Events 2023
DAY #1 - Friday, 29th September 2023
The grand opening of Hotwells Festival of Words and Music 2023 is going to be in our festival hub, the Marquee, set up right by the Harbourside. More info will follow.
Marquee (6pm-11pm onwards)
We are so delighted to have them back for the second edition of the Hotwells Festival. The Transcendent Troubadours of World Jazz and Folk!
MOSCOW DRUG CLUB… named after the song. A curious musical place where elements of Berlin Cabaret, Latin Tinge, French musette and storytelling meet…..Imagine having a few to drink and staggering arm in arm into the darkness of an eastern European cobbled street and stumbling into a bar where Django Reinhardt and Tom Waits are having an after-hours jam with the local Tziganes.
Combining their original material with songs by the likes of Jaques Brel, Tom Waits, Leonard Cohen & Eartha Kitt, Moscow Drug Club deliver an intoxicating and intimate musical experience.
To find out more about Moscow Drug Club, check out their website too!
Anyone hanging around the thrift boutiques and bars of Brisbane’s Fortitude Valley over the past couple of years will be familiar with McDermott & North as they cut their teeth and song writing chops as one of the city’s most beloved busking duos. The pair possess a sophistication in their musical performance and songwriting style that has a tangible sense of the ‘60’s, while bringing a modern twist to their style. Meeting at Brisbane’s Embassy Bar in 2016, the Indie/Folk duo are made up of Paddy McDermott and Rhys North, both of whom were performing as solo artists in their own right upon their introduction at the venue’s ‘Open Mic’ night, quickly finding a harmonious blend of their vocal styles and song writing approach. Check out the links below if you want to find out more about this exciting duo that will be relocating from Australia to Bristol soon!
Website: https://www.mcdermottandnorth.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mcdermott.north/?hl=en
Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/McdermottandNorthofficial/
Twitter: https://mobile.twitter.com/north_mcdermott
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@mcdermottandnorth
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/6HfqQvfkVgpXu6718wTm93
YouTube: https://m.youtube.com/channel/UCpSs2Xk2Ctvnm4kG0sMMmCg/videos
DAY #2 - Saturday, 30th September 2023
The events in the Marquee are all dedicated to supporting the Underfall Yard. Paul Horlick has put together an exciting line-up. At the same time there will be some carefully curated events happening in the nearby Holy Trinity Church. You’ll will have the difficulty of having to choose where you want to be :). More info will follow.
Marquee (12pm-11pm)
Don is an outsider vocalist, noise maker, Author and Artist from the West Country who studied Abstracting information at St Anthonys Clevedon.
He has been in Head, Pregnant, Receiver, Apache Dropout and Rastu & Om Shanti. Published 2 books, had many exhibitions and designed record sleeves for The Pop Group, Rush and Irene Cara
Nols produces rural electronic meditations that rarely used any percussion and has released 2 albums on Environmental Studies.
Now playing electric guitar in The Charlie Tipper Conspiracy/Experiment and working on on his solo projects.
More info will follow.
Expect improvisation, free jazz and other noise.
Ollie Moore – saxophone, clarinet, melodica and Aidan Searle Drums & Percussion
Beales’s cult leader chants over bugbrand circuits, spiritual bells and strange wind instruments making a refreshing change to the normal. With guest Ollie Moore on saxophone. More info will follow.
Davey Woodward fronted indie bands The Brilliant Corners and The Experimental Pop Band.
He also plays in alt rock trio Karen and The Winter Orphans, a group of friends realising the potential of his solo songs.
Davey lives in a tree house somewhere in Bristol. England.
Hawksmoor is James McKeown. He first created Hawksmoor five years ago as an imaginary hauntological soundtrack, inspired by the six Hawksmoor churches in London. Further releases have followed on Environmental Studies, the cassette-only label Spun Out of Control, Castles in Space and The Library of The Occult.
For his debut on Soul Jazz Records, Hawksmoor has created a fascinating blend of these two sensibilities – a love of German electronic music of the 1970s alongside the British retrofuturism and cultural memory bank aesthetic of hauntology – Ghost Box, Mount Vernon Arts Lab, Advisory Circle, Focus Group, etc.
Using strictly modular synths (Moog Sub37), electronic drum rhythms and guitars, Hawksmoor creates an electronic landscaped music world that is both new and old, immediately identifiable and yet utterly unique.
Folk music has lost it’s way, and people have lost track of their geographical heritage. The working classes made music as a provocation and this is a tradition Jennifer continues.
She is a performer of nineteenth century Lancashire dialect and Victorian broadside ballads. Jennifer plays the character of Barb in Shane Meadows’ period drama The Gallows Pole.
Check out her website too: https://www.jenniferballads.com.
Eyebrow is a trumpet and drums duo based in Bristol, UK, formed in 2009. Its music evolves out of improvisations which are reassembled into structured pieces with an unexpectedly cinematic sweep, like journeys through slowly-changing landscapes.
A series of 3 films made by Esther and Kitchen Table Photo Club.
‘Anything Moving is so good, so un-bossy in its artistry, so moving as portraits of children (& therefore portraits of all of us) that really I can’t think of any other account of childhood that doesn’t feel patronising by comparison. What it offers is profound, abundant and not quite graspable. I love it’.Alice Oswald, poet & gardener
Born into a basket of witches cats a long, long time ago, Esther has always been curious about image, story and mucking about.
Failing to run away with the circus, she got a job opening theatre curtains before moving on to serve Homity Pie in a cafe. In between double shifts, she watched films at The Prince Charles Cinema.Daylight revealed cinema seams and she began to wonder about stitching her own stories together.
In time, she started making moving and still pictures with friends, which have since been exhibited in streets, playgrounds and farms, internationally at film festivals, online and on broadcast TV. Her adventures included directing and writing film, Light Years, which premiered at the Venice Film Festivaland the multi-awarded BAFTA winning short, September, which played at over thirty festivals worldwide. While making low fi music videos she directed episodes of Channel 4’s SKINS and the BBC’s Wallander and more recently she co-created experimental films conjured with camera traps with local kids, entitled Anything Moving.
Her inaugural photography show at Bristol’s Old Shoe Factory, Out Of Darkness, grouped together intimate black & white prints and was to be followed up by Water Salad on Monday, an interactive, onsite show and publication at and about a farm in which the cared-for thrive through caring. Scrapbook, made up of workshops, a show and book, celebrated play and was commissioned by the legendary St Paul’s Adventure Playground with help from The Arts Council. When Covid struck, her weekly photo club adapted and sent out art care packages that became the Bewilderment Cards, now selling across the countyr. She has collaborated with The Cube Cinema on the Kids Kino Project, a cultural exchange for displaced children.
Dedicated to pursuing life-affirming art practices, Esther continues to tickle out bewitching images, moving stories and unforgettable live events. She’s still not very good at brushing her hair.
Holy Trinity Church (8am-10pm)
Holy Trinity Hotwells, Clifton Vale, Hotwells, Bristol, BS8 4ST
Nature walk with wild life expert Ed Drewitt who will be leading this autumn morning walk – he has been showing people wildlife in Bristol for the past 20+ years and is a familiar friend to Hotwells and waterside. On this walk we will be listening for early autumn birdsong, looking for flowers and ferns growing out of Hotwell’s special sandstone walls, admiring trees and looking out for any watery wildlife on the harbour.
This walk conicides with #EuroBioBlitz2023, so this is also an opportunity to contribute by recording wildlife on our doorsteps from 29 & 30 September on iNaturalist. Researchers, school groups, citizens and wildlife enthusiasts across the continent will be taking part in this race against the clock to put nature on the map, submitting photos and observations of wildlife in their neighborhoods through the free, easy to use iNaturalist mobile phone app. By observing local nature, everyone can support vital conservation research whilst connecting with nature and enjoying the outdoors.
Simply download the iNaturalist app, take a photograph of wildlife in your local area – whether that’s a tree, plant or insect or animal – and upload. You don’t even have to know anything about the species you are observing. Teams of experts will be reviewing and updating the information that’s submitted, so you can log back in later and learn more about what you’ve spotted. Find out more here: www.bnhc.org.uk/eurobioblitz-2023
Meeting point at the side entrance of the Church on Clifton Vale.
Reserve your place for free on online as places are limited (on eventbrite, link at the top of this page). Pay what you can on the day at the end of the walk what it’s worth to you (cash or card).
This event is sponsored by Home-School Tutoring Gloucestershire.
Creative workshop with community artist Melanie Ruth. Calling all eco-minded families!Join Melanie making your own mini 4 page booklet, expressing how you feel about nature, the
environment & The Home we all share – Planet Earth.
Get creative, writing letters or a poem, adding drawing /collage to illustrate your booklet.
Mel has also published ‘ No More Baby sharks!’ A delightful collection of Bristol children’s responses to the climate crisis- which includes a page by Sir David Attenborough. The book is in association with M Shed & was launched at the ‘Go Global : Act Bristol’ exhibition last year. Copies will be available for sale.
Please note: All children will need to be accompanied by adults.
In this innovative little workshop happening in one of the smaller meeting rooms of the Holy Trinity Church (TBC), we will be introducing you to some of the thinking behind how creative writing can be used to make a massive positive difference to peoples’ wellbeing, psychological health and quality of life. You’ll be able to try out some techniques and exercises in a safe, welcoming and non-judgemental space, and there will also be a chance to ask questions or (if you feel like it) to contribute your own experiences of how writing has helped you.
Claire Williamson is a prize-winning author and former Director of Studies in Therapeutic Writing at the Metanoia Institute. Claire has taught, lectured and published widely on the potentials of creative writing for therapy and wellbeing.
Ben Padfield is an adult psychotherapist and group analyst working in the NHS and in higher education. Ben has conducted therapeutic writing and reflection groups in acute psychiatry, day hospital and specialist eating disorder settings.
In the Main Church Hall. If you fancy having some lunch (there will be soup and other goodies available to purchase in the community hall of the Church) whilst listening to some mixed traditional and contemporary tango music played by the recently formed violin-guitar duo ‘It Takes Two’ in the Main Hall of the Church, then this is just for you.
About ‘It Takes Two’:
Carola Hengstenberg is a Bristol-based violinist and cover artist, passionate about traditional and alternative tango music. She has a rich performance experience with bands such as Tango Calor, Rosalind Morena-Parra and Cabaret Tango.
Dave Easto is a full-time guitar professional guitar teacher in South Bristol. He performs regularly with Cabaret Tango.
Entry is free, however, a hat will be passed around to support the performing musicians.
Poetry event curated by Bob Walton. In the community room of the Holy Trinity Church (use entrance on Clifton Vale).
The Severnside quartet of poets, The Spoke, celebrate ten years as a collective running workshops, readings and community projects in this special event in the community room at Holy Trinity. Individually and together, Abeer Ameer (Cardiff), Claire Williamson (Chepstow), Elizabeth Parker and Bob Walton (Bristol) have been acclaimed for their inspiring readings at festivals and venues across the UK, won numerous awards, and had exciting collections of poetry published by the prestigious Seren Books. On this occasion, they’ll prioritise a selection of poems exploring the beauty, power, vulnerability and importance of the natural world in our daily lives and in our survival as a species. Expect to be provoked, entertained and excited by the vibrant language of The Spoke’s carefully crafted, finely tuned poetry.
Stay on after the Spoke and enjoy freshly brewed tea and coffee and a selection of cakes before attending the interview with Syd.
Hotwells resident, David ‘Syd’ Lawrence has lived a life. One of Gloucestershire County Cricket Club’s greatest players, he was the first British-born black player to be capped for England, but his career as a brilliant fast bowler came to a tragic end with an agonising knee injury in his fifth test. Since then, he’s been a champion body builder, restauranteur and night club owner, and this year became the first ever President of colour for Gloucestershire CCC. David’s known as a great storyteller and a friendly, compassionate guy with strong views on fairness and diversity. Join him in what is sure to be a fascinating and entertaining tea-time conversation about his life with local poet Bob Walton and the opportunity to take part in a short Q&A.
RESERVE YOUR WORKSHOP PLACE HERE
In the Main Church. Workshop fee 15 GBP. No prior dance experience required.
Explore your inner self through dance under the guidance of Eva Mengling Pu, also known as ‘Dance with the Flying Fox’! The framework of Dance with Flying Fox is rooted in Taoism and dance culture from southwest China, where dance is part of our daily life. In this dance culture, we dance to imitate, exaggerate, elaborate, communicate, and transform our experience of life; men working in the field, women doing laundry by the river, children playing, fox preying… It is a way of keeping in touch with our experience and embodied process through moving perspectives. Eva also blends in various movement traditions and psychotherapy, e.g., sufi-dance, movement meditation, contact improvisation, existential psychotherapy, and expressive art therapy.
Key elements of my dance journey include:
• Finding freedom of motion in our emotional, social, physical, and spiritual being. Letting go of judgments
• Widening our dance repertoire by increasing awareness and breaking away from habits
• (Re)establishing connections to ourselves and others with loving intention
Eva Mengling Pu has more than 10 years of experience in a variety of dance – belly dance, tribal fusion, Chinese folk, burlesque, contemporary, jazz, tango…
She also studied dance psychotherapy and MSc Psychology at the University of Bristol with certified membership in the British Psychology Society (BPS). Her approach combines dance with positive psychology, Taoism, and existentialism helping people find and thrive with their authentic flow in dance and life. She been running my private monthly workshops since 2021 and had experience delivering a similar workshop in a festival environment. I am also teaching therapeutic dance weekly in supported living homes in Bristol.
In this workshop, Eva will be musically supported by Jerome who has many musical talents and is involved in three bands in Bristol. He will be mainly using a guitar, darbuka drum and synthesizer to host the soundscape for the workshop.
Not to be missed 🙂
Melanie Branton is a poet and spoken word artist from North Somerset. She has two published collections, Can You See Where I’m Coming From? (Burning Eye, 2018) and My Cloth-Eared Heart (Oversteps, 2017) and has performed in headline slots at spoken word nights from Plymouth to Newcastle. Her eclectic, boundary-busting work encompasses both page poetry and spoken word, both literary poetry and more populist forms, and ranges between the comic, the reflective and the hardhitting.
In this hybrid of spoken word gig and interview, HotFest’s Ben Padfield will be speaking with Melanie about her journey through writing and performing poetry, especially in the last few years as a woman living with anorexia. Melanie will perform a selection of her poems, exhibiting the diversity and breadth of her creative range, and will discuss the interplay between her work, her mental health and her take on modern poetry and the wider social world. This is set to be a very rare, intimate and fascinating glimpse into the creative process of a gifted local poet and performer.
Stay on from the previous event or arrive early for the choir concert and enjoy a drink from the fully stocked bar 🙂
Tickets available on the door. 10GBP.
Two of Bristol’s finest A Capella choirs Bristol A Capella and Free Range A Cappella performing on the same evening interleaved by a poetry double act with Ashley Dunn (known for his popular poetry open mic Infringed) and Adam Elms (Bristol-based actor and poet)!
Bristol A Cappella is an award-winning mixed barbershop chorus of around thirty members who love to sing close harmony a cappella. Apart from our tune-up pitch, all our sound comes from human voices. They’re affiliated to the British Association of Barbershop Singers and compete every two years; in 2023 we won the BABS national mixed voices chorus contest. Their songs are mainly from pop music, with a bit of rock and some musicals and they’re big on storytelling with their performances. Check out their website to find out more!
Free Range Acappella is a nine strong group that have been singing together since 2002. The group likes to sing at local Bristol events and festivals, including weddings. The current line up of Becky, Eric, Kate, Lynette, Martin, Sarah and Lindsay has been singing together since 2013. They sing a mix of songs arranged by the group – Kate, Becky, Eric and Katy – as well as published arrangements. Find out more about this choir here!
Eldon House Pub (2-7pm)
6 Lower Clifton Hill, Clifton, Bristol BS8 1BT
Warmington, Lindley and Webb – that’s Keith , Clare and Steve. Expect a mix of Americana, originals, folk and blues accompanied by geat guitar, fiddle and harmonica playing.
Fraser is the latest music offering from singer songwriter Alan Green. Born out of a desire to give life to the narratives and characters on Green’s mind, the Bristol native began writing prolifically in 2020. Channeling the sounds of 70s folk and 00s alt pop FRASER. blends classic production with emotive storytelling, actualised through Al Green’s sublime vocals.
Bringing together a fantastic mix of sensational original tracks and carefully selected covers that pay homage to many of the era’s greatest hits, Volveremos continually wows audiences of all generations with their catchy, danceable and often poignant songs.
‘Volveremos’ (We will return) are a band formed in late 2020 and emanate from the 80’s band ‘All Teeth and Makeup.’ The more recent addition of an impressive bass player, complements and completes the line-up of this unique 5-piece South Wales based group.
Delivering truly unforgettable performances, Volveremos transports audiences back through music’s golden ages, whilst keeping them grooving to a beat that’s unmistakably their own.
Melanie Branton is a poet and spoken word artist from North Somerset. She has two published collections, Can You See Where I’m Coming From? (Burning Eye, 2018) and My Cloth-Eared Heart (Oversteps, 2017) and has performed in headline slots at spoken word nights from Plymouth to Newcastle. Her eclectic, boundary-busting work encompasses both page poetry and spoken word, both literary poetry and more populist forms, and ranges between the comic, the reflective and the hardhitting.
THE SPECTACLES RETURN! After a year in the rock and roll wilderness from the now mythological / notorious first gig – back with new songs, new line up and a battered suitcase full of rock cliches. Probably the most overhyped and underrehearsed band in Bristol : bad boy rock and roll with the last of the true punk romantics!
DAY #3 - Sunday, 1st October 2023
Storytelling, sea shanties, sword dance, theatre…and so much more!
Marquee (11am-10pm)
Cumberland Basin Piazza – Meet under the flyover opposite the Rose of Denmark!!
The Cumberland Basin ‘Piazza’ is a site of history, creativity and controversy. Think: Wollstonecraft, Jessop, Brunel, Crowe. Think: graffiti artists, football crowds, skateboarders, dog-walkers. Think: Gorge, Avon, New Cut, Floating Harbour, The Matthew, SS Great Britain, Western Harbour. Think: ships, cars and trucks, hot air balloons, pedestrians, cyclists. In this workshop, we’ll imagine some of the community of voices that have, or might have, spoken in this place and write them – in poetry, story, memoir or monologue, it’s your choice. We’ll meet, discuss and write about the place in the place, out-of-doors, come rain or shine, so wear suitable clothing for the weather, bring writing equipment, and if you have a light folding-chair it might be handy.
Hotfest has its very own choir this year! Formed from its wonderful helpers and volunteers! Start the day with us singing sea shanties and other sea-themed songs 🙂
More info will follow, but be prepared for action!
Flamenco Loco is an exciting 2 piece band based in the South West of England who combine traditional and contemporary Flamenco styles. Their Spanish, Cuban, Scottish and Polish heritage proves Flamenco truly is an international art form. The band has performed at numerous Festivals and prestigious venues in the last decade, including Glastonbury, Cheltenham Jazz Festival, Bristol Colston Hall, The Canteen and The Tobacco Factory, building a solid reputation as a live act.
SHIP SHAPE SEA SHANTIES! Great for families with children!
“What shall we do with the drunken sailor?”
Come and find out at our Sunday afternoon session of rousing sea shanties led by Matt and Kirstie from Ship Shape Shanties! (try saying that after some grog!).
A voyage of some history and lots of song, there will be opportunities to join in or just sit back and enjoy the show.
Lyrics will be available for anyone unable to resist the lure of a good song with a strong rhythm designed to help with the heave-ho of strong physical labour.
If you missed them earliere in the day, you get a second chance to catch them. More info will follow, be prepared for action!
The Actor’s Nightmare by Christopher Durang. A man finds himself inexplicably backstage one day. When he is confronted by the stage manager, Meg, it becomes apparent that he is the understudy for an actor named Edwin and as “Eddie” apparently broke both his legs, the man must perform in his stead. The man is referred to as “George” throughout the play, despite him feeling that it is not his real name (another actress refers to him as Stanley at one point as well) and cannot remember attending any rehearsals or being an actor at all – he instead believes that he is an accountant. To make matters worse, he is unable to get a straight answer as to what the play is. An actress named Sarah tells him that it is a Noël Coward play (Private Lives) and the other actress, Ellen, tells him that it is a Samuel Becket play called Checkmate (which seems to have elements of the plays Endgame, Happy Days and Waiting for Godot). Literally forced on stage, George attempts to improvise his lines. However, the play inconsistently shifts between scenes from Private Lives, Hamlet, Checkmate, and A Man for All Seasons. Until an executioner arrives.
The Clifton Amateur Dramatic Society, better known as CADS, was officially set up in January 2011 following a successful production of Wyrd Sisters in August 2010 which raised £1300 for The Prince’s Trust charity. The society is based, at least in name, in the Clifton area, however members are from all around Bristol. CADS is an open society and is always looking to welcome new members over the age of 18.
Bristol based friends and musicians will perform in a blended set featuring three bands, with overlap between performers contributing to sounds of a musical tapestry.
Cat’s Eye Moon are a voice and harp duo, inspired by jazz and blues, goblins and graveyards. Freya’s warm alto vocals are accompanied by an orchestral harp, these are two friends with a shared love for dark, wonky musical weirdness.
Riverwytch are a group of friends with a shared passion for making soul, folk and blues arrangements of their favourite songs. With many part harmony, and intensity of feeling, they’re also bringing their own unique zest and playfulness to writing some originals. It will be interesting to see how this band develops.
Cloroplast‘s music nourishes through sounds and words of empowerment and hope. Featuring original compositions and electroacoustic performances, english and spanish vocals, enchanting harp and flute harmonies and rhythmic guitar and piano. Infused with elements of folk, hip hop, trip hop, drum and bass, flamenco, ska, funk and more.
Be prepared to be mesmerised! 🙂
Are you ready to be transported back to the 1920’s, an era of speakeasies, prohibition and feather boas? We are so excited to have them playing at our festival this year!
Guaranteed to have you shaking your tassels, with their ragtime take on some of today’s chart hits, Trip For Biscuits is a 1920s-inspired party band based in Bristol and available all over the South West and UK. Recent clients include the British Grand Prix, the NHS, the Army, Severn Trent and Bristol University
At the core of the band is a deep knowledge of the music of the 1920s, garnered from many years on the Bristol traditional jazz scene, and a love of contemporary chart music – plus the imagination to put the two together. All their arrangements are 100% original, they are not Postmodern Jukebox covers – you will NOT hear them anywhere else!
Listen to their music, check out their repertoire, and read what people have been saying about them.
The entire lineup has extensive professional experience – we turn up in costume and in character, and will transform your event into a 1920s speakeasy even as they play the latest songs by Dua Lipa or Bruno Mars. Perfect for parties with a Gatsby or Peaky Blinders theme.
Website: https://www.trip-for-biscuits.co.uk/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TripForBiscuitsUK/
Instragram: https://www.facebook.com/TripForBiscuitsUK/
Grain Barge (3-9pm)
Hotwell Rd, Bristol BS8 4RU
Imagine a sort-of acoustic, sort-of folk, sort-of bluegrass, sort-of “Transatlantic Sessions” vibe, interlaced with a few quirky, edgy, warm, deep, light, witty poems, all washed down with a big gulp of taking things nice and easy… well that’s basically what this is! It’s for everyone who knows what Sunday afternoons are all about J.
Alongside the folky, acoustic tones of Wales’s very own Joni Mitchell (Jacqui Gale), and local sensations Louise Goodger and Spruce Forsyth, this spoken word line-up will include such talents as Hotwell’s local Jo Eades, whose witty style and cleverness will be known to poetry junkies across the city. Another Welsh legend, Jan Swann (winner of the Infringed 2023 Poetry Prize), will share her fiery passion and gentle love notes. So, too, the glorious and charismatic Baz MacCarthy, who made his debut at HotFest 2021 with his unique staccato verse-style. Adam Elms (lover of wild swimming, cake, wine, Sandi Toksvig and good knitwear) will combine his classic themes of hilarity, gravitas and brilliant word-play. Tony D’Arpino’s razor sharp wit and keenly delivered humour will complement any gathering of open-minded listeners, as will Jenny Bradley (co-author, with her brother, of Sibling Poets, and celebrated contributor to the Clevedon Literary Festival). And finally, the enchanting Leila, who’s rich, silky verse defies all description.
Old Moll is a solo indie-folk project by Molly Cheek, a poet and singer-songwriter based just outside of Bristol. Having grown up in and begun performing poetry and song in Bristol, Molly hit her musical stride as a student in Cardiff — playing iconic local venues such as Gŵdihw and The Moon. For fans of Laura Marling and Nick Drake, the songs of Old Moll draw on the spirit of blues and folk, spanning across English and Welsh to evoke stories of folklore, family history, and the magic of place.
Following the release of debut single ‘Winter in the Summer Country’ in May, Old Moll has released her latest single ‘Lulynn’ (pronounced lil-inn) in July. ‘Lulynn’ is a dreamy track blending sea-shanty and lullaby, telling a story of longing, grief and purpose, and asks what we’re really willing to leave behind for love. The Cornish name for the fishing town of Newlyn lends itself to the track’s title – the lyrics were written there and its harbour walls feature on the single’s artwork.
Check out the links below to find out more about Old Moll!
Instagram @old.moll
Facebook Old Moll
Poetry event curated by Ashley Dunn, writer and creator of the ever so popular monthly poetry open mic night ‘Infringed’ happening at the Fringe in Clifton.
Since starting on a whim in July 2022, Infringed Poetry has provided a platform for hundreds of artists from across Bristol (and sometimes the world!) to share their work. From veteran poets through to first time performers, the audiences at this open mic always have the privilege of seeing an extraordinary and unique array of talent on stage at events held monthly at The Bristol Fringe, Clifton Village. Creator and host of Infringed Poetry, Ashley Dunn, will now be coming to Hotwells Festival with just some of that wonderful talent for one night only. Expect a beautiful variety of performances from 8 wordsmiths who reflect the diverse energy of Infringed Poetry. Together, they will explore a wide range of human emotion and experience, all with their own distinctive voice and style.
Late, late last Christmas night, an ancient beatnik appeared in a vision to Geoffrey Breeze offering the possibility of the pointless life of a poet. Swiftly surrendering, he started scribbling. His work surveys love lost and found, career, criminality, and the glories of humanity, from disco dancing to erectile dysfunction, from Bath to Brixton, all coyly observed through the thick bifocal lens of a pair of designer spectacles.
Here a bit more about the poets featured in this event:
Anna Maughan has been writing ever since falling in love with John Donne and the Liverpool Poets at school. She writes a lot about hope. She is passionate about open and honest dialogue regarding mental health. She has been published by Apricot Press, has recently performed at The Square Club for their Poetry Revue, and reads at various venues around Bristol.
Velvet Morgan is a 21-year-old female poet who has performed at many spoken word events such as the Lyra Festival, Chelsea Arts Club, and BBC Bristol radio. She takes interest in the human condition, especially the inner psyche, trauma, and PTSD. Her poems are a testament to grief, the strength of the human mind and subconscious, as well as the ‘animal’ in the ‘human.’
B.T. Wine is a volcanic performance poet who channels the energy and attitude of their punk roots with their unflinching and unpretentious view of Old England’s sensibility into a sensational, masturbational explosion on stage.
Tony Yella (b.1984) is an artist and poet living in Bristol. His poetry reconfigures the vocabulary and language from the musical subcultures of his formative years (Drum & Bass, UK Rap). Alternating between discursive prose, spoken word and rap, he uses social deconstruction and storytelling to address personal historical trauma and euphoric recall. Tony has worked with producers in London and Bristol and has performed at The Bomb Factory (Archway, London), and South London Gallery (Peckham, London).
H is a 26-year-old poet living in Bristol for the last 5 years. She began writing in May 2021 as a form of self-soothing and expression. Her themes centre around her journey of trauma recovery and self-discovery, acceptance, and love.
Jaidah’s written & spoken works are undeniably compelling & hold the primary focus of advocating alongside promoting human welfare & connection. Jaidah’s journey into writing started in a sanctuary of solitude which stimulated vastly journeying the world within herself & most importantly she has been inspired by listening to the language nature speaks. Jaidah intends to soon expand her creativity by introducing musicality to her words.
Tim Munson is a local poet who performs his poetry at venues in and around the seedy under belly of Bristol’s poetry scene and he was recently in the final of the Lyra Festival Poetry Slam. He writes poems dealing with such weighty subjects as pork scratchings, his annoying father-in-law, and the ravages of sugar addiction. Tim also owns three top-of-the-range tin openers, none of which work.
Upstairs at the Nova (11am-10pm)
NOTE: This talk is going to be held in the Nova Scotia Upstairs (just opposite the festival marquee).
Stanley Spencer in Bristol in WW1. Stanley Spencer (1891–1959), one of Britain’s greatest artists, spent the early part of the First World War in Bristol at the Beaufort War Hospital in Fishponds. Spencer later used these experiences to spend five years creating a ‘Holy Box’, the Sandham Memorial Chapel at Burghclere. The chapel he painted is one of the greatest sites in British Art. We see wonderful pictures of brave young soldiers and the hospital itself, all created with humour and strong colour. The picture shown here with the “Travoys Arriving with Wounded at a Dressing-Station at Smol, Macedonia, September 1916“ gives you a little flavor of what to expect. _(Art.IWM_ART_2268).jpg){kind=link}
He is a keen and dedicated lecturer and researcher, who achieved a first-class honours degree from Oxford Brookes University in 2005, where he was awarded the Jeanne Sheehy Memorial Prize for the best undergraduate dissertation in History of Art. In 2006 he completed my MA at the University of Bristol and subsequently spent a year as Research Assistant on a major AHRC project at the University of Plymouth. His PhD on the subject of the impact of Nordic art in Europe in the period 1878-1889 was awarded by the University of Leeds in January 2015. He has written extensively, with three publications in 2016, and a major catalogue in 2017, with further publications in 2018 and 2019. He has taught since 2007, including teaching second year students at Oxford Brookes in 2014/15 and first year students at Exeter in 2017. He also is on the tutor panel for both Oxford and Cambridge Universities, and have delivered conference papers in Britain, Scandinavia, Ireland, Italy, The Netherlands and Canada. In 2017, he contributed twenty-seven individual essays to the catalogue “Romanticism in the North – from Friedrich to Turner (Groningen: Groninger Museum), where he was entrusted with the major sections on Constable and Turner. His broad knowledge has led to teaching on a substantial range of subjects, but he has specialised in nineteenth-century art in the Nordic countries, France and Britain, with an additional interest of British art of the early twentieth century.
Check out is website too: https://www.jandcox.uk/
Don’t miss this free talk.
Merchants Arms (5-7pm)
5 Merchants Rd, Hotwells, Bristol BS8 4PZ
The premier symphonic brass ensemble in the South West!
Formed in 1985, the Bristol Brass Consort is a symphonic brass ensemble which regularly performs established brass repertoire as well as lesser known works and new commissions. The group regularly performs for music societies, festivals, concert series and weddings. Bristol Brass Consort is structured as a brass quintet as its core ensemble, consisting of two trumpets, French horn, trombone and tuba. The ensemble has a lively repartee, touched with humour and personality, to bridge the ocean of classical formality to delight audiences in an evening of great music mixed with fun. Not to be missed! 🙂
