SONGLINES, the magazine that celebrates folk and indigenous music around the world, described the Welsh folk band VRi as making “a primal roar of Welshness” – celebrating the music and language of their homeland, the trio are coming to Dorset for a short tour with Artsreach, starting at Corfe Castle village hall on Friday 11th October, at Litton Cheney Community Hall on Saturday 12th and Sandford Orcas village hall on Sunday 13th, all at 7.30pm.

Winners of Best Album at the Wales Folk Awards 2023, VRï are Jordan Price Williams (cello, voice), Aneirin Jones (violin, voice) and Patrick Rimes (viola, violin, voice). These three young men from deepest chapel-going Wales have mined the cultural upheaval of past centuries and drawn inspiration from the incredible story of a time when Wales’s traditional music and dance were suppressed by Methodist chapels, and, earlier, its language by the Act of Union.

Three-part harmonies, stunning fiddle and the unusual addition of cello together create VRï’s unique sound. Since forming in 2016, the trio have been pumping out their native foot-stomping dance tunes while maintaining the poise and elegance of a string ensemble. Seizing the remaining strands of subsumed tradition and music, VRï blends them into a joyous celebration of Welsh identity and a contemporary rediscovery of lost traditions.

Photograph by Jennie Caldwell