The spoken word and acoustic ‘Chatterbox’ stage at SO:FEST on Saturday (Sept 21) will be headlined by Hollie McNish, above, fresh from shows at Edinburgh, the Martin Luther King celebration at the Festival Hall, London, and the Shambala Festival.
Read more about Saturday’s SO:FEST in our previous piece here.
The line-up includes local spoken wordsters Matt West and Stewart Taylor, and singers Lucy Kitchen and Bright Smoke, alongside Ray Antrobus, Adam Kammerling, beatboxer Noisy Parrot, Pete the Temp and Antosh Wojcek.
“I can’t take my ears off her “is what Benjamin Zephaniah says about Hollie McNish, whose poem ‘Mathematics’ has received an incredible 1,3 million YouTube hits, while Southampton’s Matt West – the driving force behind Artful Scribe and previously featured on our own live podcast – has headlined spoken word stages at both Larmer Tree and WOMAD festivals this summer.
The Chatterbox Stage, hosted by Artful Scribe and SOCO Music Project, boasts and all-day programme, and includes an ‘Open Slam’ contest.
Matt West of Artful Scribe says: “It’s great that we are part of SO:FEST – spoken word is now a sound of the city that we can celebrate, and having Hollie come to celebrate with us is fantastic.”
Reflecting local talent
Charlie Hislop of Southampton Festivals says “The spoken word scene is still developing here, through the work of local projects like Archimedes Screw and Apples and Snakes, so it’s good to have a programme that reflects both local talent and our pulling power as a city with a growing audience.”
SO:FEST - ‘Celebrating the sounds of the city’ takes over the Guildhall Square and surrounding streets on Saturday. The main stage in the Square will be headlined by Ben Goddard, while the Steptone stage brings its programme of reggae, soul and funk DJs and MCs. Children’s activities and an arts market are also promised.
The festival spirit is set to continue with local bars and venues hosting indoor events after the main event ends.
Read more about Saturday’s SO:FEST in our previous piece here.
Hear Matt West: listen again to our own live podcast