Events 2012
What a splendid year was 2012!
Between long periods of ‘summer’ sunbathing and unnecessary bouts of teaching circus skills in muddy fields, Amy did manage to find time to write and perform. She continued to do so throughout autumn and winter, although she did not stray so far from her fireside.
Here are some of 2012’s poetic and literary highlights.
Cheltenham Poetry Festival Team Slam
Friday April 20th 2012, Cheltenham Town Hall, 9pm
Four gaggles of the region’s top performance poets battle in verse for the glory of team slam champ status. See Cheltenham Poetry Festival brochure page 8 for details.
*Team Rainbow were runners up! What a marvellous night!*
Cheltenham Poetry Festival – Pulp Diction
Saturday April 21st 2012, Cheltenham Town Hall, 8pm
Too many tasty poets and singing types to name but for starters you have Amy Rainbow doing her love thing with Gary Longden, there’s Barnaby Eaton-Jones, Catherine Crosswell, Four Tart Harmony… ah, loads. For details see the Cheltenham Poetry Festival brochure page 19.
*A feast of friends. Superb fun 🙂 *
Stratford Literary Festival – The Very Grimm Brothers and their Open Mic Cabaret Show
Monday April 23rd 2012, 7.30pm, Alveston Manor Hotel (posh, eh?)
Cabaret style evening hosted my middle aged right on rappers, those Very Grimm Brothers. With cupcake and bidet musings from Catherine Crosswell. For details and tickets download a brochure from the Stratford Literary Festival website (see page 7) or ring 01789 207100.
*Poshest venue so far and what a beautiful crowd.*
Attila The Stockbroker’s Glastonwick Festival
June 1st – 3rd 2012
A beer, music, poetry and more beer festival in West Sussex. A heap of punk-folk, pithy poetry and… er… beer! Top names such as Blyth Power, John Otway, The Piranhas, Patrik Fitzgerald, Jonny Fluffypunk and a fair few more. For info and tickets, check out the Glastonwick 2012 website.
*Amy was assigned her own personal perry advisor for this festival.*
A Bard For Worcestershire – County Poet Laureate Finals
Friday June 14th, 7.30pm, Worcester Swan Theatre
For the second year running Amy is up against the county’s tip top poets who will battle it out for the title of county bard.
*Huge congratulations to Maggie Doyle, a fine ambassador for Worcestershire. It’s the taking part that counts…*
Worcestershire Literary Festival – Fancy a Double?
Saturday June 16th, Malvern Youth Centre
A night of poetic pairings, imperfect partnerships and double doses of delight. Compered by The Bard of Malvern himself, Jai Hill, the evening’s entertainment will feature pairs of poets who will make you laugh, cry, rejoice, despair… and dash back to the bar for more doubles. Amy will be joyously reunited with sparring partner Gary Longden for the occasion.
*Absolute filth from Catherine and Lindsay. More!*
Parole Parlate – Festival Special
Thursday June 21st, 7.30pm, Little Venice, Worcester
Another outing with poetic partner Gary Longden as Amy performs as the pretty, witty half of The Imperfect Pair.
*Super variety as ever. Al Barz was surreally splendid.*
Worcestershire Literary Festival Flash Fiction Competition Finals
Saturday June 23rd, 4-6pm, University of Worcester City Campus
Amy will read her TWO flash fiction pieces which reached this year’s competition final in front of an audience including the eight other finalists plus festival director Lisa Ventura and judges Lindsay Stanberry-Flynn (creative writing tutor) and Calum Kerr (flash fiction king!) Crikey.
*Victory! Hurrah! Prize money spent immediately on books!*
Worcestershire Literary Festival Slam
Sunday June 24th, 7.30pm, Drummonds Bar, Worcester
Lots of poets, lots of punters (at least the ones who don’t like football), lots of puns and lots of pints.
*Hustled by a bright young thing from Birmingham. So much more fun than footie!*
Pre-festival Poetry and Music with Treefrogs
Thursday June 28th, 8.30pm, Ledbury Retreat
An annual event now, an evening of fine music and poetry to warm up the hoards on the eve of Ledbury Poetry Festival. Cosy venue and lovely landlord!
*Poetry in pubs is the way to go.*
Lydney Poetry Slam Featuring Team Rainbow!
Thursday July 12th, 8pm, The Annexe (it’s a pub), Lydney
Team Rainbow prepares to enter The Forest to challenge Lydney’s home team in a full bodied poetic battle type thing. Boasting some of the hottest versifiers in the vacinity, Team Rainbow comprises Worcestershire Laureate Maggie Doyle, poetry activist Gary Longden, mole botherer extraordinaire Adrian Mealing and Captain Rainbow herself. No fuss, no frills, just us and them. Team Rainbow is set for victory! Failing that, runners up sounds splendid too.
*We won! We won! A gold medal each plus a pocket Kama Sutra!*
Green Gathering, Chepstow
Thursday August 2nd-Monday August 6th
Random fireside outpourings and perfectly planned performances over this long festival weekend. Expect a mighty battle on the Floating Lotus stage in this year’s Green Gathering poetry slam!
*Woohoo! Another slam victory for Ms Rainbow. An absolute treat to perform alongside the dashing Dreadlockalien and ranting Danny Chivers!*
ARTournament Gloucester All Dayer
Saturday August 18th, 2-11pm, Blackfriars Priory, Gloucester, GL1 2HN
A whole day of entertainment from those lovely ARTournament Gloucester folks. Music and performance poetry, stand-up and storytelling, dancing and fancy dress and much much more. Several rooms full of talent. Amy’s set will be in the Poetry and Spoken Word Room from 8.30 till 9. Ish. See Facebook event for up to date details.
*What a venue! Cathedrals and priories – wherever next?*
Hullabaloo Festival, Cheltenham
Saturday August 25th-Monday August 27th
A Bank Holiday weekend of music, spoken word, fine food, friends and maybe a bit of sunshine if we’re very, very lucky. Amy will be performing on the Sunday evening as one of Hullabaloo’s beautiful gaggle of Cheltenham Poetry Festival starlets. Don’t forget your wellies.
*I didn’t forget my wellies. Poetry with disco lights. Lovely.*
The Mee Club – Spoken Word Cabaret Club For Singles!
Tuesday September 4th, 7.30pm, Kitchen Garden Cafe, 17 York Road, King’s Heath, Birmingham, B14 7SA, 0121 443 4726
How fantastic is this? A cabaret-style singles evening with food and drink, comedy and music, poetry and potential partners! Amy would like to clarify that she is currently estranged from her Imperfect Partner Gary Longden so she does, in fact, qualify to attend. Any queries regarding this matter should be directed to the couple’s legal team. See Facebook group for up to date details of this wonderful new fortnightly event.
*Wonderful venue and a stone’s throw from The Hare and Hounds. Super.*
Worcestershire Literary Festival’s Parole Parlate
Thursday September 6th, 7.30pm, Little Venice, Worcester
A romantic return for The Imperfect Pair to this lovely little venue where Amy Rainbow first met her poetic partner Gary Longden. Delighted at the invitation to headline this night of spoken word fabulousness, Amy and Gary have agreed to put their differences to one side for a whole evening and share their musings on the mysteries of love. (Please note, bookings for The Imperfect Pair must be flexible to allow for vital relationship counselling sessions to continue.)
*Absolute corker of a night. Fresh insults from Gary to warm my heart. Such a charmer.*
Omnia Opera, Aulos and Amy Rainbow!
Saturday September 15th, 7.30pm,Malvern Cube, Albert Road North, Malvern, WR14 2YH
Oh my goodness. Amy gets to fulfill a lifelong dream (sort of) by performing with the aurally arousing space-rock phenomenon that is Omnia Opera. This will be a mighty evening to be missed at your peril. Adventures in the Omniosphere with luscious light show. Nothing Is Ordinary. Be there.
Admission £7. Facebook event is here.
*Hearing restored to near-normal levels in 42% of the audience after only thirteen days.*
Warwick Words Flash Slam
Thursday October 4th, 7.30pm, Lord Leycester Hospital, 60 High Street, Warwick
First time for everything. Well, everything that one gets round to doing. A slam featuring flash fiction instead of poetry. Good idea, eh?
*First prize and an invite to Oxford in the spring for Ms Rainbow. Sweet.*
Malvern’s 4th Poetry Slam and Attila the Stockbroker
Friday October 5th, 7.30pm,Malvern Cube, Albert Road North, Malvern, WR14 2YH
Poetry, poetry, poetry… A feast of tip top poets once again, going head to head in Attila’s most highly recommended of slams. After a short alcoholic interlude, Attila himself will grace us with his punk mandola and socialist verse. Marvellous!
*Third place. Fantastic night. And first prize in the raffle. Yes.*
UK All Stars Slam Qualifier
Saturday October 13th, 3.30pm, Spiegeltent Bistro in Montpellier Gardens, Cheltenham, GL50 1UW
The slam qualifier of all slam qualifiers! Come marvel at the poetic lengths some folks will go to to bag themselves a place in the Grand Final held at 8.30 that very evening. Be there.
*Woohoo! Great fun! Gorgeous venue and a place in the finals!*
UK All Stars Grand Final!
Saturday October 13th, 8.30pm, Montpellier Gardens, Cheltenham, GL50 1UW
Slam final featuring the best of the best. Or something.
*Hats off to this year’s champ Dan Duke who did his bit for rhythm and end rhyme. And what a talented bunch.*
Girl’s Got Rhythm Book Launch
Wednesday October 24th, 6.30pm, Drummonds Bar, Worcester
Guest slot at the launch night of Polly Robinson’s poetry collection.
*Lots of girls, lots of rhythm.*
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Wednesday November 28th, 7pm, Drummonds Bar, Worcester
A night of Flash Fiction with a sci-fi or sinister twist. Expect the unexpected. Or at least a few zombies.
*There were zombies.*
A Flash Of Fiction Book Launch
Sunday December 9th, 4pm, Drummonds Bar, Worcester
Back at Drummonds for the launch of the Worcestershire Literary Festival Flash Fiction anthology which features Amy’s winning 300 word flash plus another piece of hers which made the final 10. Readings from many of the featured writers (or flashers, if you will.)
*Flashing in pubs is the way to go. Pretty book cover!*
Hillfields Animal Sanctuary Benefit Gig
Friday December 28th, 7pm-3am, The Wagon and Horses, Adderley Street, Digbeth, Birmingham, B9 4ED
A fundraiser for Hillfields, with two stages of music and a vegan poet! Vegan food and much alcohol available. What a treat! See Facebook event for details.
‘Bordering on the bawdy and bursting with humour.’ – Ralph Tittley, SLAP Magazine.