- Friday 3 July
Sparks fly when Gwenifer Raymond's fingers fly across the guitar strings in a raw finger-picking style that has made her one of the foremost interpreters of the free-flowing American primitive style of our time and a worthy successor to names such as John Fahey.
Admittedly, Gwenifer Raymond comes from Wales, and in her youth her guitar sought out the moods of punk and grunge. But with a growing interest in American folk and blues, she has impressed with a personal take on deep American traditions, especially those rooted in Mississippi and the Appalachian Mountains.
However, Gwenifer Raymond is more than just a virtuoso instrumentalist and interpreter. She manages to create poetic moods, wild energy and captivating storytelling with the guitar as her voice. On her latest album, Last Night I Heard The Dog Star Bark, from 2025, her interest in American primitive guitar is combined with a passion for occult folk horror and sci-fi literature. Myths, poetry and science merge and are transformed into the guitar's quivering primordial music. By delving into occult tales from southern Wales, she arrives at a music she calls Welsh Primitive – a bridge between the legacy of American primitive and her native landscapes.
"Raymond tells timeless tales through her free-spirited performances," wrote The Quietus in a review of the album. Gwenifer Raymond's abilities as an intense performer, who uses her guitar to conjure up compelling stories, are even more powerful live. Experience it for yourself when one of the most interesting folk guitarists of our time visits Roskilde Festival.
