AWARD-Winning Welsh chamberfolk trio VRi come to Dorset in December for two concerts with with Artsreach, on Friday 15th at Litton Cheney community hall and on Saturday 16th at Corfe Castle village hall, both at 7.30pm.

Winners of Best Album at the 2023 Wales Folk Awards, VRï have been praised for making a “formidable artistic and cultural statement” (Folk Radio UK) and a “primal roar of Welshness” (Songlines).

Jordan Price Williams (cello, voice), Aneirin Jones (violin, voice) and Patrick Rimes (viola, violin, voice) are three young men from deepest chapel-going Wales, who have mined the cultural upheaval of past centuries and drawn inspiration from the incredible story of a time when Wales’ traditional music and dance was suppressed by Methodist chapels, and its language by the Act of Union.

Three-part harmonies, stunning fiddle and the unusual addition of cello help ;to make this trio’s unique sound. Since forming in 2016, VRi have been pumping out their foot-stomping dance tunes while maintaining the poise and elegance of a string ensemble. Seizing the remaining strands of subsumed tradition and music, VRï blends them into a joyous celebration of Welsh identity and a contemporary rediscovery of lost traditions.

The trio’s 2019 debut album Ty Ein Tadau (House of Our Fathers) received a five-star review in Songlines magazine and numerous awards nominations. The second album, Islais a genir (A Sung Whisper), was named Best Album this year.