Welsh acts prepare to rock at Glastonbury 2023

The sounds of Wales are set to play their part at Glastonbury as Welsh artists gear up to rock the famous festival this weekend.

Twenty Welsh acts feature in the festival's 2023 line-up, including Manic Street Preachers, and Welsh language acts Gwenno, Ani Glass and Adwaith.

Adwaith's Gwenllian Anthony said they are "overwhelmed but excited" to play for the second time.

Music journalist Huw Stephens said the 38th Glastonbury festival would showcase the "strength of the music scene in Wales".

Post-punk Carmarthen band Adwaith will return to the festival just one year on from playing on the BBC Music Introducing Stage.

Bassist Gwenllian said being invited back felt "bonkers", and when she heard the news she went "a bit crazy in the shop" where she was collecting new guitars.

"I just felt like such a rockstar," she said.

"We didn't expect it - it's not often that bands play two years in a row.

"It's really nice to see so many Welsh artists, especially because Welsh artists often get overlooked by big festivals," she said.

"Hopefully, we'll just get to see more and more every year."

Cardiff-based electronic pop artist Ani Glass - real name Ani Saunders - sings in her native languages of Welsh and Cornish, as does her sister, Mercury Prize-nominated Gwenno, who will also play the festival this year.

She said there have been plenty of nerves in the build-up to the festival.

"I've been practising so much because I've had a lot of gigs recently," she said.

Glass, who will be playing The Toad Hall Stage at 17:15 BST on Sunday, said it was nice to see the names of fellow Welsh musicians "you've seen along the way" on the festival's line-up posters.

She is also pleased to be playing in the off-grid and solar-powered performance area.

"It's a sort of original ethos of the Glastonbury festival," she said.

"It's nice to have representation of the environmental aspect of festival-going because it can be quite heavy on the environment. "

Glass said she is happy to be playing on the same day as her sister and hopes they can catch each other's sets.

Meanwhile, Manic Street Preachers will make their sixth Glastonbury appearance this year.

The rock band will play The Other Stage on Saturday at 18:45 BST.

Huw Stephens, who will be broadcasting from the festival for BBC iPlayer and on BBC6 Music, said: "It's brilliant there's so many Welsh artists on the bill, on all the various stages.

"It's a really eclectic line up every year at Glastonbury, and seeing all those various Welsh artists on there... it's really brilliant to see."

Stephens said playing at Glastonbury can be "life changing" and a "once in a lifetime thing" for artists.

"People dream about going to Glastonbury, but playing Glastonbury is a real achievement and exciting moment," he said.

"They'll remember it forever."