Calling all unsigned singer/songwriters...there's a main stage spot up for grabs for the winner of the 2009 Pontardawe Festival Singer/Songwriter Competition.

Entry forms are available now from the Festival Office or you can download the entry form here.

It costs £5 to enter and we will need a sample of your work on CD, MP3 or via a weblink (YouTube, MySpace, website etc.).

Successful applicants will be invited to take part in heats in the week beginning May 25th.

Eight finalists will be chosen to take part in the Grand Final at Pontardawe Arts Centre on Friday June 12th.

The winner will be chosen by a panel of judges who will make their decision based on lyrical and musical content, performance and presentation. There will also be an audience vote and this will be added to those of the judges.

Tonight's February festival fundraiser promises to be a treat indeed.

8PM @ PONTARDAWE FC, CHURCH STREET, PONTARDAWE. £5 ON THE DOOR

NO OBLIGATION's innovative approach needs no introduction to festival regulars and frontwoman Alex Taylor is a firm favourite. Tonight's acoustic set will feature new music written by the band for the occasion. So join us and keep up to speed with one of our most promising local outfits.

NO are supported by two more frequent festival flyers, PERSONA B and MOONGAZER.

Missing the Mari Lwyd? Suffering Wassail withdrawal? Or new to Welsh traditions and want to give them a try?

Trac is offering two one-day workshops for singers (of all abilities) to learn Welsh May Carols and their May Day traditions.
28 February: Arad Goch Centre, Bath Street, Aberystwyth - held in partnership with Cwmni Arad Goch celebrating their 20th Anniversary
4 April: St Fagan' National History Museum, Cardiff - held as part of the National Museum's focus on Music throughout 2009

May Day and May Day Eve were traditionally the 'second' season for wassailing around the parish, and came complete with their own repertoire of purpose-built songs and dances. With the dance tradition being revived - notably in Mold's Cadi Ha celebration -Trac turns its sights on the accompanying songs.

There's a glittering array of talent waiting in the wings at this year's Pontardawe Festival

Yes, friends, the news is out:
BUSINESS AS USUAL AT PONTY – STAR NAMES IN ’09 LINE-UP 20-23 AUGUST 2009

The iconic Welsh band
MAN
lead the way, opening the festival a day earlier than usual on Thursday August 20, supported by two emerging local rock bands
BAMBI KILLERS and THE LAST REPUBLIC

Other Welsh stars on show over festival weekend include
MARTYN JOSEPH
CALAN
DELYTH JENKINS

Also lined up to appear are Scotland’s
RORY McLEOD
ex-Fairport Convention
ASHLEY HUTCHINGS/RAINBOW CHASERS and
VIN GARBUTT from Teeside and
West Country singer/songwriter AMY NEWTON

The international flavour comes from ZIMBABWE courtesy of the acclaimed mambo band
HARARE
Americans DULCI and
reggae maestros
EDWARD II

Tickets will go on sale shortly. So watch this space for news of some great Early Bird offers.

Pontardawe Festival is delighted to announce that Jim Fox has been appointed as the festival's new Artistic Director.

Jim has been a regular at the festival for many years, both as a performer and as an MC. Now he will bring his immense experience to bear backstage as well as on it.

Jim takes over from Ruth Exell Stevenson who announced her retirement at the end of this year's festival after 30 years as a member of the committee, mostof them as AD. Ruth was one of the founder members of the festival back in 1978. She is the last of the 'originals' and will be sorely missed.

It is with much sadness that we have to announce that Gordon Williams has passed away after a long illness that he bore with great courage and considerable perseverance.

Gordon was our electrical guru in the very early days of the festival. Employed by SWALEC he looked after everything for us purely as a volunteer. It was quite a chastening experience in fact to find that after he retired from SWALEC that there were lots of bits and pieces that we thought we owned but didn’t!

Gordon was made a Vice-President of Festival, and it was an honour of which he was very proud. In fact, at this year’s Festival he was too ill to join us, but Gordon insisted that his son Steve, who used to run the Craft Market, took his armband to him in hospital. He also took the time to send us a much appreciated donation to festival funds.

Gordon was such a thoroughly nice bloke and Pontardawe Festival has lost a great friend. Our thoughts go to his family and those who loved him; their loss is very great.

Now that the dust (mud) has settled on our weekend celebrations, it is time to say goodbye to two stalkwarts of the festival.

Ruth Exell Stevenson has decided to hang up her bodhran and Emyr Morris has logged off.

If it was not for their dedication to the festival, and their determination to ensure that it succeeds, there would no longer be a Pontardawe Festival. So we are going to miss them very much.

We wish them both well in the future and look forward to welcoming them back as treasured guests in the future. Their successors have a lot to live up to.

A team from the South Wales Probation Trust has been brought in to help with the organisation of this year's festival.

The young offenders are working hard to help put the site together for this weekend, and will be doing valuable work over the weekend, helping us to keep the site clean and tidy.

Gwyl Pontardawe Festival is delighted to announce that it has received significant financial sponsorship from one of Wales’ premier environmental companies for this year’s event.

The legendary Welsh singer/songwriter Meic Stevenshas become the latest addition to this year's star-studded line-up

Meic fills the Sunday slot vacated by Ar Log, who have pulled out for personal reasons. And whilst we are sorry that the boys who played our first ever festival cannot now make the reunion, we're delighted to have an equally iconic substitute!