Cardigan, you are one very lucky town!

This was the resounding message after last weekend's magnificent Other Voices festival when thousands of people descended on the town to embrace themselves in the vast selection of music and spoken word that was on offer.

Now in its fourth year, the festival offered one of the most inspirational line-ups of songs and stories featuring some truly world-class performances. 

What's more, this year's attendance figures were up 65 per cent on 2022.

"We attracted more visitors from further afield, alongside our local audiences as the word continues to spread about how great the festival is," commented Tamsin Davies, who is head of marketing and communications for Mwldan.

"Last year First Minister Mark Drakeford remarked that Cardigan ‘has culture at its soul’ and under the auspices of the Joint Shared Statement by the Irish and Welsh Governments, we continue building that cultural bridge between our two remarkable and unique countries. 

"Other Voices Cardigan is about celebrating the incredible diversity of music of our two nations, supporting and showcasing our talented artists, and encouraging provocative and passionate conversations about subjects that are close to both of our hearts."

Tamsin went on to say that the festival is also helping to nurture Cardigan's very rich musical and cultural history.

"One of our chief purposes is instilling an optimism and an inspiration for what can be possible for our small town in particular for our young people to have a future here," she continued.  

"We're now engaging with our audiences to listen to feedback based on their experience of the event, and we'll be publishing these responses in a few weeks. But we already know from immediate feedback that the town has embraced the event and has celebrated together as a community."

Last year's church performances were streamed to over 60 countries worldwide.