Music Lessons is a book about the cathartic power of music. For award-winning author and composer Stephen Johnson, there have been moments when music has confronted him with life-changing insights.

Three leading poets – Samantha Wynne Rhydderch, Michèle Roberts and Mari Ellis Dunning – will read from their most recent work in what promises to be a lively and enjoyable event.

Dr Sioned Davies introduces us to Lady Charlotte Guest, one of the most formidable women of the 19th century.

In the Cut (2003) is a taut psychological thriller starring Meg Ryan, Mark Ruffalo, Jennifer Jason Leigh and Kevin Bacon. Adapted by Campion from Susanna Moore’s novel, the film focuses on an introvert New York English professor who becomes personally entangled with a detective investigating a series of gruesome murders in her Manhattan neighbourhood.

Classified 18 (suitable only for those aged 18 and over)

Composer, educator and Festival Vice-President Thomas Hyde leads an engaging panel discussion with composers Cheryl Frances-Hoad, Electra Perivolaris, Lynne Plowman, Claire Victoria Roberts and Mathilde Wantenaar. They talk about their new violin and piano works – musical responses to Prokofiev’s charming Five Melodies, originally imagined as soprano vocalises and later reworked for violin and piano by the composer himself.

The Piano (1993) is a historical romance starring Holly Hunter, Harvey Keitel and Sam Neill with Anna Paquin in her first major role. The film tells the story of a mute Scottish woman who travels with her young daughter to a remote part of New Zealand after an arranged marriage to a settler. While the story echoes Jane Mander’s 1920 novel The Story of a New Zealand River, Jane Campion has also cited Wuthering Heights and The African Queen among the film’s inspirations.

It features a memorable soundtrack by composer Michael Nyman.

Classified 15 (suitable for those aged 15 and over)

Bright Star (2009) is a biographical romantic drama, based on the last three years of the life of poet John Keats (Ben Whishaw) and his romantic relationship with Fanny Brawne (Abbie Cornish). Jane Campion’s screenplay was inspired by the 1997 biography of Keats by Andrew Motion, who served as a script consultant on the film.

Classified PG (suitable for any age, but parental guidance is advised).

Carwyn Graves’ book, Tir, has been called a ‘love letter to the Welsh countryside’ and is a unique exploration of the deep connections between Welsh culture, language and landscape.

2026 Festival composer-in-residence Michael Zev Gordon discusses his life, career and music with conductor, singer and composer George Parris.

An unforgettable session of humour, history and hwyl (Welsh for 'fun' but also, curiously, for 'sail') where we will range through the centuries exploring the only former Roman colony to keep its own language, the tragic fate of the lost letter K, discover which English king was really called Harri ab Edmwnt ab Owain and how a lovebite changed the world.

Award-winning writer and broadcaster Myfanwy Alexander has just published her seventh novel. She won a Sony Radio Comedy Award for the long-running Radio Wales series 'The LL Files,' adapted her own novel 'Bloody Eisteddfod' into the first ever co-production between BBC Radio 4 and Radio Cymru and is half of the Wales team on Radio 4's 'Round Britain Quiz.'

Mike Sardina is a Vietnam veteran and mechanic performing covers on stages across 1980s Midwest America, dreaming of something big. He meets Claire Cartwright, a hairdresser and fellow covers performer with similar ambitions. While neither is a songwriter, they both revel in entertaining audiences, and form Lightning and Thunder, a Neil Diamond tribute experience.

The Velvet Violin returns with a relaxed, cabaret style evening with Whiskey Moon Face as well as Little Rumba, rather than just a picture of them on the website (sorry about that) and of course the legendary Velvet Violin Quiz.

Calling all local musicians and those who like to support them. Come and join us for an open mic night at Presteigne Assembly Rooms. All welcome to perform in a relaxed and supportive atmosphere – first come, first served.

Folk memory, legends, place names, the landscape around us -- all are whispered histories of our distant, deep past, not of our ancestors from one time alone but of all who have lived and left traces in history´s river, filling the time and space between their time and land and Radnorshire today.   Silver from distant Suns is a programme of music and poetry that give voice to those ancient people -- today's folk legends -- and their times.

Described as “one of Wales’s leading composers” by Wales Arts Review, Claire Victoria Roberts is a vocalist, violinist and composer taking traditional Welsh song in a new direction.
In collaboration with virtuosic strings, she performs folk songs and traditional music from both Wales and Argentina (where, in Patagonia, there is a Welsh- speaking community.)

Oliver Bullough is an award-winning author and journalist who writes about financial crime. His latest book, Everybody Loves Our Dollars, tells the story of the world's efforts to stop money laundering, and the reason why they've failed.

A comedy-drama directed by Bradley Cooper and loosely based on the life of the British comedian, John Bishop. The film follows a middle-aged couple in New York whose twenty-year marriage is ending. Alex (Will Arnett) faces middle age and impending divorce by seeking purpose in the New York comedy scene while his wife, Tess (Laura Dern) confronts the sacrifices she has made for family. 

Join BBC Radio 2 Young Folk Award winner Maddie Morris, described by Jim Moray as “leading the next generation of socially conscious songwriters” on their autumn tour for an intimate and thought-provoking live experience.

As the year tilts toward winter and the clocks go back, join award-winning author/storyteller Daniel Morden for an afternoon steeped in folklore. Hear tales gathered from misty hills, moonlit crossroads, and the timeless storytelling traditions of these islands.

Described by KLOF Magazine as “one of the most exciting and accomplished English folk acts on the scene right now”, this outstanding trio can hold audiences in the palm of their hand. The trio have been heralded for their lively performances and skilled delivery of traditional material, playing with verve, energy and their own inimitable style.

Still Life is a meditation in memoir and poetry contemplating the many aspects of loss which come when we love others.

Mid Wales Opera presents a full evening of Italian opera, opening with Puccini’s brilliant, one-act comedy Gianni Schicchi. Brimming with energy and including one of Puccini’s best-loved arias “O mio babbino caro” this jewel of a piece is followed by a second half feast of popular Italian music presented by MWO’s 15-strong company of singers and musicians.

Mae Opera Canolbarth Cymru yn cyflwyno noson lawn o opera Eidalaidd, gan agor gyda chomedi un act wych Puccini Gianni Schicchi. Yn orlawn o egni ac yn cynnwys un o ariâu mwyaf poblogaidd Puccini “O mio babbino caro”, dilynir y perl hwn o ddarn gan wledd yn yr ail hanner o gerddoriaeth Eidalaidd boblogaidd a gyflwynir gan griw o 15 o gantorion ac offerynnwyr OCC.

Janice Burns & Jon Doran are an award-winning Anglo-Scottish duo who came together after discovering a shared love of traditional music. Their songs tell vivid stories about the nature of life and our place in the world. Janice & Jon’s ‘clever and uncluttered musical storytelling’ (Songlines) comes alive through tight vocal harmonies and sensitive interplay between mandolin, bouzouki and guitar.

Animal-lover Mabel seizes an opportunity to use a new technology to “hop” her consciousness into a lifelike robotic beaver and communicate directly with animals. As she uncovers mysteries in the animal world beyond anything she could have imagined, Mabel must rally the entire animal kingdom to face a major imminent human-threat.

As the wheel of the year turns towards its dark point and the winter solstice, Rhiannon Hooson leads us from the Celtic Old Year and into the New. Featuring readings from a new cycle of poems which chart a course through the months of the year, the talk will explore the process of writing and the ways in which close observation can lead to connection with the natural world.

A concert that spans a few centuries of classical music and works its way to folk in the spirit of the season. Leila Basletic, piano; Ruth Watson, oboe; Peter Cornish, clarinet; John Hymas, violin and accordion. 

Sacred and secular songs for everyone to sing, led by Marion Rowlatt and Michael Tavinor. Guest readers include Llinoss Griffin and Chris Rowlatt.

From Slade and The Pogues to Ukrainian carols and brass bands, this festive theatre show unwraps the stories behind the songs of Christmas. Blending live storytelling with carefully chosen audio, this is a show celebrating the well-known classics and the hidden gems that soundtrack the most magical time of year.