“These last eighteen months without the Arts have been as if the moon has lived without the stars, the shore without the sea, the birds without their song! I’m absolutely beaming to see the Arts returning in such a fantastic Bristol fashion! Beautifully orchestrated First Ever Arts and Lit Hotwells Festival, it’s clear your passions are pulsing!! Wishing you the sweetest success, the grandest time, and like Bacchus’ goblet, may your inspiration and joy be ever overflowing!!!”
“What an amazing festival! There were events not found at any other event; diverse and multi talented! Thank you to everyone who first thought of the idea and saw it through to inception and finally a thoroughly successful event. May it be the first of many!”
FRIDAY 15 Oct 2021
To see more info about one particular event, click on the event title. Click again to minimise. To cover our costs, some events in the Festival Marquee and the Nova Scotia (Upstairs) are ticketed. To book your ticket, click on the event title, then on “BOOK YOUR TICKET HERE!” at the top.
Festival Marquee
Nova Scotia Pl, Bristol BS1 6XJ
FREE ENTRY!
Welcome to an hour of spoken word & music from the Bathtub Press and Environmental studies imprint featuring Don Mandarin (Pregnant / Dominions of Glue / Head) who will be reading from his first book Peking, expect found sound and archaic slide projections that will slide into readings from Ryan Broom’s (Dead Horse Disco / Children of the Sun) Stanton Drew Book.
The final part of the show will be from John Paul & Rat who will treat us with scathing bleat poetry over dirty underground party sounds.
Moscow Drug Club is a curious musical place where elements of Berlin
Cabaret, Hot Club de France, French Musette and Storytelling meet…Combining their original material with songs by the likes of Jaques Brel, Tom Waits, Leonard Cohen & Eartha Kitt, Moscow Drug Club deliver an intoxicating & intimate musical experience. They regularly perform at the Bristol Jazz Festival and you will find that their performances are always sold out very quickly.
To find out more about this fantastic band, check out their website or go straight to youtube to watch them performing live on stage.
Nova Scotia (Upstairs)
1 Nova Scotia Pl, Bristol BS1 6XJ
Drift Snowbarger & Mandy are a blissfully codependent couple who never leave each other’s side. Twice crowned Storytelling Bard of Somerset, Drift is not a traditional teller of heroic tales, but ones about a small bald man’s journey through adversity. After hearing them you’ll be glad you’re not Drift. And that you’re not married to him, like Mandy is.
Visual artist/writer/performer Gus Watcham will be performing extracts of her show REDDER, in which Little Red Riding Hood is 69 years old (same age as Gus) and looking for love… “REDDER weaves a tiny world of epic proportions, inhabited by modern fairytale characters who will haunt your dreams. Dark, funny, sad, shocking and completely mesmerising” (Bristol 24/7)
MC’d by Rina Vergano in a big wig, celebrating the power of the olderwoman in myth and fairytale. Hecklers will be turned to stone with a glance.Attended the first festival. Fantastic mix of words and music. Relaxed friendly atmosphere and a rustic feel at all venues. Fully recommend the festival and all its venues.
SATURDAY 16 Oct 2021
To see more info about one particular event, click on the event title. Click again to minimise. To cover our costs, some events in the Festival Marquee and the Nova Scotia (Upstairs) are ticketed. To book your ticket, click on the event title, then on “BOOK YOUR TICKET HERE!” at the top.
Festival Marquee
Nova Scotia Pl, Bristol BS1 6XJ
Proudly presenting tongue-in-cheek jazz songs about handsome men and “wink wink” spinach…
‘I was made in a black box. Not some bird’s belly. A black box in the back of a boy’s mind.
‘Jekyll can’t remember how long he’s been bed bound. Hyde can’t wait to roam the streets again. Fides, fickle Fides, pulls the strings.
In this maverick interpretation of ‘The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll & Mr Hyde’, nothing is off limits.
This performance contains adult themes that may not be suitable for children.
The Shrinks are a loose band of Bristol-based musicians who like to make, share and play music together whenever they can manage to snatch a few hours between all those things that get in the way of music – like tax returns and laundry.
The music they create is best described as a strange looking, yet at the same time, strangely familiar car that has been welded together from several other cars; a Pink Cadillac fin here, a psycedelic Silver Cloud grille there, the driveshaft from a yellow El Camino, wing mirrors from a white VW van, a Buick 6 gearbox, a squeaky wheel from an El Dorado, the diamond studded windshield from an ol’ 55, the upholstery Accordion Content from a Ford Econoline, the footlight from an Austin Cambridge and a Pontiac steering wheel, all held together on a Bristol chassis.
To find out more about this band, check out their website and what they said when we interviewed them 🙂
FREE ENTRY!
Bristol-based tango teacher and performer Eduardo Bozzo introduces to the Mayor Arcana of Tango, the soul’s journey of the Tanguero. Approaching the first archetype. El Loco. What is tango? Where it comes from, where is it going? Does the tango-ity (as a form of spirituality) exists?
A true Porteño from the barrios of Buenos Aires, Eduardo comes from a family with a long tradition of tango. He has been teaching Tango Argentino for more than 20 years. To Eduardo, tango is a form of expression that transcends dance and music. He believes passionately in tango’s intrinsic freedom of emotion and expression, respecting its cherished tradition while playing with the sensuality and creativity only tango can offer. In the UK, he debuted in 2002 at the London Opera House and and Royal Albert Hall and went on to perform around the country. As a student, Eduardo was the first tanguero to develop Tango Therapy, running a programme in Argentina’s most forward-thinking psychiatric hospital. Eduardo is a seasoned theatre actor, dancer and choreographer. In Buenos Aires he performed in mainstream productions such as “Gardel, El Mesias” and here in the UK he has choreographed productions at the Riverside Studios, London and Arnolfini, Bristol. Eduardo has taught and performed around Europe, Latin America and Asia and has been teaching in Bristol and the South West for more than 15 years.
The entry for this 30min talk is free. However, please make sure you buy a ticket if you want to stay on for “Dear Astor: A celebration of Piazolla”.
A celebration of the Argentinian composer Astor Piazolla. You will be introduced to Piazolla’s tango music by Bristol based bandoneon and accordion player Mirek Salmon.
He is a member of Moscow Drug Club and Tango Calor but also tours nationally with Welsh National Opera and has even appeared on cheesy Renault TV adverts squeezing his accordion! In this event he discusses Astor Piazzolla’s enduring musical legacy. Find out about this barber’s son who caused fights in his own concerts, who had to sell his instrument when he was penniless in Italy and whose music electrified both jazz and classical music lovers.
Mirek will be playing live on his bandoneon (Piazolla’s favorite instrument) with Carola Hengstenberg on violin. In addition, alongside the live music during this event, Bristol’s finest tango dancers – Eduardo Bozzo&partner and Alejandro Angelica&Ornella Solar – will perform for you. What a treat!
If you are going to this event, why not arrive 30min early (7.45pm) to hear Eduardo Bozzo’s free introductory talk “TangOracle – The journey of the Tanguero”?
FREE ENTRY!
Finish the evening with a passionate fusion of Ladino, Latino, Tango and Spanish folk songs performed by the Bristol-based singer and voiceover artist Rosalind Moreno-Parra. With Rob Vasey on guitar and Carola Hengstenberg on violin. Free entry. Come and dance with us!!Nova Scotia (Upstairs)
1 Nova Scotia Pl, Bristol BS1 6XJ
Exploring bridges, bridging moments between past, present and future and near misses. This workshop opens up the imagination, combining physical and emotional worlds through poetry and other forms of creative writing.
The workshop is lead by Claire Williamson (picture). With Bob (who is running the workshop on Sunday), she’s a member of The Spoke poetry collective whose ‘Track Record’ project with electronica-jazz duo Eyebrow won the 2020 Community Rail Network arts award.
If you’ve come to this workshop, you’ll have the opportunity to strut your stuff by reading some of the writing you’ve produced at the friendly open mic showcase on Sunday (Sunset Open Mic, 5.00-6.00 pm, Nova Scotia Upstairs) as the sun goes down on the city’s bridges and port.
Workshop fee: 10£FREE ENTRY!
Bryan J Mason in conversation with Prof Leroy White. Come and hear about a serial killer called Clifton on Saturday tea time!
Bryan J Mason wrote this novel in the late 1980s, but reluctantly put it away in a drawer after his agent narrowly failed to get it published. He dug it out every ten years or so and each time he did was surprised to find that he still found it funny. He has finally managed to get it published after making some changes, including firmly placing the action in the late ʼ80s and early ʼ90s for today’s reader.
He has worked as a brush salesman and rent collector, made sound effects for BBC Radio and been a tax inspector and occasional actor. He writes regular theatre reviews for StageTalk Magazine and has lived in Hotwells for almost 25 years.
Leroy White is Professor of Management at the University of Exeter – but despite that he is an urbane, cultured, witty man and will facilitate an interactive conversation covering amongst other things the way the novel and characters have evolved along with the use of music in the novel. He will also ask whether an interest in serial killers is at all healthy.
William Blake meets a Banjo Warrior. Jazzy ambient wunderkinds ULTRABEIGE will weave panoramic soundscapes, bird-inspired poetry & music, and their own take on Blake’s spiritual anthem JERUSALEM. Expect angelic visions and flaming arrows through the heart.
Theatre-maker, comedy songwriter and eco-activist Angus Barr will be joined by award-winning campaigner and founder of City to Sea, Natalie Fee. Together they will save the planet using only cheap stringed instruments and their voices. Check out his Ode to a Plastic Bag!
MC’D by Rina Vergano in a different big wig, celebrating the power of the olderwildwoman in myth and fairytale. Hecklers will be turned to stone with a glance.
Eldon House
6 Lower Clifton Hill, Clifton, Bristol BS8 1BT
Poetry from around the globe incl. China, Italy, Russia and Spain interleaved with world music.
Bristol is the wonderfully diverse, culturally thriving, capital of the Southwest. Join us for an event celebrating the beauty of foreign languages and the variety of people that call Bristol their home. An event honoring tones and the rhythm of words and music between nations. We have poetry in Greek, Turkish, and Mandarin as well as music from a Chinese QuZheng player and much more. This is going to be very special treat.
Fed up with hearing about lockdown? Don’t worry! Laugh your way through it this time. Meet Mrs Eldon who lives alone and finds lockdown, well, quite hard. She is forgetting to shower, or even get dressed, for days, and wondering if she’ll ever see anyone again, until – there’s a knock on the door.
Follow her story through the highs and lows of lockdown living. Watch Mrs Eldon fumble her way through her first trip out and finally, oh joy of joys, her first date, as lockdown restrictions ease.
Three monologues, written during lockdown as the worst unfolded and got, even worse. The story of how we felt, what we feared and how we coped interspersed with poems written during our caged up, frustrated lockdown existences.
Written and directed by prize-winning author and poet Jenny Bradley. Performed by Vicki Vowles. Two of the monologues were featured on Bristol Radio in 2020. Please also check out the corresponding blog article which will tell you more about Jenny Bradley and Lockdown Unleashed. Together with her brother Jonathan Bradley, Jenny recently published Sibling Poets.
Grab a drink and prepare to go on an emotional journey of humour and pathos with Mrs Eldon in ‘Lockdown Unleashed’.
Ethan Harrison is an author and entertainer, steeped in the world of satirical blogging. Talking about his book ILLUMINATI, ‘When I found the original Illuminati Hunter in the second-hand book market underneath London’s Blackfriars Bridge, it literally changed my life. If Sebastian Drechsler’s memoir describing his battles against the Illuminati is true, and as you will see it is backed up by the researched footnotes which turn into fascinating hypertext links in the E-Book versions, then it throws totally new light on world history. Thousands of people have already read Illuminati Hunter from Russian to Australia and North America to Northampton and this is astonishing as the book has only been advertised by word of mouth. I truly hope you are the next one to read this amazing adventure.’
For more info check out Ethan’s website!
Light-hearted poetry by a very talented young lady.
Molly is a poet and songwriter born and raised in North Somerset, 8 miles outside of Bristol, and now based just over the water in South Wales. She is usually found swimming either side of the Bristol Channel, its brackish waters inspiring her work, which draws on folklore, bodies, and the magic of space.
Molly aims to create an inclusive and intimate show on stage when performing both poetry and song: for her, performance is about connection, and even if her work resonates with only a single person in the room, she feels it’s worthwhile.
Edgar Allen Poet started life in a revue by Dolwilym Theatre Company way back in the mists of time (well actually in that lost decade, the 70s). Very much inspired by John Cooper Clarke and Attila the Stockbroker he went on to perform in pubs, clubs and other venues in West Wales, Bristol and festivals including Cropredy, Elephant Fayre, and Albion Fairs in East Anglia.
He has also appeared at Glastonbury Festival compering the Theatre Tent and did the same at the Ashton Court Festival. More recently he has a regular spot on the Steve Satan Show on Bristol Community Radio and has taken part in several online readings.
Tony D’Arpino is a Bristol poet from San Francisco. His poems have appeared on billboards in Seattle, on cobblestones in Rome, on sandalwood trees in Hawai’i, and in sealed bottles in three oceans. He has written about Bristol in two books: Floating Harbour, a book of poetry, and a book on landscape and natural history, Trees of Bristol, which explores the legacy of the ancient forests of the West Country, local tree lore, and the bio-diversity of the urban forest. (Both published by Redcliffe Press). Tony will be reading lyric and concrete poems about Bristol and the floating world.
“I was only able to come to one event but I loved it! Congratulations to the whole team. You did a fantastic job. Please do it again!”
SUNDAY 17 Oct 2021
To see more info about one particular event, click on the event title. Click again to minimise. To cover our costs, some events in the Festival Marquee and the Nova Scotia (Upstairs) are ticketed. To book your ticket, click on the event title, then on “BOOK YOUR TICKET HERE!” at the top.
Festival Marquee
Nova Scotia Pl, Bristol BS1 6XJ
TO BOOK YOUR TICKET CLICK HERE!
Shakespeare sonnets and other poems around the theme of love, lies and ‘green-eyed’ jealousy intertwined with haunting songs and piano sounds. Created exclusively for our festival, this is going to be a really special show. Created and performed by Kenneth Bell, Ben Jenkins, Petra Jones and Steph Lee. A sneak peak can be found on the festival facebook page.
Ben Jenkins is a Pianist, musical director and Theatre director. He has worked for the Royal Ballet School, Bristol Old Vic & Tobacco Factory Theatres. He is musical director of the Bristol Reggae Orchestra and of several choirs in the area. For Fever events he performs concerts of Chopin & Einaudi and is half of Duo Dynamic. As a theatre director, his work includes Travels with my Aunt (Tawdry Lace Theatre at the Alma Theatre, Bristol, 2015) and Peer Gynt: A Re-imagining (Circle Theatre 2019).
Petra Jones is an actress and director. Petra has acted in many shows locally, most recently as the Green Lady in Circle Theatre’s adaptation of Henrik Ibsen’s Peer Gynt. This year Petra has also acted in online, film and audio plays. Petra has directed a wealth of productions, her favourite – Steven Berkoff’s The Bow of Ulysses. Petra is currently studying for her MA in Journalism (Audio, Docs and Podcasts). Alongside her studies, Petra is working as a presenter, producer and reporter for a local radio station, Radio Bath.
TO BOOK YOUR TICKET CLICK HERE!
The repertoire combines Andy Hague’s catchy original compositions with rearranged and lesser known standards. The line-up on Andy’s most recent recording is Andy Hague – trumpet/flugel, Ben Waghorn – tenor sax, Jim Blomfield – piano, Chris Jones – bass, Mark Whitlam – drums. Bassist Riaan Vosloo and drummer Andy Tween also make regular gig appearances.
From 6.30-7.30pm, Hotwells jazz aficionado and DJ Phil White (aka ‘Cashmere Phil’) will then be entertaining us with a an hour set of carefully chosen Jazz tracks. Phil first fell in love with jazz in 1976 after seeing George Benson at The Colston Hall. When work took him to London in 1978 Phil’s passion for the genre developed in the many jazz haunts of the capital such as Ronnie Scott’s, the 606 Club and the Bulls Head. Phil will be playing a mix of well-known standards, smooth jazz and jazz funk. Bring your dancing shoes!
Written by Wendy Buonaventura, DARK VENUS CABARET takes a light-hearted look at some hilarious ideas about women from the past two centuries, via dramatised extracts from her book DARK VENUS and some feisty, defiant songs. The show looks at the myth of the femme fatale, the dangerous, irresistible woman. The belief that women are wild and rapacious was especially popular in the 19th and early 20th century in Western culture; in the arts, in science and medicine.
See also extract on Wendy’s website and her festival blog post about this show.
The show will be performed by Katina Noble, Kenneth Bell and Sophie Howard with Johnie Gush on piano and sounds and Carola Hengstenberg on violin.
Nova Scotia (Upstairs)
1 Nova Scotia Pl, Bristol BS1 6XJ
An homage to Turner…An engaging one-hour talk with the opportunity to ask questions at the end. More detail coming soon!
Through poetry and other genres, this workshop explores ports, pathways and portals, those places where we come and go, bid welcome or farewell, by water, land or air, by heart or mind. Workshop leader is poet Bob Walton who lives in Hotwells and teaches Creative Writing at Cardiff University. With Claire (who is running the workshop on Saturday), he’s a member of The Spoke poetry collective whose ‘Track Record’ project with electronica-jazz duo Eyebrow won the 2020 Community Rail Network arts award. His acclaimed second collection, ‘Sax Burglar Blues’, is published by Seren. If you’ve come to this workshop, you’ll have the opportunity to strut your stuff by reading some of the writing you’ve produced at the friendly open mic showcase on Sunday (Sunset Open Mic, 5.00-6.00 pm in the Nova Scotia Upstairs) as the sun goes down on the city’s bridges and port.
Participants of both PENS IN PUBS workshops (CROSSING POINTS on Saturday and POINTS OF ARRIVAL AND DEPARTURE on Sunday) presenting their work. If you’ve come to either creative writing workshop, you’ll have the opportunity to strut your stuff by reading some of the writing you’ve produced at this friendly open mic showcase in the Nova Scotia as the sun goes down on the city’s bridges and port.
MC Bob Walton.
Merchants Arms
5 Merchants Rd, Hotwells, Bristol BS8 4PZ
A trio of voices, stringed instruments and love, weaving a poetic web of Kraftwerk, Fleetwood Mac and other ‘hWhispered’ gifts. 
Jo is a resident of Hotwells and has been likened to Jon Hegley, Pam Ayres and Roger McGough. And so has her poetry. Some of her collection of “pocket poems for busy people” have been featured on the “Loud Voices Silent Streets” website over lockdown. The perfect accompaniment to a pint in The Merchants, Jo’s poetry will bring a light hearted and entertaining start to today’s line up. Possibly not suitable for children.
Haunting voice accompanied by ukulele. Talented Jacqui performs a mix of her song covers, for example by Joni Mitchell, and her own orginals. To fin out more about Jacqui, check out her youtube channel!
More detail coming soon!
Maunagh Kelly was a regular prize-winner in many poetry competitions such as the Lancaster, Leek and Sheffield Thursday, winning second place in the Manchester Poetry Prize and first place in the Canterbury competition. Her writing has also been broadcast on BBC radio. She launched a new anthology of her poems, entitled Grasshopper, at Manky Poets. These days, she is excited by prose and the challenge of novel writing. Maunagh Kelly is part of the Bristol Novelists Group.
To read the full biography of this talented lady, click here. We have invited her to share her prize-winning poetry with us, but you might want to check out her art work, too!
The Hotwellian locals love this group of brass players which regularly performs all over Bristol.
Other events nearby
Update!! All events below are now happening inside the Festival Marquee! Nova Scotia Pl, Bristol BS1 6XJ
In 2012, friends from across Bristol, Bath and Wiltshire talked about starting a border morris side. A few months later, with 5 dancers and an Iphone as our band to practice, we borrowed some musicians, ready to don our tatter tail coats for our first dance out at Chippenham folk festival.
The Taters&Tails now dance at pubs across the south west throughout the summer. We perform at fete’s and charity fund raisers, as well as Folk Festivals and Morris gatherings like Chippenham, Wickham, Bathampton and the Bloodstone Border Rally on the Isle of Wight. Check out their website, too!
The Roaring Trowmen are four hearty men from Brist
ol who sing sea shanties and songs of the salty deep with passion, power and glorious blending harmonies, and plenty of humorous banter. They will be performing at the Underfall Yard (where the Cafe is). Come and get nautical with the Trowmen!
For more info, check out their website and their youtube channel.
Is there anything more enchanting than a choir singing a capella?
The Key Note Voices are a 5-person a cappella singing group. They cover a range of song styles, from pop to jazz and even some Disney too! For more info, check out their facebook page (@thekeynotevoices).“Amazing event, thoroughly enjoyed it, well done!!”