Iconic Welsh musician, Gruff Rhys graces the 2018 Edinburgh Festival Fringe with his debut Fringe show Resist Phony Encores from August 17th - 25th. Playing a selection of his work spanning the last four decades, including songs from his new album, Babelsberg, Gruff explores how he overcame chronic shyness, stoner rock and communicative dysfunction, by placing commands on cue cards to whip audiences into a frenzy and start the occasional civil war.

Gruff Rhys is a songwriter, producer, filmmaker and author. He started his journey as the front man of Ffa Coffi Pawb, who at the time were one of the leading bands on the Welsh language music scene. When they disbanded in 1993, Gruff helped form the legendary and uncompromising Welsh psychedelic band Super Furry Animals. Super Furry Animals have released nine critically acclaimed albums between 1996 and 2009 and have gained a reputation as a must-see, mind-bending live act at gigs and festivals across the world.

Rhys’s first solo album was released in 2005. Yr Atal Genhedlaeth was an all-Welsh language album where Rhys played most of the instruments. In 2014, Rhys released American Interior, a project that successfully combined Welsh history and American psychogeography. American Interior was released as an album, a film, a book and an app. His occasional collaboration with hip hop producer Boom Bip (under the name Neon Neon) has seen him write biographical albums about John DeLorean and the Italian left-wing publisher Giangiacomo Feltrinelli . He has also fronted a co-production with the National Theatre Wales. The Insatiable, Inflatable Candylion featured music and lyrics by Gruff and the play’s text by Tim Price. Most recently, he released a song titled ‘I Love EU’ – a love letter to the ideals of the EU itself - in the run up to the Brexit referendum.

Listings Information:

Dates:              17th - 25th August 2018 (not 20th)

Show:              Gruff Rhys: Resist Phony Encores     

Venue:             Pleasance Beyond      

Address:          60 Pleasance, Edinburgh, EH8 9TJ     

Time:               11pm    (75 mins)

Price:               Weekdays: £21.50 (£19.50), Weekends: £23.50 (£21.50)                      

Box office:       www.pleasance.com / www.edfringe.com

Multi-instrumentalist, composer and producer Adam Gibbons (aka Lack of Afro) is back in some style with ‘Back To The Day’, a beautifully produced summer sizzler crammed full of infectious hooks, top musicianship and most importantly - vibe by the bucket load. Taking a nod from classic material by artists such as The Jackson 5, Earth Wind & Fire (and more recently Vulfpeck), ‘Back To The Day’ is Lack of Afro doing what he does best – blending old and new with big drums and heavy percussion to come up with a crossover classic that’s entirely his own, whilst all the while developing his abilities as a songwriter.

Providing a dynamite vocal is regular collaborator Elliott Cole. Not just the voice of the track, he also plays guitars and bass, whilst ably backed up by some stellar musicians including George Cooper (Haggis Horns) on keys, Rory Simmons (Blur, Jamie Cullum) on trumpet, string and horn arrangements and Harry Harding (Yola Carter) holding down the backbeat on drums.

Lack of Afro continues to go from strength to strength. 2016’s ‘Hello Baby’ (released on his own label LOA Records) picked up a BBC 6 Music ‘Album Of The Year’ nomination & appeared in the Top 10 of the iTunes R&B / Soul chart in 21 countries worldwide. More recently, Adam’s music continues to be used across all aspects of film & TV by networks such as ABC, Fox, NBC, Sony Pictures & the BBC whilst he also has released music on Universal & Warner Brothers Records.

Tour Dates:

6 May- Rock City, Nottingham

11 May- Bierkellar, Exeter

12 May- Camp & Furnace, Liverpool

18 May- The 100 Club, Oxford Street, LDN

19 May- The Bassment, Chelmsford

26 May- Band On The Wall, Manchester

31 May- The Parish, Huddersfield

1 June- Hoochie Coochie, Newcastle

9 June- Lemonfest, Newton Abbott

7 July- Mostly Jazz, Birmingham

15 July- Readipop Festival, Caversham

19 August- Sunrise Celebration Festival, Hereford