Last Thursday saw a record crowd fill Found Café for the monthly Song & Poetry Thing. Run by, artist and musician Katy Soljak and food writer and poet Julie Biuso, the open mic night is held the last Thursday of every month at Found Café in Surfdale.
Each evening will now include a featured artist. Shayn “Hurricane” Wills filled the inaugural slot at last week’s show. He had rocked the crowd earlier in the year when he performed with his son Zephyr at Song & Poetry Thing and last Thursday’s performance saw his well-honed lyrics and guitar delight the crowd again.
Another competent songwriter, Tommy McDaniel, performed the song he entered into the Golden Guitar Awards in Gore on Saturday under his new stage name Reeve Thomas.
Featured artist for June will be multi-award winning writer Lloyd Jones (his novel Mr Pip won the Commonwealth Writers’ Prize and was shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize).
Song & Poetry Thing attracts a diverse range of poets and musicians covering topics such as love, loss and loneliness, but performers are not afraid to tackle meaty subjects such as mental health, abuse and equality as well as strong and thought-provoking political issues. There’s humour, too, and, as you’d expect when you assemble a bunch of scribes and musicians, plenty of quirky commentary.
Sign-up time for performers is 6.30pm with the show commencing at 7.00pm.
For more information contact katsun@xtra.co.nz or julie@sharedkitchen.co.nz •
