CRUMB #42

MARCH 2026

THE WORD

SEASON OF THE VOICE

We slip from season to season, full moon to full moon and we wonder where the time goes and what was that song we knew and whose was the voice that raised us from our slumber.

In this month of March, the open microphone rolls on, sounding ever so splendid in spoken word and poetry and song. And it’s a warm space on offer at the Mussel Inn, NgAnga’s Gallery and The Dangerous Kitchen.

In Nelson, it is festival time as the Fringe Festival raises its voice and calls us out into the street by way of word and song and theatre. Some locals are performing – Neal Bonner, Aine Barton, Leigh Strange, Russell Back (a local in spirit) and Mark Raffills. They would love your support if you have it to spend. Here’s the programme: https://nelsonfringe.co.nz/events/

Break from the wire fence of home, relive the song you once knew, don’t let time pass you by and try not to stay silent when you know it’s time to speak. That’s all. See you at one of these delicious events!

Peace
Mark Raffills
Golden Bay Live Poets Society

curb-side cafe

…but for the cold silence
were their voices lost
but for the wasted years
did time usher itself
through the door

and she lamented
the bargain price
that stole her soul
and held her inside
a fence with no gate

down at the curb-side café
voice and time together
sat with wine and bread
and dined one with the other
both were well fed…

Mark Raffills

DANGEROUS MICROPHONE

Skipping a week of Dangerous Mic

That’s the deal. No Dangerous Microphone this week – Wednesday 4 March – as Neal and Mark are both away.

But come Wednesday 11 March, we will be rolling throughout the rest of the month with courageous performances and strong community connections you can’t buy!  So make sure you line up for your dose of entertainment, challenge and pure joy for the magnificent month of March.

No 30 Minute of Glory sessions so every week will be pure open microphone action from 6.00 pm to 9.00 pm.

Make the Dangerous Kitchen your go to place every Wednesday where the food and beverage service is fantastic and the hostesses and hosts make you feel right at home. Meet your neighbours and and enjoy the Ministry of Connections with travellers and visitors!

Performance list open from 5.00pm.
Remember, even angels sing at the mic!

Wednesday 11, 18 and 25 March
DANGEROUS MICROPHONE 
Open Mic All Night 6.00pm – 9.00pm. 

 

 

Skipping a week of Dangerous Mic

LIVE MIC ACTION

MOONSHINE in MARCH

with POT LUCK FEASTING

Moonshine on the Microphone with Pot Luck Feasting is  back this Thursday 5 March! And if last month is anything to go by, we are in for a beaut.

Last month we spoke with out feet and gave a resounding ‘yes’ to the continuation of these monthly gatherings. So come on down to NgAng’s Gallery in Collingwood, bring some food to share, something to drink, a poem or two and a song to sing. Or if singing is not your thing, just try humming!

The POT LUCK FEAST will start around 6.00pm with open mic kicking in from around 8.00 pm.

Love to see you again if you can make it!

Moonshine on the Microphone
Thursday 5 March 2026
NgAng’s Gallery
POT LUCK FEAST – 6.00pm
Open Mic – 7.00pm.
Koha

MOONSHINE in MARCH

Would love your support if you are able

Nelson Fringe Festival 2026

3POETS – one dream and some words (Mohua / Golden Bay) Mark Raffills, Neal Bonner and Àine Barton, three Golden Bay poets whose words of dare and no reason, of praise and protest, sing on steel rails in a mix of spoken word, poetry and one guitar. Catch us at the Nelson Fringe Festival, Thursday 12 March 2026 WAA! Club, 183 Bridge Street, 6.00 pm. Tickets: https://nelsonfringe.co.nz/events/3poets-one-dream-and-some-words/
or door sales.

Nelson Fringe Festival 2026

ASH, POEM & SONG (Mohua / Golden Bay) The songs of Leigh Strange and the poems of Mark Raffills’ 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. Catch us at the Nelson Fringe Festival, Friday 13 March 2026 WAA! Club, 183 Bridge Street, 7.30 pm. Tickets: https://nelsonfringe.co.nz/events/ash-poem-song/
or door sales.

NELSON FRINGE FESTIVAL

Becoming Hazlito

Russell ‘Hazlito’ Black

How I died and my life since. Can you trust the advice of a mentally ill man on how to survive mental illness? Hazlito will squeeze you through an emotional wringer using storytelling, comedy and (ugh) poetry to examine his mental health and identity. Hazlito writes stories. This is his most difficult story. Because this story is true. It covers mental health, ethnicity and sexual identity. It is a story of recovery, discovery and reinvention. It could be a novel. Join him as he overshares his personal life and discovers, through trauma, that he was never who he thought he was. And, who he thinks he is becoming. He will attempt to make you cry, laugh and maybe even rethink your own life. Hazlito is a National Slam Poetry finalist, once (before you were born) the funniest man (arguably) in Nelson, and currently a closeted artist, poet, writer and social critic. He is involved in multiple charities for vulnerable people and animals (ie he is unemployable) and is learning to understand his neurodivergence whilst being too woke to sleep.
When: 11 March, 2026
Genre: Undefinable
Price: $18 – $28
Venue: WAA! Club
Tickets: https://nelsonfringe.co.nz/events/becoming-hazlito/

Some more things....

A barrel of fabulous live shows for the month of March.
All the details can be found on the website, here:
https://www.musselinn.co.nz/Entertainment/entertainment.html

WORD SAVVY POETRY GROUP

Every Tuesday, Takaka Library. 10.30 am to 12.00pm.
Write poetry, read poetry, bring your favourite poem and discover new poets with other poetry lovers.

LIVE MIC ACTION

In March there is Acid on the Microphone

Story teller JACE HOBBS is our guest for the March edition of Acid on the Microphone.

But first of course, it is our wildly entertaining open mic session for poets and singer/songwriters where a whole lot of good vibes happen.  Poets get to speak of those things that matter (speaking of which I wonder sometimes where are  the poets, why have our voices gone silent, why do we let the microphone stand alone?) and singer/songwriters get to lift our souls with their song.

As always, the open mic always uncovers  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 is presented by Golden Bay Live Poets Society and gives you poems, stories and music too!

ACID ON THE MICROPHONE presents
Open Mic  from 7.30pm
Jace Hobbs, story teller, from 8.30 pm
Thursday 19 March 2026
$5 on the door.  Mussel Inn

 

In March there is Acid on the Microphone

THE POEM AS STORY

hardly believable!

JACE HOBBS is a story teller and he will be our guest at ACID ON THE MICROPHONE on Thursday 19 March ’26

They say everyone loves a good story so make sure you get comfortable at the Mussel Inn, settle back and let your imagination take you for a ride as Jace Hobbs unfolds a little magic.
Jace picked up performance storytelling when his son was two and never stopped. Along the way, he has performed broadly and won the Hemingway Storytelling Open in the US.
At this session – following the open mic at Acid on the Microphone, he will be telling true, but hardly believable, stories about Pacific voyagers and what goes down when a river reveals secrets that change lives.

ACID ON THE MICROPHONE presents
JACE HOBBS  from 8.30pm
OPEN MIC from 7.30pm
Thursday 30 October 2025
$5 on the door.  Mussel Inn

hardly believable!

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.