and play or come in and sit and watch with a drink and even join in because we have our house guitars which people can borrow and have a go.
“We get such a variety of music and musicians. The two of us got together through music and that’s what it can do. Our son, Billy, is seven and he plays the guitar as well.
“We’re really honoured to be part of the fringe and proud to have been asked.”
The couple’s love of music was the catalyst for a happy marriage and they hold Open Mic nights on the third Wednesday of every month when anyone can come up and play or sing.
They’ll be reaching out to a wider audience on Wednesday, September 17, when the Nant y Felin joins the roster of the festival’s fringe events with live music in the bar from 8.15pm onwards – they have spare guitars, a piano and even a pair of maracas for anyone who wants to have a go.
Professor Paul Mealor, who took over the reins of running the popular classical event last year, is delighted to have them on board.
Paul, who wrote music for the King’s Coronation and the 2011 wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton, introduced the fringe at last year’s event and it was a huge success.
Now he is delighted to see it expanding and he said: “It’s a crucial part of the festival because many younger people find it difficult to go into a cathedral so they suggested the launch of a fringe event in local restaurants, pubs, bars and coffee shops.
“It’s attracting a different audience and it’s bringing people to the festival who might not otherwise come. It’s happening later than the programme at the festival, often after 9pm which will suit a different audience, and all fringe events are free to attend.
“Last year we tested the waters and it was a huge success so now we’ve expanded the event and for the first time we have a venue from outside St Asaph with the Nant y Felin and we’re delighted and would like to hear from others.
“We are happy with any kind of music – we want the festival to be different and diverse.”
The idea of signing up Nant y Felin to the festival’s fringe came from regular customers Mario Kreft MBE and his wife, Gill, who live in Denbigh.
The couple, who own the Pendine Park care organisation, are also the festival’s headline sponsor via the Pendine Arts and Community Trust which they set up to support arts and community activities.
Mario said: “Paul Mealor inherited great foundations at the festival from his predecessor, Ann Atkinson.
“The event is a real highlight in Wales’s cultural calendar and a beacon of artistic excellence that reaches right across the area and beyond.
“The fringe has rapidly become an integral part of the festival and I’m confident that in years to come the Nant y Felin will be the first of many venues across the region to be part of the event.”
The festival’s opening concert on Thursday, September 11, stars Maltese tenor Joseph Calleja who Paul Mealor believes is “the world’s finest lyric tenor”.
Making her festival debut this year will be the acclaimed film and TV composer, Debbie Wiseman OBE.
Her theme tunes for Wolf Hall, Shakespeare and Hathaway, Judge John Deed and many others will be played by the NEW Sinfonia orchestra.
Headliners this year also include the BBC National Orchestra of Wales, world class choral group Apollo5 and the renowned Black Dyke Band.
Another highlight this year will be the second Pendine Young Musician of Wales competition that was launched last year and is being funded by the Pendine Arts and Community Trust.
The final concert will feature the North Wales Choral Union and Orchestra under the baton of conductor Trystan Lewis.
Other fringe events will include a cabaret and American song night, stand-up comedy, and a poetry night led by one of Wales’s greatest poets, Mererid Hopwood, the current Archdruid of Wales.
Tickets and further details about the festival programme are available online at https://nwimf.com. Tickets are also available from Cathedral Frames, St Asaph – 07471 318723 (Weds – Fri, 10 – 4) and Theatr Clwyd by phone – 01352 344101 (Mon – Sun, 10 – 8).
