HMS Sweet Charity (DJ Set)
Having spent years travelling to lesser known parts of the world, DJ duo Sweet Charity have amassed a collection of lesser known, forgotten-to-time-and-taste records from across the globe that are guarantee’d to have you dancing til the early hours. Starting with a monthly night at the ICA they expanded their thrift store and charity shop record sets to Glastonbury festival where they run the late night cruise ship HMS Sweet Charity.
Tim Burke memorial film
Tim Burke was an activist, film-maker, writer, agent provocateur and flaneur who took his own life a year ago at the age of 55. Tim was profoundly affected by the Grenfell Tower fire in west London, and continually railed against what he saw as the venality of the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea.
A staunch community activist, here’s your opportunity to discover more about and celebrate the life of a remarkable and truly treasured human being
LiveWire Salon Poets with Salena Godden
Our ‘LIVEwire’ Salon is a proven hit at the festival, and this year we have no fewer than twelve renegade poets performing for you at some point over the weekend.
Hosted by SALENA GODDEN
One of the UK’s foremost poets, Salena is also Byline’s Poet Laureate. After gracing global stages for 25 years, her rebellious livewire spirit unparalleled. Her ‘Pessimism Is For Lightweights’ pamphlet took UK poetry by storm last summer, and her ‘LIVEwire’ album was shortlisted for the Ted Hughes Award in 2016.
Connor Byrne is a poet and performer from Brighton, now living in London. Their work explores gender and the relationships we have with others and the world. They have performed nationally and internationally, at festivals, competed in slams and self published two pamphlets.
Sunnah Khan is a Scottish Pakistani poet living in London, Sunnah writes poems of belonging and displacement. When she’s not producing documentaries, she’s either standing on her head or performing with her poetry collective 4 BROWN GIRLS WHO WRITE.
Oakley - A writer and performer originally from the West Midlands, they’ve received playwright development from Birmingham REP and gained a place on Royal Court’s playwrights programme. Oakley has performed nationwide, has been published by #Queer in the US and has a forthcoming collection ‘The Rainbow as a Bleeding Sky’ on Verve.
Sheena Patel - A London-based poet, and part of the exciting and much spoken about collective 4 BROWN GIRLS WHO WRITE. Sheena’s writing is a surrealist interweaving of sex and myth, and she can be a little bit rude sometimes.
Repeat Beat Poet - A broadcaster and hip hop poet, PJ fuses traditional poetics with hip hop culture to capture and extend moments of time, thought, and feeling. He produces and hosts monthly poetry events Boomerang and Pen-Ting and his radio show #TheRepeatBeatBroadcast, and is a house emcee with hip hop label Imaginary Millions.
Oli Spleen - In 2018 as a tribute to his recently deceased father, Oli recorded his second solo album ‘Gaslight Illuminations’. It was also inspired by the emotional fallout of a toxic relationship. It’s been described as “a gloriously dark and haunting work” and “a mesmerising work from an artist who has embraced his maturity”.
Maria Ferguson - A multi award-winning theatre maker from Essex, Maria is also a highly acclaimed poet. Her début one-woman show ‘Fat Girls Don’t Dance’ won Best Spoken Word Show at the 2017 Saboteur Awards, and follow-up ‘Essex Girl’ won Show Of The Week at VAULT 2019. It tours from September to November.
Toria Garbutt - A rising star of the UK scene, Toria has been touring with Dr John Cooper Clarke since spring 2016, both at home and abroad. Her début album ‘Hot Plastic Moon’ was released by N&T, and her début collection ‘The Universe and Me’ has been hailed by The Guardian and Radio 4.
Joelle Taylor - An award-winning poet, playwright, author and editor who has recently completed a world tour with her latest collection ‘Songs My Enemy Taught Me’. Joelle is widely anthologised, the author of 3 full poetry collections and 3 plays and is currently completing her début book of short stories ‘The Night Alphabet’.
Michelle Fisher - A writer and performer from Glasgow, Michelle was a resident artist at Roundhouse from 2017-18 and has been commissioned by the likes of BBC and Huffington Post. Her work explores wider societal issues, including class and poverty, and how they impact on our daily lives.
Matt Abbott - A poet, educator and activist from Wakefield, Matt formed spoken word label Nymphs & Thugs in 2015 and fronts alternative act Skint & Demoralised. His ‘Two Little Ducks’ show explores the working-class Leave vote and the refugee crisis.
Radio KWG
Radio K W G is a musical collaboration between guitarist WillB, vocalist Kylie Earl and lyricist Geoff Allnutt. They have released 3 Eps of road songs and are currently recording and writing a new album. For further details please go to radiokwg.com
Their music has been described as an authentic version of British Americana and Southern Gothi with heartbreaking songs on the theme of The Road
The PG's
The PGs are singers Mary Currie and Alison Craig with a load of sound making props and gizmos, and Nat Wallace on guitar.
They have been described as “Folk n Foley” but they are (slightly) more than that, as they plunder a variety of musical genres in the course of their set, from Prog Rock to Music Hall.
They also lob a few of their own songs into the mix too.
Teacups, Whirly tubes, megaphones, door latches and harmony all help to bring texture, and a fresh approach to their sound.
Warning- Kazoos may be used during the performance ( But we are assured that this will be done sensitively and sparingly.)
Rosie Wilby
Rosie Wilby is an award-winning comedian who has appeared many times on BBC Radio 4 programmes including Woman’s Hour, Loose Ends, The Human Zoo and Four Thought, at major festivals including Latitude and Glastonbury and in the finals of several major comedy competitions.
Her first book Is Monogamy Dead? was shortlisted for the Diva Literary Awards 2017, longlisted for the Polari First Book Prize 2018 and followed her TEDx talk of the same name. Her trilogy of solo shows investigating love and relationships began with The Science of Sex, which has been performed all over the world, and ended with The Conscious Uncoupling, which toured to venues including London's Southbank Centre and was shortlisted for Funny Women Best Show.
Rosie also presents The Breakup Monologues podcast, which has been recommended by Chortle, The Observer, Metro and Time Out, writes for publications including The Guardian, Sunday Times and New Statesman and appears as a commentator on sexuality, dating and love on TV programmes including Good Morning Britain, radio shows and podcasts including The Guilty Feminist.
Chelsea Renton
The Oldie’s “mistress of social types” illustrator Chelsea Renton, takes us on her journey from traditional portraiture to cartooning.
Chelsea Renton is a portrait artist, cartoonist and illustrator who has spent many years observing the British in all their foibles and follies, and with all their warts and wrinkles. Notable portraits include Sir George Christie, Richard E Grant, Denis Healey
and Arthur Brown “the God of Hellfire”. Her illustrated ‘Field Guide to the Peoples of the British Isles’, based on her regular Oldie cartoon strip, will be published in November 2019 (Oneworld). Before returning to her home town of Lewes, she worked as a political advisor during the Balkan Wars and now, when not staring at people, she is an active campaigner on green and local housing issues.
Plink
PLINK! play plinky instruments.
You know, ukulele, mandolin, banjo, mandola, that sort of thing. Oh, and a double bass too, because that’s just a deep plinky instrument. And they sing, sometimes solo and sometimes in harmony. All in all, they’re a pretty musical bunch. And the music? Well, it’s old, new, borrowed but never blue. You’ll recognise most of their stuff, but the way they do it is – well, plinky. Fresh, original, dynamic and just plain fun. Try and catch one of their concerts – you’ll walk away clicking your fingers and humming! PLINK! – a new way to sing old songs (and a few more recent ones too!).
David Keenan
David Keenan grew up in Airdrie in the late 1970s and early 1980s. He is the author of England’s Hidden Reverse and a senior critic at The Wire. His debut novel, This Is Memorial Device, was shortlisted for the Gordon Burn and Collyer Bristow Prizes, and was a Book of the Month for Waterstones, Rough Trade and Caught by the River.
Hugh St Clair
Hugh St Clair is an experienced arts and design journalist with work published in numerous British and international magazines and newspapers from House and Garden to the Art Newspaper and Bonham’s Auction House Magazine. He has edited and written four books on paintings – three Millers Guide to Art and Buying Affordable Art. He has worked with art public relations firms to promotes overseas galleries setting up temporary spaces in London. He has recently been writing for Hiscox art insurers to help market their services.
Moving to Suffolk a few years ago he has become increasingly interested and knowledgeable about mid twentieth British artists living in East Anglia. He trained at Sothebys and worked at provincial auction houses before becoming an arts writer.
Guy Kennaway
Guy Kennaway lives for pleasure, producing books only when all else has failed. In all of Kennaway’s work he likes to study oppressed minorities under severe pressure and then make fun of them. He is best known for One People about a Jamaican village threatened by mass US tourism, and Bird Brain about a community of optimistic pheasants. His latest book is Time To Go, a comedy about killing his mother. He has written for magazines and newspapers, as well as many film scripts and TV adaptations, none of which have been made. Not surprisingly he lives alone.
Jess Kidd
Jess Kidd was brought up in London as part of a large family from County Mayo. Her first novel, Himself, was shortlisted for the Irish Book Awards in 2016 and she was the winner of the Costa Short Story Award in the same year. In 2017, Himself was shortlisted for the Authors’ Club Best First Novel Award and longlisted for the CWA John Creasey (New Blood) Dagger. Her second novel, The Hoarder, was shortlisted for the Kerry Group Irish Novel of the Year Award in association with Listowel Writers’ Week’. Both books were BBC Radio 2 Book Club picks.