Wainsgate Concert: poet Hollie McNish, supported by Emma Decent
Wednesday, 30 October 2013
The Poetry at Wainsgate strand of Wainsgate Chapel's concert season continues on Sunday 10th November with a poet who has been seen by literally millions of people this year alone.
Hollie McNish is a published UK poet who straddles the boundaries between the literary, spoken word and pop scenes. Her many commissions include work for Radio 4 Woman's Hour, WOW Festival, Channel 4 Random Acts and BBC Poetry Diaries.
Viral on YouTube
In 2013 Hollie's online poems have repeatedly gone viral, with two receiving over 1 million YouTube views in just over a week, her latest poem being tweeted by fans as diverse as Platinum selling recording artist Pink, an Australian priest and Scroobius Pip. She has garnered titles like "internet sensation" (Best Daily), "Chick of the Week" (MTV) and has performed at venues such as Glastonbury festival, the Royal Albert Hall, Ronnie Scott's Jazz Bar, London's Southbank Centre and Cambridge University.
Recently, Hollie became the first poet to record and perform at Abbey Road Studios. The poetry recordings are currently being scored by the Dutch Metropole Orchestra for her upcoming album. She has released two poetry CDs, Touch and Push Kick, both to critical acclaim, and a first collection of written poetry,Papers, published by Greenwich Exchange, London.
As Benjamin Zephaniah - one of the most famous poets of the previous generation – put it: "I can't take my ears off her."
Emma Decent
For her Wainsgate performance, Hollie McNish is supported by Todmorden-based performance poet Emma Decent who is well known for her provocative poetry, original performance prose and new theatre. She has appeared at open mics all over the country and been a guest poet at events in Manchester, Preston, Wakefield and beyond. Her first ever poetry slam win was in 2010 at the famous Uptown Poetry Slam in Chicago.
"This is quite a coup for Wainsgate" commented concert organiser Dave Nelson. "Hollie's been appearing at various large venues and festivals recently, but I think she was intrigued by the idea of performing at a disused but beautiful chapel up a rough track on top of a windy hill!"
The performance, which contains some adult themes, starts at 3pm with doors opening at 2.30. Tickets are only available at the door and are priced £8 and £6 with a special £2 rate for teenagers of 18 and under. Wainsgate Chapel is on Wainsgate Lane, Old Town, Hebden Bridge HX7 8SU.
Parking there is limited and reserved for disabled drivers. There are plenty of footpaths for those who'd like to walk from Hebden Bridge or there's an hourly bus service to Old Town Mill Lane (opposite Wainsgate Lane) where parking is also available. More details can be found at www.wainsgate.co.uk.
Mathematics - Spoken Word by Hollie McNish - 1,355,251 hits as at Wednesday, 30 October 2013
Embarrassed Spoken Word by Hollie McNish - 1,0694,54 - hits as at Wednesday, 30 October 2013