David Owens
David Owens connects Welsh music past and present, using features, reviews and playlists to spotlight artists, scenes and stories across Wales. He is features editor at Nation Cymru and focuses his journalism on music and wider culture. His work ranges from curated new-music playlists to long-form pieces on Welsh language music, live shows and the way songs and artists shape everyday life.
Discover the best new music from Wales
Owens runs a recurring playlist strand for Nation Cymru that brings new Welsh artists to the fore and treats discovery as an editorial project in its own right. In pieces such as “Discover your new favourite Welsh artists with the Nation Cymru playlist” and “Discover the best new music from Wales with the Nation Cymru playlist,” he curates tracks and acts rather than simply reporting on them. He frames these playlists against a heavy news agenda, writing that in 2024 and 2025 music has become an escapist pleasure for many, and positions the series as a way for readers to find relief and inspiration through new sounds. The playlists sit alongside the site’s stories as embedded listening experiences, underscoring his interest in making music coverage something readers can hear as well as read. Within these pieces he highlights emerging talent and “New Wave” artists from across Wales, giving space to acts that might otherwise struggle for visibility in mainstream music press. This curatorial work marks a distinct approach from routine gig listings or album round-ups, turning music journalism into a guided route through the country’s new releases.
John Peel and the future of Welsh language music
Owens’ feature “John Peel and the fight for the future of Welsh language music” shows how he uses history and narrative to deepen coverage of Welsh music. The article is described as both a history lesson and a love letter, tracing the rise of Welsh language music and the battles fought to secure its future. Rather than treating Welsh-language songs as a niche, he connects them to broader questions about identity, culture and how artists find platforms for their work. By centring figures such as John Peel and the artists he supported, Owens explores the relationship between broadcasters, bands and audiences, and how that relationship shapes which voices are heard. This long-form, contextual style stands out from standard reviews: he situates individual records and performers within decades of change, showing how past struggles inform the present-day Welsh music landscape. It illustrates a wider pattern in his work, where he treats music as part of a living cultural story rather than a standalone entertainment beat.
Live shows, venues and fan stories
Owens also covers live music and the ecosystem around it, including venues, promoters and fans. In his piece on Blackweir’s statement about The Cure show in Cardiff, he reports on how a major concert is experienced and managed locally, focusing on communication from organisers and the expectations of audiences.[anchor] He brings a similar eye for story to coverage of reinterpretations and performances, such as his article on a Welsh dance music duo reworking the iconic song “Sosban Fach,” which highlights how a traditional anthem is transformed for contemporary dance floors. His writing on a tribute to a Welsh rock legend named Phil again centres the emotional weight music carries for fans and fellow musicians. Owens has documented supporter culture around football as well, including stories like “Around the world in 14 days – Wales’ Euro adventure comes to an end,” which follows fans through a tournament journey and treats chants, flags and songs as part of the narrative. Features like “The story of the Welsh expats and the most famous Wales flag in America” show how symbols of support travel and acquire meaning far from home, connecting sporting allegiance to shared cultural touchpoints. Taken together, these pieces show he is drawn to the places where live events, music and fandom overlap, and that he often writes about how venues, performers and supporters shape one another’s experiences.
Wider culture around the music
Although music is a defining focus, Owens’ features portfolio at Nation Cymru extends into film, television, literature and news, and he approaches these subjects with the same emphasis on story and character. He has written about screen projects such as the darkly comic thriller “Wrong Move” and the comedy “Misguided,” asking whether new Welsh productions could follow the path of breakout shows like “Derry Girls.” In literature, he has highlighted new illustrated editions of one of Wales’ most beloved works, treating book publishing as part of the country’s cultural life rather than a separate industry topic. His bylines also include reporting on political and sports stories, such as investigations into election betting by a Conservative member of the Senedd and analysis of Swansea City’s winless streak under Michael Duff. Even in these pieces, he favours angles that focus on individuals and the mood around events, echoing his music writing’s concern with how audiences and communities respond. This breadth means that while he is rooted in music, he is also comfortable situating songs, artists and gigs within a wider tapestry of Welsh cultural and public life.
Across this work, Owens’ coverage is distinguished by its mix of curation, history and human stories. He does not only review records or list events; he builds playlists, revisits the origins of Welsh language music, follows fans through football tournaments and draws lines between creative work and the people who live with it. For anyone looking to understand or reach the Welsh music scene, his writing shows a sustained interest in new artists, live experiences and the cultural context that surrounds them.
4 more music journalists.
Abigail Kellett
Abigail Kellett is a news reporter at the Halifax Courier who stands out for visually led coverage that shows how culture, nightlife and local life play out on the ground. She documents gigs, festivals and major live shows at venues such as The Piece Hall through curated photo sets that capture atmosphere, crowd and setting as much as performers, and she uses extensive image galleries to tap reader nostalgia for nights out in Halifax town centre. Her beat spans arts, entertainment, going out, heritage, books and literary events, along with community life, people stories, local challenges, milestones, transport, regeneration, lifestyle and food. She reports through photographs, checklist-style features, reader-driven lists and roundups of most-read stories, turning announcements, programmes, author events, festivals, shop lists and everyday characters into stories about place, shared memory and how people spend their time.
Adam Lyon
Adam Lyon is a digital audience and content editor whose news beat sits at the intersection of Ayrshire’s cultural life, business environment and public affairs. He works for the Ayr Advertiser and as Digital Audience & Content Editor for Newsquest in the west of Scotland across multiple weekly titles. He covers Ayrshire news with a strong thread of music and local culture alongside business, courts and public affairs. He reports on music when it has a clear community or national hook, treating songs as news events rather than reviews. His business work explains how local firms and retail policy shape town centres. His court coverage uses round-ups of sheriff court cases to show patterns and outcomes. He also fronts video previews and is active in a football supporters trust community.
Adam Maidment
Adam Maidment is a senior What’s On and LGBTQ+ reporter whose work links big-name gigs, new venues and cultural flashpoints to everyday fan culture and inclusion. He covers music, nightlife and the wider cultural scene for the Manchester Evening News, focusing on how concerts, openings and immersive events land with real people and communities. His beat spans live music, arenas and stadiums, new restaurant and bar openings, food reviews, exhibitions, street art and nightlife infrastructure, with a particular focus on LGBTQ+ audiences and neighbourhoods. He reports on venue ambitions and problems, cultural institutions and equality issues, and franchise-led experiences, using straightforward, on-the-ground reporting and clear description. Drawing on a background in community reporting, he looks for underrepresented perspectives and uses social media, analytics and local sourcing to find stories where culture, identity and place meet.
Alison Brinkworth
Alison Brinkworth is a freelance journalist who treats music as a gateway into place, history and everyday life, often through exhibitions, performances and city-centre events. She covers music within the wider cultural and lifestyle scene, leaning toward accessible, on-the-ground stories framed by familiar artists, venues and local attractions. Her work often focuses on music exhibitions and attractions built around well-known performers, alongside theatre reviews, live events and city attractions. She brings a lifestyle, travel and human-interest sensibility, using interviews and personal stories to show how people spend their time. With over 25 years of experience across print, digital, social media and internal communications, she writes clear, factual, audience-facing articles with dates, locations and organisers, suited to listings, guides and practical recommendations.