Party at the Porth with Cymryd Rhan is a charity weekend that will see a number of artists play on the main stage with a fun fair, circus, food stalls and trade stands ensuring there will be a fantastic and fun atmosphere at Porth Farm, near Caersws.
And organisers have revealed that US country star and prolific charity fundraiser, Jay Allen, whose song Blank Stares has been streamed over 500 million times and raised $100 million, will be the lead act after answering a call for support.
Jay, from Nashville, whose mother died from Alzheimer's, recently posted an offer on his social media to sing in “your back yard”, so the Party at the Porth with Cymryd Rhan organisers tried their chances, and couldn’t believe their luck.
“We asked him as a throw away comment to come and sing in Wales at the festival and he has agreed, so after meetings with his management team he is headlining the festival,” said Nick Evans, Chief Executive of Cymryd Rhan, a health and social care charity, who are hosting the event.
“His passion to support carers caught our eye and we’ve been able to get him to come to the UK as his values are very much aligned with ours at Cymryd Rhan.
“Our focus is to raise funds for community groups which allows us to support them in delivering support within their local areas. We are also supporting a food surplus charity, but importantly creating a weekend for families.
“We are offering a free ticket to carers registered with Social Care Wales and are working in partnership with Credu Cymru to offer free tickets to unpaid carers.”
The weekend will also include a talent show on August 5 which carries a prize fund of £1,000 to help unearth and promote up-and-coming performing artists.
The farm’s owner, Gerwyn Vaughan, who organised a smaller event last year to raise funds for a school, said that it promises to be a weekend to remember.
“I wanted to put Mid Wales on the map with an annual festival which I started with a one-day event last year, with Cymryd Rhan this year we can make this a weekend event,” he said.
“We live in such a beautiful part of the world and want to bring our communities together to an affordable event.”
Tickets for the weekend have gone on sale with £30 ensuring entry for the entire event for an adult, or a family ticket of £60 includes two adults and two children. Day tickets are available and it is half price for children under 18 and free for under 11s.
If you are a carer registered with Social Care Wales, you can obtain your free entry by emailing partyattheporth(at)cymryd-rhan.org.
For more information on tickets, click here.
So, who is Jay Allen (jayallenofficial.com)?
After seeing his mother suffer from Alzheimer’s, Jay wrote Blank Stares. A video of him performing the song with his mother on stage in Iowa went viral with over 500 million views on Facebook. His mother has since passed, but Jay continues to tour the US as an advocate for the Alzheimer’s Association, and the song has gone on to raise over $100 million dollars to help fight the disease.
He has been featured on NBC’s The Voice, ABC World News, PeopleTV, Pickler & Ben, and in People & Forbes Magazine, among others.
He was selected as The Highway Find on Sirius XM with his song Sounds Good To Me, won the 2022 Country Now Awards as Favorite Competition Contestant, and was recognised as one of Music Mayhem Magazine’s 2023 Artists to Watch. He was also presented The Caregiver Award by The National Alzheimer’s Association.
