Meic Stevens (born Louis Michael James in Solva, Pembrokeshire, on March 13, 1942) is a Welsh singer-songwriter often referred to as "the Welsh Dylan". Something of a national hero in Wales, his psych-folk influence can be heard in contemporary Welsh groups such as Super Furry Animals and Gorky's Zygotic Mynci. Stevens was one of the first artist to record for Wales' first independent record company, the Sain label. Stevens sang mostly in his native language. His one English-language album is 1970's Outlander. Meic composes most of the lyrics and music on his albums. He is a gifted guitarist, and can perform as a soloist as well as with his band. Although he has fallen short of international fame, it was not musical talent that let him down but personal circumstances. He was signed to Warner Brothers, but does not seem to have done much recording for WB. Today he is respected among Welsh musicians and has several Welsh CDs available from the Sain label in Caernarfon. His early Welsh songs, such as Tryweryn (a Welsh village flooded to provide water for Liverpool) and Merch o'r Ffatri Wlan ("Girl from the wool factory"), are considered classics. Stevens can still sometimes be found occasionally singing in certain pubs/hotels in Aberystwyth until the late hours. He can also be seen performing regularly throughout Wales and England at major festivals, eisteddfodau, pubs, theatres etc. He performs periodically in France, mainly Brittany where he is very popular.
