CRUMB #34

MAY 2025

THE WORD

strength in community

Sometimes it is our own voice that opens the door to the light. Sometimes belief in ourselves holds back the darkness. Sometimes it is our presence in places where the community gathers that adds strength to those we gather with. And I’ve been thinking, what a community of love and support our open microphone events have proved to be. They have been a catalyst of hope, a creator of confidence and a pool of encouragement for performers and audience alike.

The open microphone continues to hold a place individually and collectively for performers and audience; it has become a garden of nourishment and strength; a field of laughter and joy and amazing treasures.

This month the open microphone features a pot luck meal at NgAnga’s Gallery in Collingwood, three beautiful acts at The Dangerous Kitchen and some stunning words and songs from locals Leigh Strange and yours truly at The Mussel Inn.

Love to hear your voice and be in your presence sometime this month at an open microphone event near you. All the details are on the following pages.

Peace
Mark Raffills
Golden Bay Live Poets Society

through the grey shadows

At the top of the valley
A crowning sheen of cloud
As thin as white lace
Drapes itself over
The mountain tops
And steep slopes
It covers them
As in a dark cupboard.

Here the falcon flies
Brown eyes seeking
A landing place
Caught in the breathless
Downdraft
Plummets earthwards
Through the suffocating
Darkness of forests
And  tall trees.

Yet in the morning
A golden thread
A ray of sun
Weaves itself through
The layer of lace
Opens the cupboard
Breathes in deeply
The sweet taste of grace.

Mark Raffills

LIVE MIC ACTION

Open Mic and Pot Luck Tea Again

That’s right! Fighting hard to believe this is one kind of gathering we need! Come this Thursday 7 August we are dishing up another WINTER POT LUCK TEA, a poem and a song at NgAng’s Gallery. 

The POT LUCK TEA will start at  6.00pm. Bring some food and drink and hang out together and remind ourselves just how lucky we are to be in such a gem of a community.

And then, starting around 7.30pm, there will be the very fabulous and very intimate Moonshine on the Microphone open mic session hosted by Mr  Mark Raffills.

Moonshine on the Microphone
Thursday 7 August 2025
NgAng’s Gallery
POT LUCK TEA – 6.00pm
Open Mic – 7.30pm. Koha

Open Mic and Pot Luck Tea Again

LIVE MIC ACTION

Winter & The Dangerous Microphone

This will be the last month of The Dangerous Microphone until spring. We will bring our third year to a close on Wednesday 25 June. The Dangerous Kitchen will operate for two more weeks after that until mid July and then it will close for the winter. The re-opening will occur on Wednesday 3 September with The Dangerous Microphone taking centre stage then as well.

For now, we, our wonderful audience, will gather each Wednesday to be entertained, challenged and informed by courageous performances and strong community connections. This is open mic central!

There’s a change a’coming too, to the format. Going to slot 30 Minutes of Glory into the middle of the evening rather than at the end. This will give a little more opportunity for open mic participants at the end of the evening and allow the guest performers to enjoy a little more audience in the middle of the night.

So here we are in June – every Wednesday at the Dangerous Kitchen. where the food and beverage service is fantastic and the hostesses and hosts make you feel right at home. We pass the koha bowl to support our performers on the 30 Minutes of Glory evenings.  Here’s the programme!

Wednesday 4 June

DANGEROUS MICROPHONE 
Oprn Mic: 6.00pm – 8.00pm.  MIX UP THE JAM from 8.00pm. Bring your acoustic instruments and make the kinda music that replenishes the soul and boosts your playing confidence.

 

Winter & The Dangerous Microphone

LIVE MIC ACTION

ACID in July

Irish singer/songwriter Diana Ní hÍceadha is our guest at July’s edition of ACID ON THE MICROPHONE presented by Golden Bay Live Poets Society.

Our regular open microphone session for poets and musicians will run from 7.30 to 8.30 pm.  The open mic always throws up some unexpected treats as new and established performers present their work.  Participants can put their names on the performance list on the night. Musician alanjahjah will kick the evening off from around 7.15pm with dinner music to dine to.

ACID ON THE MICROPHONE presents
Irish singer/songwriter
Diana Ní hÍceadha
Thursday 24 July
Open Mic from 7.30 pm.
Diana from 8.30 pm.
 $5 on the door.  Mussel Inn

ACID in July

SONGS AND POEMS LIVE!

ash, poem and song

 Poems & Songs by

MARK RAFFILLS & LEIGH STRANGE

Thursday 29 May 2025
Acid on the Microphone
Mussel Inn

The soulful voice and late-night piano of Leigh Strange meet the star-spangled poems of  Mark Raffills to create moments of sadness and joy; of  despair and redemption.

This one-hour show, originally crafted for the Nelson Fringe Festival 2025, brings together one local musician in Leigh Strange and one local poet in Mark Raffills. Their collaboration came about after an open mic session at the Mussel Inn a couple of years back where Leigh was singing Janis Joplin and Mark was telling poems and thinking these voices might work well together.

“It took some time to get organised,” says Leigh, “but having the courage to commit to a deadline, like the Fringe Festival, helped us turn our music and words into dance partners.”

The resultant show of mostly original songs and poems has a relaxed and intimate feel about it. Nothing rushed or too urgent. It’s lounge-room setting allows the audience to sit back and soak up the words and music created by Leigh and Mark.

As one observer noted, ‘their voices fill the space where the lonely wander, where the moon filters through the dark shadows in thin rays of light; where a small coin is sufficient to buy back a soul grown cold.’

Another opportunity to catch our own community in action. Love to see you there.

Ash, Poem and Song
Leigh Strange and Mark Raffills
Thursday 29 May. 7.30 pm.
Mussel Inn
$5 at the door.

 

 

ash, poem and song

LIVE AT THE MUSSEL INN

JULY AT THE MUSSEL INN

Thursday 3 July
QUIZ NIGHT – All welcome

Saturday 12 July
HOBNAIL Trio (pic to left)

 Thursday 17 July
QUIZ NIGHT  – All welcome

Thursday 24 July
ACID ON THE MICROPHONE
LIVE POETS featuring Diana Ní hÍceadha

Saturday 26 July
THE AMBER TEMPLE – dramatic music and dance

Thursday 31 July
QUIZ NIGHT – All welcome

 

JULY AT THE MUSSEL INN

COMMUNITY STRENGTH ON SHOW

July @ Aroha Ahora

July @ Aroha Ahora

Make Use of CRUMB

subscribe to CRUMB

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.