CRUMB #16

July 2023

WORD

We all need a little light sometimes

I was fortunate indeed to have the privilege of being the MC for last weekend’s Winter Festival of Light Variety Concert staged by Golden Bay Arts Council and held in the Village Theatre.
Congratulations go to Claire, Arnav, Dan and Bruce and crew for the brilliant production of an outstanding afternoon of wonderful community entertainment! What a splendid crowd filled the seats for the occasion.
And community it was. Just a little mind-boggling to be entertainment by an absolutely stunning lineup of local performers. How blessed are we to be held in such a community.

So excellent to see a range of performers who have graced our open mic sessions over the last year or so too. So encouraging to them spread their wings and fly.

That’s one of the benefits of our open mic sessions I guess. They provide a place for performers to try out their talents, hone their craft and polish up their performance skills.

So let’s go for July! Take the microphone when it is offered and see how far it will take you! and they are always great entertainment for the audience too – got to be one of the best nights out the Bay has on offer!!

Peace & Love
Mark Raffills
Golden Bay Live Poets Society

Winter Festival of Light

Oh for this festival
This festival of light
Stay your ground dread winter
Keep your darkness in your night

For we shall live in the light
Of all we were born to be
We have seen the darkness splintered
By that glory, you and me

We shall gather in the afterglow
That rises in the east
We shall hold it to our hearts
As it settles in the west

Come now, let us sit together
And be that single flame
That lights up every one of us
And calls us each, by name.

Mark Raffills

OPEN MICROPHONE

A Winter’s Night Moon

On a clear winter’s night, the moon comes shining for all it is worth. It sits above the MAD Cafe in Collingwood, lights up the microphone standing there, and fires the hearts of the performers who have come to tell a poem, sing a song, play some music or tell a tale or two.

Yep, it’s the first Thursday of the month this week and that means it’s time for the monthly Moonshine on the Microphone open microphone session.

So come on down from the valley and come up from the town, bring your guitar, your voice, you word, your song and let your own self be heard.

Love to see you there!

Moonshine on the Microphone
This Thursday 6 July
7.00pm. Koha
MAD Cafe, Collingwood

OPEN MICROPHONE

Rapping up Winter

Where freedom sings! This freedom is more than just a folk song, strummed in the sanctuary of our own room. This freedom gives voice loud and clear to those who wish to listen, to those who have ears to hear.

The Dangerous Microphone is about freedom. Choice. Polish. It gives performers – from the timid to the more confident – an opportunity to sharpen their talents and presentation skills with all the encouragement and love the audience offers. So gather up some friends, grab a table and settle in for an evening meal and a glass of wine!

For performers, the booking sheet will be open from 5.00 pm.

And it is winter so the staff at the Dangerous kitchen will be taking a well deserved break from middle of July. Their last open day will be Saturday 15 July and they will re-open for business on Wednesday 30 August.

The Dangerous Microphone
Wednesdays, 5.30pm
5 and 12 July
The Dangerous Kitchen

OPEN MICROPHONE

POEMS & SONGS @ ACID ON THE MICROPHONE

This one is going to be something quite special. Two performers together for one stunning show, brought to you by Golden Bay Live Poets Society.

Poet Henry Ludbrook and singer/songwriter alanjahjah are our featured guests this month at Acid on the Microphone. Henry will perform poems from his just released collection called ‘River Deliver Me’ while Alan brings an acoustic set of his beloved original reggae tunes with musical back up from Joy.

The evening will kick off with song and music from Andy Cole. Then our very famous open mic session will take centre stage, where poets, story tellers and musicians take to the microphone to entertain and perform.

Open Mic participants should get in early on the night to book a spot behind the microphone. Open Mic will kick off around 7.30pm. A short break after 8.00pm before alanjahjah and Henry alternate at the microphone with two short sets each.

Come on down to the Mussel Inn for a gathering of hearts; the fire is in the hearth, food and drink to sustain you and company you can’t do without!

ACID ON THE MICROPHONE
featuring HENRY LUDBROOK & alanjahjah
Thursday 27 July
7.30 pm. $5
Mussel Inn

SINGER/SONGWRITER

alanjahjah – singer/songwriter

So good to have alanjahjah perform his own songs at this months Acid on the Microphone. He has played live music extensively all around the world and often fronts Acid on the Microphone with Joy, playing as the crowd settles in.

alanjahjah, whose Mama is from Liverpool, was born and raised in Belgium. Once his good friend, Matthew, showed him the chords to Bob Marley’s ‘Redemption Song’, Alan has never stopped playing and singing!

He discovered that “Songs of Freedom” could provide food and inspire listeners as well as being good for his soul. In the early 90s, alanjahjah co-founded Space Rock band ‘Oortcloud’, playing Congas, writing songs and singing them. Soon the band were spearheading unique Psychedelic Dub.

alanjahjah lived in Ireland for a while before coming to New Zealand in 2003 and eventually settling in Takaka. A regular busker around the town and DJ at Roots Bar, he is well versed in the heart and sound of Reggae and has built a solid reputation for his love of the music.

Says alanjahjah (born Alan De Boeck), “I have Roots and Fruits in Belgie (Belgium), Liverpool, Eire (Ireland) and Aotearoa (NZ). In these depths of Winter, alanjahjah will join the Warm Hearted Live Poets Gathering lit up by the Mussel Inn’s Fire to bring Acoustic versions of his Songs, representing his Journeys through aforementioned Home Lands. Joy (born Thijs Elslander, also in Belgium) will provide Multi-Talented Musical Back-Up.”

Some soul feeding is in store for all!

Note: alanjahjah and his Full Reggae Band -de eaggerlings- will play at the Mussel Inn in September, Celebrating Spring Equinox.

alanjahjah and Joy
Live @ Acid on the Microphone
Thursday 27 July 2023
7.30pm, Mussel Inn. $5

POET

DELIVERING HENRY LUDBROOK

Henry Ludbrook’s poems are wide and deep just like the sky! That’s what is says on the back cover of his just released first collection of poems, ‘River Deliver Me’.

And spend some time reading through the book and you would have to wholeheartedly agree. Henry maps his life, word by deliberate word, and lets you in on all that he sees and experiences. The poems flow like a river of delightful simplicity yet the under current will have you gasping for breath at times. They are reverent in their compassion for people, friends, family, strangers and other writers.

Nelson Poet Jessica Le Bas has this to say of Henry’s poems, “In the quietness of Henry’s lines lies an old and beautiful wisdom, a connection to the world of light and truth – they spin magic.”

Henry lives in Nelson. He has been writing poems since he was 16 and has been published in Poetry NZ. You will enjoy the honesty, the humility and the joy of Henry’s performance.

Henry Ludbrook
Live @ Acid on the Microphone
Thursday 27 July 2023
7.30pm, Mussel Inn. $5

Make Use of CRUMB

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In CRUMB you will find all the events sponsored by Golden Bay Live Poets Society plus a few other gigs and community happenings.

If you would like to be kept up to date with open microphone events happening around the Bay, then subscribe to CRUMB here

And you can even submit a gig or event that you want us to know about.

GOT A GIG, EVENT, NEW BOOK or RECORDING COMING UP ??

Got events or gigs coming up that you’d like to let CRUMB readers know about, please email the details, jpeg pics and jpeg posters to: mark@drycrust.com or use the link below:

submit a gig or event

And if you have a new book of poems, stories coming out, or a new recording of songs, let us know and we can let our small but dedicated readership in on the action.