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Evidently... updates!

Ooops! We've been letting the blog slide a bit! (Our bad!) But in our defense we have been super busy! 

Our Word War Final at the Three Minute Theatre was just insane, so many people, so much talent and such a buzz from the night! A special shout out to the competitors who did us proud that night and to the judges who did a brilliant job! Congratulations to David Jarman for winning the final as well! A huge thank you to everyone that has been there for the journey, we look forward to seeing you in 2016! 

We are currently gearing up for the last Evidently in 2015 with Jack Smurf and JB Barrington taking place Monday 14th December at the Eagle Inn. It looks set to be an amazing night! Another huge thank you to everyone that has performed, attended and supported us with Evidently over the past two years (how time flies!) We have guests booked until October 2016, so make sure you get the 2nd Monday put in you diaries! 

This year saw the launch of our radio show on FAB Radio too! It's been so much fun having guests come along and chatting to us, and a steep learning curve. We already have guests wanted to come on next year so look out for that! 

We recently had the fantastic Liv Barnes join the Evidently Team, and we are so grateful for it! Make sure you go say "Hi" to her at the events! She's been a star throughout and she brings peace between the battles that Ella and Kieren like to have at events. 

We also won third place for Best Regular Spoken Word Night at the Saboteur Awards, it was an absolute honour to be nominated alongside some of the greats and we were as proud as punch! 

We also launched Evidently the Anthology 2, they're 4 quid, so if you would like a copy, drop us a message and we'll send one out to you. 

We take a break from running Word War and Evidently in January, but we will be using that time to develop schedules and templates so that we will be posting, particularly on this blog and website, regularly with new and exciting content, so make sure you check back in January! If you need your Evidently fix then never fear! The radio show will still be running throughout January, so we wont be forgetting you! 

A huge thanks you to everyone that has performed, attended and supported us this year, it's been wonderful to meet so many like minded and wonderful people! We are so lucky to have you guys! 

As always, ironically for a spoken word group, words aren't enough. 

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Evidently... When Two Becomes Three

The time is nearly upon us… Evidently, the second year anniversary!

On Monday 12th October (tomorrow!!) we will celebrate 2 glorious years of Evidently! And what a 2 years it has been!

When we first started Evidently all we knew is that we wanted to make poetry as accessible as possible. As a non-poet with a short attention span, I wanted to ensure that everyone who attended ours nights would feel a part of something, however briefly. Together Kieren and I have created something that we are both incredibly proud of.

Monday sees us celebrate with a new member to our HQ team. Liv Barnes is lovingly dubbed our intern, but make no mistake; she’s far more than that. Liv will bring a fresh perspective and new ideas to build and grow Evidently further and we are so happy to have her join us. Here’s her bio:

I am from a village called Suckley that finds itself in the wilds of Worcestershire, but a year ago I escaped the land of sheep and cows to study in Manchester. Apart from the usual student lifestyle of heavy drinking and last-minute late night red bull stints in the library, I spend my time playing football and getting up on stage saying words that rhyme. I go out to many rap and spoken word events, as I love them so much as an art form and the artists within them. This is why I am so incredibly excited to a member of the team at Evidently, because after so many experiences where I have been blown away by spoken word, I can now give a helping hand in making the magic happen. The poetry scene in Manchester is absolutely killing it at the moment, and I cannot contain my excitement about being a part of it. Bring it on!

Which brings us to Monday! We will be launching our 2nd anthology, made up of 60 poets who have performed over the past year. We will also be celebrating with cake, cava and good vibes! Our guests are Joe Cooper and Adele Hampton! We would love to see you there!

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Evidently... it's our birthday!

Hello! 

We've been a bit rubbish keeping you guys updated so here is an extra long blog with alllllll our news! 

It's been a busy ol' time for HQ (and by HQ we mean Ella). We celebrate our 2nd year anniversary on October 12th, so we have a couple of treats coming up. We are very excited to launch our 2nd Anthology of the people that have performed at Evidently over the past year. We have some amazing poets in it including the likes of Sophia Walker, Gerry Potter, Rosie Garland, Gary from Leeds, Tony Walsh, Mab Jones and many more! The Anthology will be on sale on the night, or you can message us and we can send you a copy. We are currently checking the proof and will be sending it off next week to print! 

We have some great guests as well in October including Adele Hampton and Joe Cooper, you can check out the events page here!

We have also launched our new radio show, which is a lot of fun! Every Thursday, 8pm - 9pm on FAB radio. A huge thank you to FAB for letting us host the show, it's a lot of fun and it's been really interesting talking to poets, writers and musicians about their work. If you haven't had a chance to listen, don't worry! They are uploaded onto MixCloud, so you can listen back at your leisure! You should definately check out some of the other shows on FAB too, they have something for everyone! 

Our Word War Slams are insane too! Some amazing competitors already through to the final, so make sure that you get to Three Minute Theatre on the 1st December for the final. 

All this has meant that we are behind on our editing, there's no time like the present so I will leave you with a huge thank you for supporting us! Seriously, we couldn't do it without you! Yes, I am talking to you! 

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Evidently on Fab Radio International with guest Martin "Visceral" Stannage 30/07/15

Evidently on Fab Radio International with guest Martin "Visceral" Stannage 30/07/15

Hello there!

Welcome to the first of our weekly blogs with all the information from our new radio show!

Evidently on Fab Radio is an hour-long show on Thursdays 8pm-9pm. Each week we will have a guest on for discussions, poems, literature, spoken word and the music that inspired them!

This week we had the fabulous Martin Stannage aka Visceral where we talked about his stage name, what spoken word is, our dad’s, hip-hop and Edinburgh amongst other thing.

Listen Again

Poetry performed
Dark Side – Martin Visceral
Salford is a Broadway Musical – Kieren King
Rites of Passage - Martin Visceral
 
Music we played
Brother Ali – Breaking Dawn
Martin Visceral and Twisted Roots – Another Fool
Louis Barabbas and the Bedlam Six – Short Supply
 
Events coming up
Friday
Mic Bytes 6 at JamStree Cafebar, Chorlton
Pen:Chant with Tomas Ford at Islington Mill, Salford
 
Monday
Superhero’s of Slam, Women’s Heat at Twenty Twenty Two, Manchester
Flim Night presents Withnail & I at 3MT, Manchester
 
Tuesday
Word War Two Heat 7 at 3MT, Manchester
 
Wednesday
Word Art with Jackie Hagan at Seven Miles Out, Stockport
Folk at the Star Inn 
  
Ella’s Poem of the Week
Alabaster dePlume – Be Nice To People
 
Martin's Details
Facebook
Twitter
Website
Music 
 
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Evidently... an anthology

To celebrate our second year of Evidently, people who have performed at our events over the last year are welcome to submit their poem to our anthology, which will be released on 12th October!

There's no format or length requirements, and it doesn’t have to be the poem that you performed at the event, just whatever you would like to see commemorated! 

All you have to do us send it to us with your full name (as you wish to be credited) and the name of your poem (also as you wish it to be credited). Any questions, please just ask! 

 

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Evidently... Radio!

We at HQ are proud to announce that as of 30th July, we will be presenting a weekly radio show on FAB Radio International!

It’s an hourly slot where we will discuss issues surround the literacy and spoken word scene, have both established and up and coming artists as well as the music that inspired them.

You will also get to know us better!

Please do get in touch with suggestions, questions and recommendations; we would love to hear from you both on the show and off.

 Tune into FAB Radio, Thursdays 8pm-9pm. 

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Evidently... Word War

We’ve been getting a lot of queries recently about what Word War is and what the rules are, so here’s a break down!

Word War is a slam competition with 10 monthly heats running over the course of the year, culminating in a final in December. Winning the heat means that you win £20 and secure your place in the final. If you win the final you get the Word War Two trophy, £200, a guest slot at Evidently and a place in the UK National Slam… which aint bad!

We pick 3 people out of the audience to be judges (providing they don’t know any of the performers) and are asked to judge out of 10 on content and out of 10 on performance. For the final we ask 5 judges from across the poetry scene to judge.


 

Slam Rules

1. Poetry must be your own original work

2. No singing or props.

3. There will be two rounds. The poets will draw numbers from a hat and perform in that order. In the second round the order will be reversed.

4. Poets have 3 minutes to read/perform their poetry. The clock starts starts from the very first thing you say - including hello.

Points will be deducted for over-running as follows:

                       1-9 seconds minus 1 point.

                       10-19 seconds minus 2 points.

                       20-29 seconds minus 3 points.

                       30 seconds minus 4 points, host will stop you, you’ll be judged on your incomplete poem.

5. The poets will be scored out of 10 in two categories. Written content & quality of performance. The highest total score over both rounds goes through to the final and wins £20. In the event of a tie there will be a final sudden death round.

6. If you don't get through you can compete in any of the other heats. BUT you cannot perform the same poems in two consecutive heats. (For example poems performed in Heat Six cannot be performed in Heat Seven but can in Heat Eight)

7. Judges’ decisions are final. Please remember the slam motto: "The points are not the point, the poetry is the point".

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Evidently... FAQ's.

If you have a question you want to ask us, (preferably about Evidently or Word War) get in contact!

 

How do I sign up for an open mic slot?

Open mic is sign up on the night. We generally prioritise first-timers to Evidently, but if you don’t get on at one night, you’re a guaranteed getting on the following month. We sign up on the door to allow people who may have travelled further afield or who don’t know us a chance to perform if they wish.

We ask open micers to perform no more than one poem at 2 minutes long; however we won’t drag you off stage if your poem is closer to 3 minutes. If you suspect that you will go over the allotted time, please do tell us. The chances are we will say that it’s ok to do a longer poem. If you take the piss, we do remember and you will be less likely to get on the open mic section again.

 

Why are you so strict with the open mic?

Because Ella is a cow.

Seriously though, if we have 10 poets doing 2 minutes, then that’s 20 minutes long. If everyone does closer to 4 or 5 minutes then we have an open mic section which runs the risk of dragging on. Our focus is making it as entertaining as possible for the audience, and offering a diverse range on poets, so the more people we can get on, the better.

 

Why do you film the nights?

We film the nights so people have a video to promote themselves. It also allows people who can’t attend the night to watch some of the fantastic artist we have on! We stagger the release dates of the videos to allow each on to gain maximum views on Youtube.

 

I performed last month, can my video go on first?

Probably not –sorry! Ella edits the videos as soon as she is able after the event. The order that we release them is based on which ones are encoded and uploaded first. However if you talk to us, we can probably ensure that they are released earlier rather than later.

 

Who designed your logo?

Our logo (we call the stag Bruce) was designed by the awesome Twisted Dredz. You can check out his work here.

 

What about your website?

That would be the wonderful CGain Business Marketing, his website is here. 

 

And who did your promo video?

Our video was made the by fantastic team at Bark Media, check out their website and other work here.

 

Can we buy t-shirts?

We are currently in talks to get a run of t-shirts printed. If you are interested drop us a line and we will reserve one for you.

 

I want to get involved, do you guys need any help?

At the moment, we are functional but not perfect. If you are interested in helping us out, please do send us a message, however the best way that you can help us out is by attending the night and telling your friends!

 

Is Word War the same as Evidently?

No, the Word War series is a slam competition with heats throughout the year culminating in the final in December. You can read more information about them here. Evidently is more of a ‘straight up’ poetry night.

 

How do I sign up for Word War?

We made the events live on Facebook at 8pm on the first Wednesday of the month. You can Facebook, Tweet, text or email us to book your slot. Be warned, they do go quick!

 

What are the rules for Word War?

So’s not to clog up our FAQ’s post, the rules can be sent to you on request (not that there’s a lot of rules, it just looked a bit messy) It’s important to say that the slam is just a bit of fun, and, to steal a great phrase off Tony Walsh, aka Longfella “The points are not the point, the point is the poetry”

 

Where are these events held?

Evidently is run at the Eagle Inn, here's a map!

And Word War is at the Three Minute Theatre. Here's another map!

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Evidently... some news

Hi all,

We’ve currently been experiencing some difficulties with our computer that we use to edit our videos. While these problems have been on-going we haven’t been able to upload the videos from out night.

I am no computer expert, however, the wonderful chaps at Bark Media (they did our promo video) have been working really hard to get all our (video-related) problems solved.

We can’t thank Bark enough for all the work that they have done helping us, and we want to thank you for your patience. We should be getting our fully working laptop back tonight, and we can promise you that there will be an influx of videos for your enjoyment.

Bark will have revamped the settings enabling us to bring you higher quality videos (and a faster editing time for me – yay!)

Once again, thank you to Bark for all their hard work and to you for waiting!

 

In other news, we want to send our congratulation to Bad Language for winning the Saboteur Awards – Best Regular Spoken Night Category – it’s a thoroughly deserved win for an amazing night! The awards ceremony was a lot of fun, and we will try to get some pictures onto our Facebook page soon. Thank you to Sabotage Reviews for organising it all and making it a truly brilliant night. Huge congratulations to all the winners and the nominees and we hoped they all enjoyed their night as much as we did!

Also, congratulations to Ronnie Leek for winning Word War Two Heat Five, which was a phenomenal night. Thank you to everyone that performed attended and judged! We look forward to seeing you all again on the 7th July for Heat Six. Competitors in the final so far are Calum Dwyer, Ciaran Hodgers, Bob Horton, Katie Collins and of course Ronnie Leek.

We hope to see you all at the Eagle Inn on Monday (8th June) for Evidently… Gerry Potter and Colin Davies which looks set to be an amazing night! As a thank you to everyone who nominated us in the Saboteur Awards, this event will be just £1 in! 

That’s all for now!

~Evidently HQ 

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Evidently... a thank you

In light of our recent nomination of Best Spoken Word Night at the Saboteur Awards, we want to show our gratitude by reducing the price of our next event Evidently... Gerry Potter and Colin Davies to £1. 

We are just so chuffed that you guys have voted for us and it seems like the least we can do to say 'thank you'. 

There are some unbelievably good nights nominated alongside us (as well as some brilliant people nominated in the other awards!) and it will be an honour to be there with them. We are so proud of our nights, both Evidently and Word War, and we are so lucky to have you guys supporting us!

(There may also be a few other surpirsed at our next event, so you will have to come along to find them out!!) If we don't see you before, hopefully see you then! 

 

P.S. Word War Two - Heat Five is taking place on Tuesday 2nd June at the Three Minute Theatre. Whilst this is at the usual price of £3 it's looking like it's going to be another really close result! If you haven't been to one yet, then this is your perfect excuse :)  

 

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Evidently... a nomination!

Evidently HQ is proud to announce that we have been nominated for the Best Regular Spoken Word night in this year’s Saboteur awards.  

Needless to say that Kieren and I are a bit taken aback by this, when we first started the night, we really didn’t know what to expect other than having a bit of fun.

We do put a lot of work into the nights and we love it, but the sense of community we now feel is something that has grown organically and couldn’t be achieved without the support and love from the people who attend, perform and contribute our nights.

We feel like proud parents!

Evidently, to us, is amazing, but so are many other nights out there.

Please do take a few minutes to fill out the voting form, there’s a Hell of a lot of talent there representing the diverse world of spoken word. 

 http://www.saboteurawards.org/

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Evidently Extra

Last night we held a special Evidently (because when two of your favourite artists from America contact you, you don’t say no!!)

It was off the scale!

This is the reason why we do Evidently, we love meeting new people, seeing artists grow and really, just making friends!

All the poets that performed last night were brilliant and the crowd were amazing.  Who’s up for a trip to America at some point?!

We just want to say a huge thank you, to everyone who’s ever performed, attended or supported our night, because we couldn’t do it without you.

Thank you. 

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Easter Catch Up

Good morning ladies and gents,

Another quick blog for you (aren’t you lucky?!)

First of all thank you for your wonderful words about the new website and promo, it gives us a warm, tingly feeling when people say nice things!

EXCITING NEWS we now have a functioning computer! The lovely Charlie Leek from Bark Media (the one that did our reet good promo) will be helping us set it up over the weekend, so hopefully, if all goes to plan, we’ll be releasing our first performers video for 2015 on Bank Holiday Monday *fingers crossed*

And a reminder that Word War Two – Heat Three is taking place this Tuesday (7th April) at the Three Minute Theatre, we have 8 fantastic poets battling it out for a place in December’s final! If you’ve never been, it’s a lot of fun! Doors are at 7.30 and it is £3 in.

Finally nominations are now open for the Sabotage Awards, please vote! You’ll be supporting the spoken word scene nationally and it only takes a few minutes. I’m sure that you could make a lot of people happy!

That’s all for now, keep checking back for regular updates and interviews with some of our regulars at Evidently.

Have a lovely Easter!

~Evidently HQ   

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Hello and Welcome!

Hello and welcome to our very first blog!  

First of all, I would like to say a huge thank you to the wonderful and talented Chris Giles of CGain Business Marketing for creating this amazing website for us! (www.cgain.co.uk – check it out!).

Secondly thank you to you for taking the time to visit our site! Please have a good look around and give us any feedback!

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