FOCUS Wales is set to host a powerful cultural exchange between Wales and Aotearoa New Zealand, as three celebrated Māori recording artists take the stage at venues across Wrexham from 8–10 May.
The festival - which drew record crowds of over 20,000 in 2024 - will spotlight a unique musical bridge between two nations on journeys of language revitalisation.
The musicians from Aotearoa New Zealand will make connections with Welsh contemporaries and other artists from around the world where heritage languages are celebrated through music. The featured artists are MOHI, who blends Te Reo Māori storytelling with contemporary urban influences; Jordyn with a Why, known for her bilingual compositions that bridge traditional and modern sounds; and MĀ, with a distinctly Indigenous blend of abstract down-tempo rap, D.I.Y neo-soul and lush ambient music. Each will perform two sets throughout the three-day festival supported by band members and will represent Aotearoa New Zealand for a panel discussion exploring music as a platform for expressing language and culture.
The collaboration began as Prosiect Pūtahitanga, a Cardiff University research project, exploring points of connection between popular music artists who use minority or indigenous languages in Cymru and Aotearoa. This work laid the foundation for the Māori-Cymraeg SongHub project, which took Welsh musicians including Georgia Ruth, Cat Southall, and Carwyn Ellis to Aotearoa New Zealand to collaborate with Māori artists. Supported by the British Council in New Zealand and the Pacific, and hosted by APRA AMCOS NZ, the project aimed to connect artists from both countries and advance the understanding and usage of both languages.
Ruth Cocks, Director, British Council Wales, said:
"The shared journey of revitalising Cymraeg and Te Reo Māori through music is a powerful reminder of how language and culture can thrive through creativity. Events like FOCUS Wales break down borders—geographical and cultural—allowing artists to connect, collaborate, and inspire one another. We're honoured to welcome these remarkable musicians to Wrexham and proud to support the connections they’ll make, not just between Wales and Aotearoa New Zealand, but across the global creative community."
FOCUS Wales will showcase more than 250 artists across 20 stages throughout the city, complemented by interactive industry panels, networking events, and film screenings.
The visiting artists will perform at GlyndwrTV on Thursday, 8 May, with Jordyn with a Why, MOHI, and MĀ each delivering 20-minute sets. On Saturday, 10 May, all three artists will perform longer 30-minute sets at Hope Street Church.
A highlight of the collaboration will be Saturday's FOCUS Panel discussion, Prosiect Pūtahitanga, Cardiff University Presents: Reflections on Music and Language in Cymru and Aotearoa, exploring topics including musical trends in non-English language music, questions of cultural authenticity, tensions around genre and language, and how language can transcend genre barriers.
The Aotearoa: New Zealand Networking Reception, hosted by Cardiff University at Hope Street Church on Saturday evening, will provide further opportunities for cultural exchange and professional connections.
Andy Jones, co-founder and music programmer for the FOCUS Wales showcase festival said: "Hosting these talented Māori artists at our festival is at the heart of what FOCUS Wales stands for—creating meaningful connections across borders through music. The Welsh and Māori languages have had similar journeys, and it will be great to see a celebration of this heritage and connection. We're thrilled to provide a platform at Focus Wales where these cultural conversations can happen."
Dr Elen Ifan, Lecturer at the School of Welsh, Cardiff University, said: "This cultural exchange represents a unique opportunity to explore the points of connection between musical communities that use minority and indigenous languages in Wales and Aotearoa New Zealand. Music can be a powerful medium for cultural expression, and through initiatives like this we can better understand how language use in popular music intersects with a sense of community and language ownership across different cultural contexts. Prosiect Pūtahitanga is proud to be part of this collaboration and to host discussions that will deepen our understanding of language use in these contemporary contexts."
This cultural exchange is made possible through collaboration between the British Council in New Zealand and in Wales, APRA AMCOS, Creative New Zealand, New Zealand Music Commission | Te Reo Reka o Aotearoa, Prosiect Pūtahitanga (Cardiff University Research Project), Wales Arts International, Arts Council of Wales, and British High Commission Wellington.
To find out more about connections between Wales and Aotearoa New Zealand and the Maori/Cymraeg Songhubs project, you can tune into our new podcast series Breaking Boundaries. Natasha Beckman, Director British Council New Zealand and the Pacific speaks about the origins of the project with host and acclaimed Welsh musician Georgia Ruth. Georgia also reflects on her experience travelling to Aotearoa New Zealand to work with leading Māori artists and with acclaimed producer Greg Haver: Breaking Boundaries, Series Two, Episode one | Music across oceans.
Ends