At last we are seeing some fine weather so we can start enjoying our outdoor spaces in the City. It’s great to see High St and the arcades packed with people sitting outside enjoying drinks and meals. We’ve been stopping for a quiet cuppa at Cardiff Castle quite often, it’s lovely sitting outside relaxing in the nice weather. It’s so quiet too, just a stone throw away from the busy city centre you can recharge with a cuppa surrounded with beautiful views. It’s bliss, try it next time you’re in town.
With summer comes the concerts and we had our first of the big stadium gigs at the Principality Stadium when the Boss Bruce Springsteen kicked off his European Tour in Cardiff. The stadium was packed to capacity and the atmosphere was electric. Bruce along with The E Street Band played for three hours playing hit after hit. There are more big gigs coming to The Principality Stadium this summer from:
P!nk June 11th
Taylor Swift June 18th
Foo Fighters June 25th
Billy Joel August 9th
We were lucky enough to go backstage recently and meet James Blunt at The Utilita Arena Cardiff. Nathan got to present a piece of art work to James made from charcoal (Bonfire Heart). The concert was amazing and fantastic support from Lucy Spragan.
Upcoming concerts at The Utilita Arena:
Bryan Adams 18th May
Girls Aloud 27th
Liam Gallagher 10th June
https://www.utilitaarenacardiff.co.uk/
It was such a joy to finally see ‘Come From Away’ when it was at The Wales Millennium Centre recently. We had been eager to see it for ages and it did not disappoint. A few weeks prior to it arriving in Cardiff we spoke to Amanda Henderson on our Radio Cardiff show about her part in the show, she played Beulah and she was phenomenal, in fact the whole cast was. If you ever get the chance to see the show don’t hesitate it’s so worth it.
We also attended the press night for ‘Pretty Woman’, confession time now…. I never liked the film! But….. I loved the musical, it’s just a great night out. The cast was fab and the score was by non other than Bryan Adams. Again if you get the chance to see Pretty Woman we are sure you’ll love it too.
Shows coming up at The WMC are:
NYE 18th May
Madagascar 27th June
Plus a varied programme of events in their Cabaret room.
We got to try out the new menu at Daffodil (Windsor Place) a few weeks back and it’s was stunning. What a gem of a place! Staff were great, the bar is smart and comfy but most importantly the food is delicious. There’s a great selection on the menu and a fantastic wine list too. There’s some outside seating and plenty of room to accommodate a large group. We highly recommend Daffodil. Thanks to Jay for the invite to try the menu. Probably the best lamb I’ve ever had!!! https://daffodilcardiff.co.uk/
Over at The New Theatre we attended press nights for The 39 Steps and Unfortunate The Untold Story Of Ursula Queen Of The Sea. The New Theatre have accommodated many of the shows that would have originally been at St David’s Hall, quite often on a Sunday evening you can catch one off performances. There’s some great things coming to The New Theatre including:
Rebecca Ferguson 18th May
Julian Clary 28th May
Cluedo2 25th June
https://trafalgartickets.com/new-theatre-cardiff/en-GB
If you’re planning a West End trip to see a show, we highly recommend ‘Two Strangers, Carry A Cake Across New York’, it’s such a feel good new musical. Starring Dujonna Gift and Sam Tutty, it’s a musical that will melt your heart, it’s funny, sad and uplifting. We met up with Sam Tutti after the performance and Nathan presented him a portrait made in coffee. We first seen Sam in Dear Evan Hanson and he was incredible. If you’ve not seen Dear Evan Hanson it’s coming to The Wales Millennium Centre 23rd April 2025, try catch it while it’s in town.
Like us you’re probably always looking for TV or Film recommendations. We’ve just finished watching Season 2 of Big Boys on All4. It’s such a good laugh, it’s loosely autobiographical and based on the life of the shows writer Jack Rooke. Jack presented a special evening in Soho House London recently where he talked about the show. It was a fun evening and a great insight into the show and the characters. So if you’re looking for a new show give it a try, we are keeping our fingers crossed for another series!!
Other shows we recommend are:
Ted Lasso
The Gentlemen
Baby Reindeer
So proud of Cardiff Theatre Cafe, they took part in the celebrations over at The Sherman Theatre last year and recently got asked back for another night. The gang performed a selection of their favourite tunes and invited audience members to get up on stage to perform too. Cardiff Theatre Cafe is a safe space for people to meet and enjoy listening or performing musical theatre. We are hoping to start back our Sunday sessions at The Coffee Court in St Andrews again very soon.
Our next big showcase is on July 30th
We’ve had some incredible guests on our Radio Cardiff Show recently, ready for the name drops…..
Lea Salonga, chatting about her upcoming concert at The WMC on 24th June.
Jack Ryder (Eastenders) phoned in for a chat and to tell us about his new children’s book ‘Voyage to Mermaid Mountain’. Jack now runs a very successful online tutoring service for people working towards a career in performing arts. Anyone interested should look up Jack Ryder Sessions. https://www.lovereading4kids.co.uk/author/Jack-Ryder/gd/Jack-Ryder.html
We also welcomed Matt from The National who have a headline gig at Cardiff Castle on July 3rd. The National join an incredible line up of acts who are set to perform at the DEPOT LIVE Concerts at Cardiff Castle.
Even though we have stood down from running the coffee court at St Andrews in Roath we are still involved in some of the events that take place there, congratulations to Pixie Perez who packed the church over two nights with a musical extravaganza. Performing to over 1000 people the two nights were a huge success and also raised nearly £1000 for Maggies Cancer Care. Pixie is no stranger to St Andrews, every year she causes chaos at our annual Dragged To Church.
It was so lovely to be hosting Wag This Way for City Hospice recently, the event has grown and become an incredible opportunity for families to bring their dogs out all for a good cause. The dog show was great fun and the Cardiff Veterinary Group done such a great job organising it. We suspect a lot of money was raised for City Hospice and everyone got to enjoy a sunny day in Bute Park. Well done to all those who took part. https://www.cityhospice.org.uk/
Burlesque nights at Cardiff Theatre Cafe are proving very popular. Troupe leader Lili Del Fflur has now brought three hugely successful shows to the Theatre Cafe and an incredible line up each time. Each show has been different and an inclusive safe space for performers and audiences to enjoy Burlesque. The next planned event is on July 6th. It’s a very welcoming event and very enjoyable.
Two nights in Greenwich and an invite to see Leann Rimes at The O2 was absolutely fabulous. Not only did we get to see Leann live, she brought out Ronan Keating and David Gray as guests. The night was magic, her set list was flawless and she looked and sounded incredible. The following day Leann invited us to the studios where she is currently filming The Voice. We got to hang out backstage and see some of the new contestants. Nathan presented Leann with a portrait, she loved it. Such a lovely couple of days in London.
New Wave Wrestling is going from strength to strength and Nathan found himself back in the ring this month fighting Josh Holly. This time Nathan wasn’t so lucky and lost his match which resulted in the loser getting their hair shaved in the ring. So now Nathan is sporting a buzz cut and the golden locks are gone. Check out New Wave Wrestling on social media to find out more about their upcoming wrestling matches.
We have a crazy few months ahead, lots happening and our yearly trip to Vegas is fast approaching. Hope you all get to enjoy some of the great things happening in our city while the sun shines.
Wyburn & Wayne 