Tonight marks the reopening of The Muni Arts Centre as a music venue. The Venue has not hosted a gig for two years (the last being The Blackout in 2014 which also featured Peasants King and The People The Poet). What was once run by the council is now run by volunteers. To kickstart tonight the Mayor of Pontypridd, Jayne Brencher, gives a speech about how tonight was developed and thanks all those involved.
After a wonderful speech it is onto the music. First band of the night is five-piece Peasants King. Vocals are absolutely amazing (something a lot of attendees noted). The added tambourine and drum gives an upbeat vibe to their music. There was such a mix of emotions were had during their set, with classics such as Antidote and Newby Waterfall, both new and old fans will appreciate.
The People The Poet are up next. Infamous for their humour as well as their talent, The People The Poet do not disappoint. Fresh from their appearance at SXSW, the band are not short on the Pontypridd and Lido jokes. With a set that includes both new (Happy being miserable, and Club 27) and old (Heart of a Lion and Being Human) songs, it was a crowd pleaser set. The crowd really came to life during the final song. The room is literally rocking.
Now it is onto headliners, Climbing Trees. Opening with Ceaser the crowd are hooked. They are more chilled out than the previous two bands but that does not stop the crowd dancing along. The vocals are outstanding from both and the newly released song, “Tracks”, proves to be a popular choice. The night ends with the whole crowd singing and moving along to “Burning Candle”, suggesting that these already have a large following and were a good choice to headline tonight’s event.
Despite the event being 18 plus, it was sold out and a wonderful night was had. People drank, they danced, they sang and bottom line is they had fun. The only downfall was the time it took the older crowd to get into the music. However, it is a well-planned, put together event and it is nice to see The Muni putting music events on again. Well done to everyone involved.