Music like Wales

Wales has a strong and distinctive link with music. Singing is a significant part of Welsh national identity, and the country is traditionally referred to as "the land of song". This is a modern stereotype based on 19th century conceptions of Nonconformist choral music and 20th century male voice choirs, Eisteddfodau and arena singing, such as sporting events, but Wales has a history of music that has been used as a primary form of communication.

Historically, Wales has been associated with folk music, choral performance, religious music and brass bands. However modern Welsh music is a thriving scene of rock, Welsh language lyricism, modern folk, jazz, pop, and electronic music. Particularly noted in the UK are the Newport rock scene, once labelled 'the new Seattle', and the Cardiff music scene, for which the city has recently been labelled 'Music City', for having the second highest number of independent music venues in the UK.