basics | Live music & poetry

‘basics’ is a brand new series of shows briefly coming to Brighton, bringing stripped back music and poetry to cozy venues. These evenings will have a variety of intimate performances, taking the audience closer to each word, song and story of the unique artists.

This limited string of shows begins on the 29th of March at Folklore Rooms with a versatile line-up including some of the most exciting names in both the music and poetry scenes.

First is a growing figure in Brighton’s bustling music scene, Kavzad, who’ll perform a jazz-infused Hip-Hop set alongside his collective. You can expect to hear a raw version of his debut EP including its smooth lead single, ‘Watch Me’, which has racked up over 350k streams and 15,000 shazams after gaining a huge amount of traction in France.

Next is Jed, a BBC Words First finalist who seamlessly merges music with poetry with the help of his talented band. He recently announced himself in the UK poetry scene after an impressive performance at the BBC Contains Strong Language festival and appearances on numerous national radio stations. His nonchalant perspective, brutally honest depictions of an ordinary life and often stunning turn of phrase have drawn an increasing amount of attention to both his music and poems.

Adding to the soft sounds is the mesmerizing soul singer Arjun Nala. The Brighton based musician plays an amalgamation of soul, jazz and rock music. But despite genre, the forefront of his sound is an astonishing voice which silences crowds.

They’ll be accompanied by various poets including Anna Margarita, who found widespread recognition after a video of her spoken word performance accumulated millions of views. She has recently performed at BBC Contains Strong Language Festival 2023 in Leeds, headlined at notable venues such as The Royal Court, The Bush Theatre and White City House and been asked to perform for charities such as fundraising for Grenfell and The Pink Ribbon Foundation.

The show will take place between 8pm to 11pm on Friday, the 29th of March at Folklore Rooms. Only a limited amount of tickets are available so we’d recommend grabbing yours sooner rather than later.

Poster made by @eyes_qu