People’s Show Choir line-up alongside Goldie Lookin Chain at Newport Music Trail
Welsh members of The People’s Show Choir(TPSC) are thrilled to become a ground-breaking act in this year’s Newport Music Trail.
They have become the first community choir asked to take part in the major event and will feature in a festival line-up that includes Goldie Lookin Chain, Melin Melyn and Georgia Ruth.
TPSC groups for both Cardiff and Newport are joining forces to sing in Newport Music Trail in March. They are busy with rehearsals, making sure they are on song for the big festival, which runs over two days on Friday March 27 and Saturday March 28 this year.
Newport Music Trail is a free event that replicates a festival experience in the Welsh city. It showcases local and Welsh musical talent, so is an ideal platform for The People’s Show Choir.
In collaboration with FOCUS Wales, this year’s vibrant music festival has attracted Welsh hip hop stars Goldie Lookin Chain(GLC), who had Top 40 chart successes with tracks from Guns Don’t Kill People, Rappers Do to Half Man Half Machine. The world famous group, which toured with The Darkness, heralds from Newport and even named their 2005 album Straight Outta Newport.
Jo Leighton, Choir Leader for both TPSC Cardiff and Newport, was finding it hard to contain her excitement at the honour.
Flyers promoting the music festival are now circulating online and it’s an exhilarating start to the year for Jo and her singers, to see The People’s Show Choir listed on the same promotions as Goldie Lookin Chain and other household names.
“It’s only the second year that Newport Music Trail has run and we are the first ever choir to be asked to sing at it, which is really exciting,” said Jo.
“We will be performing alongside a Welsh harpist for our session on March 27.”
Singers are hoping that many visitors will stop to listen to their voices during the popular trail. It will provide an important stage for TPSC to spread the word to a wider audience and potentially attract new members to the fold, in both Wales and England.
There are now 45 members of TPSC Newport and just over 30 at the relatively new TPSC Cardiff, which launched last year. Jo has been helping them both to continue growing as the conductor and leader of both.
“They are both really welcoming communities,” said Jo. “I’m so proud of the choirs and how they are growing.”
They both meet once a week during term times to chat, sing and prepare for community concerts and are always looking for new members to swell their ranks.
TPSC Cardiff meets on Tuesdays from 7.30pm to 9pm at Bethel Baptist Church Hall in Penlline Road, Whitchurch in Cardiff,
While TPSC Newport comes together at Stow Park Community Centre in Brynhyfryd Road, Newport, on Wednesdays from 7.45pm to 9.15pm.
Newport Music Trail line-up
During Newport Music Trail, venues dotted across the city centre will host music acts, including at Corn Exchange, Le Pub, The Riverfront, St Woolos Cathedral, The Circle, The Cab and McCanns.
Alongside headliners Goldie Lookin Chain, are Melin Melyn, Georgia Ruth, Gwenno, HMS Morris, Afro Cluster, Yaang, Ynys, Source, TWST, Mari Mathias and Lady Leshurr.
Georgia Ruth is a folk-influenced musician from Aberystwyth who has collaborated with Manic Street Preachers. Her debut album Week of Pines won her the Welsh Music Prize in 2013 and she has since gone on to be nominated twice in the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards.
The first addition of a community choir by Trail bosses is a welcome move to showcase even more types of music to crowds of all ages.
In 2025, Newport Music Trail saw 90 acts perform at 25 venues providing 36 hours of live music. It drew in an extra 13,000 visitors and the hope is for this year’s event to even bigger and more eclectic to increase footfall further.
Other artists in the full line-up are: Bad Sam, Bruna Garcia, Charlie J, Critter Cabal, DJ 10sion, DJ Matt Kirkie, DJ Shai, GeneralWaste, Half Happy, Lost Societies Die, Manlike Vision, Matt Le Vi, Mental Pressure, Miss Faithee, Moonlight Crisis, Mugshot, Murder Club, Nancy Williams, OGUN, OPEN MIC CYPHER, PARCS, Proprioception, Pyrogaric, Shell, Sold For Partz, Starvz, State Sanctioned Violence, The Dogs, The Nanaz, The Oldfield Brothers, The Oppressed, The People’s Show Choir, The Serene Scene, Truth, XEMPA, ZACTHELOCUST.
For more information on the free Newport Music Trail, visit the website here or its Facebook page.
Anyone interested in trying out two free taster sessions with The People’s Show Choir should see more on the TPSC website here. There are no auditions for this choir as it is aimed at creating a fun, welcoming community that can sing and socialise together.
