Sian James

Siân is the most celebrated and modern of traditional singers in Wales. Siân has toured extensively for many years, playing concerts in countries as far as Japan and the US as well as all over Europe. Last year, she took part in an extensive theatre tour of Holland with the renowned Irish folk band Dervish.
As well as performing with a full band, Siân also regularly performs alone with harp and piano or as a trio, adding various combinations of fiddle, pipes, keys, guitar and percussion.
Sian's performances are truly honest and from the heart; she has an unequalled ability to convey every possible sentiment contained within a song. She can do with music what a great actor does with a good script. There is no pretense in her delivery, no pandering or need to impress, only skilled and imaginative performances. Sian has never artificially attempted to create fusions of her genre with other fashionable traditions; rather she naturally and unwittingly blends her native traditions with her broader musical influences. These range from Nina Simone to Christy Moore to the traditional musical genius of Dr. Meredydd Evans.

"Music has always been an inextricable part of my life. I was surrounded by music from a very early age and soon began learning the piano, violin and harp. I began composing and creating my own arrangements of traditional songs, and discovered that improvising and creating at the piano and harp brought me enormous enjoyment.
My love of traditional music has now become an integral part of my very being and even though I have a great love of all kinds of music, traditional songs have become a wondrous force from which I cannot escape. The songs and music of my country are my haven from the bedlam of life!”