The open-minded open mike.

Had a wonderful time at Jim‘s new open mike at McChuill‘s pub in Glasgow – the classic mod venue was very welcoming of the hippy-rocker invasion, and the tolerance extended from the musos to spoken word. Emboldened by some stunning hip-hop from Justin-Philmore Brown, I decided to take my poetry to the mike, and was rewarded with a lovely appreciative crowd, many of whom came up afterwards to say nice things! After a quiet start, this second of the monthly nights was hoaching with people, and there was a real beat feel to the evening, with the venue’s low brick arches, the beautiful people, and the mix of music, spoken word and pool balls clicking. Stand-out performances included Lavinia Blackwell from Trembling Bells in a heart-stopping a cappella number, and some gorgeous fingerpicking and soulful song from the 78‘s Mike Hastings. Minds were indeed opened, and I recommend wordsmiths and songwriters alike get down there and read, perform or play on this exciting new night.

About Pedalling Poetry

Writer Ellen McAteer is founder of Tell It Slant poetry bookshop in Glasgow, General Manager at Poetry London magazine. She was a visiting lecturer at the Glasgow School of Art, and a mentee of the Clydebuilt Verse Apprenticeship Scheme, under Alexander Hutchison, and a singer with the band Stone Tape, as well as a solo singer who won a BBC Radio competition with her song Blue Valentine. She was Director of the Poetry Trust, which ran the Aldeburgh Poetry Festival, a director of the Scottish Writers’ Centre, a visiting lecturer at Oxford University's MSt in creative writing, and a member of the core group of performers at the Hammer and Tongue spoken word collective in Oxford. She is a qualified Librarian.

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