AN AWARD-WINNING singer from Newbridge who has been featured on the BBC is returning to her hometown to kick off a massive year of gigs.
Kaysha Louvain, whose debut album was featured on the A List on BBC Radio Wales, is returning home to Newbridge later this month for a homecoming gig with friends and family before embarking on a year that she has dubbed “wild”.
Ms Louvain, who has been performing since she was 10 years old, credits her varied musical upbringing with being the reason behind her love of a wide range of genres.
She said: “The best musical education you can get is soaking up all those records that came before, it's probably why I have such an array of records in my current vinyl collection – from Simple Minds to Shania Twain, Linkin Park to ABBA. I adore so many different genres, it's probably why I've never fit in.”
She is determined to kick off 2024 in style by performing a homecoming show at the Newbridge on Friday, January 19 with a setlist full of her favourite songs from across the decades.
She said: “I wanted to start the year off right with family, friends and fans in a place that I love, before it gets crazy with recording my second album.”
At sixteen, Ms Louvain left school and joined a band and began gigging. “I have really supportive parents and having been writing my own music for four years at this point, it was obvious that all I ever wanted to do, was perform on a stage.”
Despite being a musician, Ms Louvain is very open about the fact she is a 'homebird' and much prefers the valleys and countryside over cities, which she admits can be awkward as a touring musician.
This is why she is a massive champion of the Newbridge Memo, an incredible music venue in her hometown on the community’s doorstep, all without the expense of performing or attending a show in a city like Cardiff.
Eighteen months ago, Ms Louvain and her friends set up a company called TIWN Media that has been putting on top-quality affordable shows for the whole community, from local grassroots bands to worldwide touring tribute acts.
She said: “It's very important to me that people in small villages and town in Wales get access to music. The world can be a dark place, I've lived through depression, anxiety and alcoholism and one thing that has kept me sane is music.
“A part of why we set up TIWN Media was to make sure anyone can access a live show, children can learn to write songs and perform with our TIWN Academy and artists can be helped and guided through the music industry by people that have done that before.”
Ms Louvain and her team have big plans for 2024, including new festivals, performances and a new exciting project called ‘Artist on Artist’ which celebrates grassroots musicians in Wales, plus we will be going back into more schools this year for our TIWN Academy.
She added: “It’s going to be a really exciting year – the highlight of which will be our annual TIWNFEST event at the Newbridge Memo on May 25. I can’t wait to get this year going with my homecoming show at the Memo!”
If you would like to get tickets, click here.
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