BlakeFest 2017

BlakeFest 2017

Saturday/Sunday 16/17 September 2017
Join us for two epic days of live music and poetry. Tickets just £15 per day or Early Bird Full Weekend ticket for £25!

SATURDAY... HEADLINER... Michael Horovitz A truly unique opportunity to see legendary Jazz/Beat Poet MICHAEL HOROVITZ at the Regis School of Music in the stunning recital room performing as The William Blake Klezmatrix Band. He is joined by Vanessa Vie, Peter Lemur and Annie Whitehead.** BUY TICKETS HERE for Saturday and HERE for Sunday. Weekend tickets are available via either of these day links **
SUNDAY... HEADLINER Gwyneth Herbert A remarkably gifted talent’ The Guardian ‘Sings with a rare balance of passion and control… one of Britain’s brightest talents’ The Telegraph. Gwyneth Herbert is an award-winning composer and lyricist, vocalist, multi-instrumentalist and record producer. Drawing on influences from the worlds of jazz, folk, contemporary classical music and storytelling. Her latest album is the first Blue Note UK release in 30 years.
www.bognor.me.uk

Running order for artists on Saturday 16 September:

  • Midday @Bognor Library - Mikey Georgeson - Multimedia installation The Non-bifurcated Man + poet Cherry Smith + BlakeFest poet-in-residence Stella Bahin enabling community responses to a 360 degree virtual tour of Blake's Cottage
  • 2pm meet at Hotham Park - Look for the cow! Join us for an informal picnic or if it’s raining meet at the café.
  • 2.45pm We will leave Hotham Park on a guided walk with Niall McDevitt
  • Poet-psychogeographer, art-activist Niall McDevitt, author of three poetry collections, b/w (2010), Porterloo (2013), Firing Slits Jerusalem Colportage (2016). This is your chance to experience ‘Poetopography’ on a guided walk exploring Blake's connection to the local land ‘Beulah’ with psychogeographer Niall McDevitt (author of two de-gentrifying poetry collections ever trying to decode the London/Jerusalem conundrum).

The walk with join up with inimitable poet Stephen Micalef, author of The Punk Kings of Dyslexia.

  • As a teenager in 1976-77, he wrote for the pioneering punk fanzine Sniffin’ Glue. He reviewed many early punk gigs in London, including the seminal 100 Club Punk Fest. He also founded the Brixton Poets, which he ran between 1986-97.

6pm – The Regis School of Music, Recital Room Dusk heralds dedications to the divine and visionary with highly-acclaimed jazz/beat poet and Blake aficionado Michael Horovitz. He will be joined by Vanessa Vie (poet) and jazz musicians Annie Whitehead and Peter Lemer: the William Blake Klezmatrix Band. He has performed William Blake’s words in the Royal Albert Hall and the Victoria & Albert Museum last year.

 

Running order for artists on Sunday 17 September:

Doors Midday (Newtown Social Club)]
12.30pm Martin Chomsky. Martin will perform a solo acoustic/spoken word set. He was influential in the West Midlands punk-reggae party of the late 1970s and early 80s, collaborating with members of The Specials
and latterly Pop Will Eat Itself and Bentley Rhythm Ace.

1.15pm Justin Coe
With his trademark playful poetics and heart-felt humour, Justin Coe performs some of the funniest and
most poignant verses from his widely praised book The Dictionary of Dads, plus a few new ones too.

2.30pm Ruby and the ReVisions (Acoustic)
Local blues and soul singer Ruby Tiger is joined by Louise Maggs on guitar, showcasing a set that
reveals a more poetic and lyrically centred set of songs. Ruby will also be debuting a new composition
written especially for BlakeFest 2017.

3.15pm Tymon Dogg
‘Tymon’s a fuckin’ genius’ John Cooper-Clarke. A truly outstanding multi-instrumentalist singer songwriter described as the King of Gypsy Punk. In his 40-year career he has worked with a wide variety of musicians: The Clash, Jimmy Page and The Pogues.

4.15pm Luke Wright
Luke Wright has been described as ‘one of the funniest and most brilliant poet of his generation’ by The
Independent. He writes bawdy barroom ballads about Westminster, rogues and small town tragedies
and is a regular on BBC Radio 4.

5pm Attila the Stockbroker
Premiered by the legendary John Peel, Attila has toured the world performing his sharp-tongued, radical social surrealist poetry and songs for 36 years.
The world is changing fast, Attila the Stockbroker is writing about it - and he is more fired up than he has ever been in 36 years as a performance poet. He will be performing extracts from his autobiography Arguments Yard.

6.15pm David Devant & His Spirit Wife
David Devant & His Spirit Wife never intended themselves to become a band, but rather a space in
which weird and wonderful happenings could unfold. Their shows became the stuff
of legend during the Britpop era. Not to be missed!

7.30pm Gwyneth Herbert
‘A remarkably gifted talent’ The Guardian ‘Sings with a rare balance of passion and control… one of
Britain’s brightest talents’ The Telegraph. Gwyneth Herbert is an award-winning composer and lyricist,
vocalist, multi-instrumentalist and record producer. Drawing on influences from the worlds of jazz,
folk, contemporary classical music and storytelling. Her latest album is the first Blue Note UK release
in 30 years.

9pm-10.10pm Time Please, play by John Knowles and Kate Tym
Time Please is a dark comedy set in a failing pub, where ever appeasing landlord Steve and feisty wife
Cath are held hostage by conspiracy theory believing chaotic Keith. What follows is a lock-in like no other. http://time-please.co.uk