From Bathing Suits to Martial Arts, these were NME’s top shows from Sŵn Festival 2026

Last week (October 15-17), Sŵn Festival took over the venues of Cardiff, bringing with it some of the buzziest and most interesting artists across the UK and Ireland with it.

For nearly 20 years, the multi-venue event has been shining a light on artists about to break through, helping to build the momentum around them as they aim for the next level.

With acts like Disclosure , Wolf Alice , The Last Dinner Party , Black Country, New Road and more as some of the event’s success stories, it’s long proved itself as a place to go to see the next big thing.

This year’s edition was no different – here are the best shows NME managed to catch at this year’s bash.

Bathing Suits Bathing Suits live at Sŵn Festival.

Credit: Siwan Jackson “If you’ve got strobes, can you use them for this song?” Freyja Blevins politely asked Clwb Ifor Bach’s lighting tech early in Bathing Suits ’ set – a request that elevated their second performance of the festival from great to unreal.

The Leeds band have quickly cemented a reputation as a thrilling live act – put them in the right setting and they’re on another level entirely.

With said strobes going off in the background, Blevins became a striking silhouette on stage, each twitch and jerk to ‘I Can Be A Freak’ and ‘Empathy’ turned into something far more dramatic.

READ MORE: Bathing Suits are bringing deranged noise-punk to the dancefloor Dermot Henry Dermot Henry live at Sŵn Festival.

Credit: Charlie Barclay Harris As he switched between playing with a full band and sitting down at a keyboard on his own, Wiltshire singer-songwriter Dermot Henry conjured spectres of other artists during his Clwb Ifor Bach set – a glimmer of Bright Eyes here, a holler of Cameron Winter there, a croon of Dove Ellis thrown in for good measure.

Despite that, Henry’s alt-folk odes didn’t stray into pastiche or parody – they remained fresh and something you want to immerse yourself in.

All bodes well for his debut album, ‘Bad Throw, Good Catch’, out next year.

Esmeralda Road Esmeralda Road live at Sŵn Festival.

Credit: Charlie Barclay Harris Under the bright strip lights of a pub’s top room might not be the most atmospheric way to watch a new band, but Esmeralda Road didn’t let that faze them.