fusing Welsh lyrics with Latin-American rhythms to create vibrant, genre-defying music.
If you'd like to be the first to know when new events are announced, you can follow Carwyn Ellis & Rio 18 below.
Carwyn Ellis & Rio 18 emerged in 2019 as a vibrant collaborative project between Welsh multi-instrumentalist Carwyn Ellis known for leading Colorama and touring with The Pretenders and a collective of talented musicians from Brazil, Wales, the USA, Venezuela and beyond. Their debut album, Joia! (2019), sung in Welsh and recorded partly in Rio de Janeiro with acclaimed producer Kassin, melded bossa-nova, samba, cumbia and Brazilian pop with a distinctly Welsh poeticism, earning a Welsh Music Prize nomination and inspiring a documentary that won “Best Welsh-language Short Film” at the Wales International Documentary Festival.
Ellis and Rio 18 continued to expand their musical horizons across three more albums. Mas (2021) fused Welsh-language lyrics with Latin-American flavours like tropicalismo and samba to explore themes such as climate change and migration through joyous, uplifting songs. Later that year, Yn Rio (2021) recorded remotely during lockdown and performed with the BBC National Orchestra of Wales offered a cinematic love letter to Rio, blending orchestral arrangements with global rhythms and Welsh storytelling. They followed this with Radio Chévere in 2024 and Fontana Rosa in 2025 the latter recorded at the legendary Toerag Studios continually redefining their hybrid of Latin, disco, Chicano Soul and Nuyorican pop with radiant warmth and infectious creativity.
Ticket prices may vary depending on venue and location. Full pricing details are available on each individual event page.
To stay up to date with new announcements and additional dates, sign up to the Gigantic newsletter or follow us on social media: Facebook X Instagram
