GRUFF RHYS

YAWN DYLYFU FEST is back!

Yawn returns to the FY Garden once again on Sat 9th August with a suitably Welsh flair to proceedings as Gruff Rhys headlines. Beginning in 2023, Yawn fest was born as a way to celebrate the music emerging in-and-around Bill Ryder Jones’ Yawn Studios in West Kirby. Bill headlined the first two years, but as he’s now enjoying a welcome break after a roaringly successful 2024, Gruff is back in Birkenhead to take the reigns.

Headlining the first ever summer festival at Future Yard in 2021 and coming off the back of a nationwide co-headline tour with Bill Ryder-Jones last year, Gruff Rhys is a name that will need no introduction to any Yawn fans new and old, and the tenured psych-rock explorer is all set to top a bill solidifying the long-standing sonic relations between the Wirral and Wales.

Joining Gruff on the day will be British Birds, Pys Melyn, Gintis, Georgia Ruth, Zara Smile + Trial Tapes.

Tickets on sale now.

Future Yard presents
Gruff Rhys | Dylyfu Fest
+ British Birds
+ Pys Melyn
+ Gintis
+ Georgia Ruth
+ Zara Smile
+ Trial Tapes
Saturday 9th August 2025
2pm doors
75 Argyle Street
Tickets £25 advance (+ booking fee)

Tickets available online in advance or in person at the Future Yard Box Office.
Future Yard is a cashless venue – all payments are taken by contactless or chip and pin. Live curfew 11pm.
If you have any specific access requests, please read all of the details about accessibility at Future Yard here.

Hatched in 2023 via tape loops and cheap nylon stringed guitars, Chorley-based British Birds soar from the depths of psych-tinged melancholy to the heights of disco-doused dystopia and back. From within the precariously soundproofed walls of their inconspicuous makeshift arthouse they meticulously craft their sound; dedicating themselves to the whole craft from recording, producing and releasing their records, to screenprinting their merch.

Ellie’s grab-you-and-don’t-let-you-go basslines, Mikey’s thumping drums which cut like Keith Moon’s poltergeist and Emma’s earwormy synth and sweet n shriek harmonies bolster frontman Bobby’s cathartic vocals and staunchly stylistic guitar which jangles like Harrison’s inner demon. The four-piece have impressed fans around the country and beyond during tour support slots for The Lovely Eggs, Pale Blue Eyes and The Bug Club and their 3 live sessions for BBC 6 Music’s Marc Riley.

Trial Tapes is the synth-washed indie rock moniker of Liverpool-based songwriter and producer Jack McNally, born during a weird, reflective stretch between 2022–24 when he found himself back home, out of the closet, and starting from scratch.

What began as a cathartic experiment in self-affirmation quickly morphed into a daily, obsessive ritual. Over the course of nearly three years, McNally wrote, recorded, and shaped what would become the first Trial Tapes releases. Trial Tapes blends warped guitars, motorik drums, and lush analogue synths with queerly-candid lyrics resulting in a sound that’s scuzzy, strangely romantic and rooted in a world of its
own.

After a long stretch behind closed doors, Trial Tapes has now expanded into a five-piece band set to make their live debut.

Queers to the front!

Reawoken in 2022 with their return album ‘Hope Is All We Are‘, the sleeping giant of North Walian wonky psych pop is well and truly back and better than ever.

While abstract tales of museum exhibits and opportunist mystics provide listeners the opportunity to unpick tantalisingly oblique lyrics, Gintis’s melodies will buoy the heaviest of hearts. The songs on Hope Is All We Have are stars in a constellation of heartbreak, unbreakable bonds and unabashed romance. It’s smelling salts for the soul.

Using folk influences to create a truly unique sound, Georgia Ruth‘s debut album Week of Pines won the Welsh Music Prize in 2013 and was nominated for two BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards. Georgia collaborated with Manic Street Preachers before going on to release two more critically acclaimed albums (Fossil Scale / Mai) and two EPs (Mai: 2 / Kingfisher).

2024 saw the release of Georgia’s fourth studio album – Cool Head. Recorded in Sain studios, near Caernarfon, the album features contributions by Iwan Huws (Cowbois Rhos Botwnnog), Stephen Black (Sweet Baboo), Gwion Llewelyn (Aldous Harding, Villagers) and Rhodri Brooks (Melin Melyn, Gruff Rhys, Novo Amor). With Gorky’s Zygotic Mynci stalwart Euros Childs adding his unmistakable vocals to a couple of songs, it’s is a truly Welsh affair.

Zara Smile is a queer alternative folk artist based in Liverpool known for their unique blend of raw lyricism and genre-defying soundscapes. Drawing inspiration from the experimental instrumentation of Black Country, New Road, the emotionally charged energy of 2000s emo, and the delicate storytelling of Lizzy McAlpine, Zara creates music that feels both nostalgic and fresh. Weaving together stories of love, identity, and self-discovery, their lyrics are an open diary, inviting listeners into a world where honesty reigns supreme. Zara’s music resonates with a raw emotional depth that has quickly garnered a dedicated following. With a sound that is both familiar and refreshingly new, Zara Smile is a rising voice in the alternative folk scene—one that refuses to be confined by genre or expectation.