Spilling The Tea…Just Not Literally!

12 July 2024 95 1

Welcome to my new blog called
"A SouthWalian Girl Living in a SouthWalian World!"

I will be taking you on a series of adventures in and around Newport/South Wales in general, highlighting the music scene and literally having a natter about anything and everything, as that’s the beauty of writing blogs: there’s a lot of tea to spill—no, seriously, tea could be a hot topic of conversation at some point.

I was discussing this with Newport City radio presenter Kym Frederick during our meeting the other day, and I learned new things about tea that had never even crossed my mind!

You’ll be disappointed to hear that tea is not the main feature of my first blog (cue sad
violin music). Still, we will definitely be delving into it in a future post (cue happy music with
a chorus of yays, a quick fist bump, followed by a cracking ‘happy days’ for good measure!

If you can’t already tell by the image above, I’m a tea lover, hence why the subject will eventually be explored.
It’s also all relevant to what I’m about to say next because I should probably introduce myself before going any further.

Inrtroducing...Bryony Sier!

Bryony Sier, a neurodiverse, twenty-seven-year-old singer-songwriter/guitarist from Merthyr Tydfil who dabbles in a game of Scrabble when boredom hits, who constantly searches for hidden
metaphors and lyrics that rhyme in true songwriter style. She enjoys long walks in the countryside, reading YA, writing YA books, listening to Abba on rainy days in a not-so-sunny Wales, drinking tea every day, filming vlogs occasionally, and regularly writing stories to escape
reality… always.

(YA = Young Adult)

Side note: It sounds as if I’m introducing a potential love interest to Lord Farquad from Shrek.
I know what you’re probably thinking: why on earth is someone from Merthyr writing blogs about Newport?
I can explain why I’m the face behind these blogs, but I’ll need to take you on a little trip down memory lane first.

Picture this: An eighteen-year-old girl singing in a bar called The Riverside for the very first time, scared to death, unsure if people were going to like her music in a new city she’d never played before.
Truthfully, that girl never felt more at home amongst the Newport crowd, and there she met some local artists such as Ian Lynn Palmer, Ruby Kelly, and a songwriting legend who
recently won the Best Country Artist award at the Love Live Music Awards, Joe Kelly. You may have heard of him. If you haven’t, then what are you waiting for?
Joe has released a few EPs, along with an album, and I’ve heard that there’s a third on its way! I’m also singing backing vocals on three of his tracks from ‘The Wheel’ EP, so I was honoured to be involved as I’m a big fan of his music! He’s gotten me so many opportunities in Newport. I’ll always be thankful!

If you haven’t already figured it out, the girl I was talking about in the bar was me. That was the moment I started building connections within the Newport local music scene and playing more shows at The CellarDoor, Le Pub, Monusk Tapas, and Phyllis Maud, which used to be a friggin toilet, and now it’s a live music venue!

This is what Newport is all about—the people who live here, the stories they have to share, the art available on demand, the level of talented musicians rising the ranks, Newport City Radio with its ability to showcase new, upcoming talent,

And let’s not forget the iconic Transporter Bridge, which has been Newport’s most famous landmark since 1906.

Over the next few weeks, I’ll be taking you on a virtual and written diary of all the things I get up to during my time at Newport City Radio.
You can watch my blogs virtually over on my new TikTok page, @SouthwalienGalBlogs, and I hope you enjoy the content I’ll be sharing. I’m excited to get to know Newport more and to surround myself with my three favourite things: music, dishing out the tea throughout my writing, and bringing my creative ideas to life.
Thanks for tuning in, and I’ll catch you again very soon with some more shenanigans