For two days in June, the Festival will take over the iconic Kings Place (the young, independently-funded arts and conference venue in the heart of Kings Cross) and feature a variety of live music, talks, workshops and readings which will appeal to people of all ages.
Award-winning musician and BBC 6 Music DJ Cerys Matthews has had a long-standing involvement with the festival and will be headlining on the Friday to present an evening exploring blues music. BBC Radio 4’s John Wilson also returns to the festival to curate a show, and on Saturday will be joined in conversation with Jehnny Beth, singer, songwriter, radio host and Savages frontwoman, who was on the Brits stage earlier this year alongside Damon Albarn and Gorillaz.
Isobel Colchester, CEO of Poet in the City says of this year's festival, "We are thrilled to introduce year three of our Poetry & Lyrics festival. Every year we bring together lovers of all different styles of music and poetry and I always find it incredibly exciting to see crowds spanning classical to folk and hip-hop all rubbing shoulders. This year is as eclectic as ever with the likes of Cerys Matthews, Jehnny Beth, Anthony Joseph and Richard Scott all under one lyrical roof. For the first time, we'll also be hosting parties with new hip-hop poetry commissions and a celebration of the poetry of nightlife, as well as increasing our offer to families. Here's to the mix!"
For this year, Poet in the City has also commissioned an array of talent to take over the Platforms stage for sets open to the public and confirmed the addition of two explosive late-night offerings such as The College Dropout R.A.P party. This is a hip-hop fuelled rhythm and poetry party curated by acclaimed poets Inua Ellams and Theresa Lola, It will feature 13 brand new commissions inspired by Kanye West’s renowned album 'The College Dropout'.
And it's not just for adults, Michael De Souza aka CBeebies' Rastamouse, will be sharing classic stories from his hit children’s book and TV series before being joined by rapper turned poet ‘Lil’ Bruv’. In an interactive show for the whole family, they will be exploring the twists and turns of rhythm and rhyme.
With plenty of other performances and appearances by musicians and artists including Claire Booth, Aaron Copland, Benin City, nabokov, DJ Sid Mercutio, Nãnci Correia and Daudi Matsiko this is one festival you cannot possibly miss!
Festival tickets are on sale now and can be purchased here and the box office. A number of the events taking place throughout the day will be free but ticketed, while others start from £9.50. For more information, and to purchase tickets, please visit www.kingsplace.co.uk or call the Kings Place Box Office on 020 7520 1490.
Poetry & Lyrics Festival 2018
8th - 9th June 2018
Produced by Poet in the City
Hosted by Kings Place, 90 York Way
Find out more here.
