November 7, 2013 – Soul Sounds Open Mic with Meta Def with writing workshop
October 15, 2013
Meta Def is a twenty-six-year-old Saint Paul artist whose love for the art of the written word and various genres of music have added inspiration and emotion to his poetry and songwriting. His pieces, as he likes to call them, are his puzzles—pictures created to enlighten and entertain you. Rhythm is part of Meta Def's soul, and his background in dancing (Popping/Boogaloo) has carried over to his writing, his style and cadences turning silence into music. This poet/emcee is versatile, incorporating his lifestyle of being a father, a carpenter, and a cook into his art—dreaming his painting and then painting his dream...one word at a time.
October 31, 2013 – Soul Sounds Open Mic with Danez Smith
October 15, 2013
Danez Smith is a proud Cave Canem Fellow, two-time Pushcart Nominee, Best New Poets Nominee, survivor and avid twerker from Saint Paul, MN. He is the author of "hands on ya knees", a chapbook published by Penmanship Books. His full-length collection, '[insert] Boy, will be published in 2014 by Yes Yes Books. His recent writing has appeared or is forthcoming in Ploughshares, Gertrude, Devil’s Lake, PANK, The Cortland Review, Four Way Review, Anti-, and elsewhere. Danez came into writing through poetry slams, and placed 6th in the world at the 2011 Individual World Poetry Slam and is the 2013 Rustbelt Midwest Regional Slam Champion. He is an assistant editor for Muzzle Magazine. He thinks you look good today, now werk!
October 24, 2013 – Soul Sounds Open Mic with deM atlaS
October 15, 2013
Saint Paul musician, Joshua Turner a.k.a. deM atlaS, first began his journey as a frontman of an alt-rock band called The Argonauts. The experience was essential in helping to propel him into different textures of music ranging from folk to hip hop. Moved by art, spirituality & friendship, deM atlaS conveys through his music the duality between man & god, ignorance & brilliance, enlightenment & what is dim.
October 17, 2013 – Soul Sounds Open Mic hosted by Tish Jones
October 15, 2013
Tish Jones, Community Engagement Director for the Saint Paul Almanac, is a spoken word artist, writer, educator, organizer, and activist in the Twin Cities. She has worked as a teaching artist with Pillsbury House Theater, Intermedia Arts, Plymouth Christian Youth Center, MacPhail Center for Music, Minneapolis Public Schools (Arts for Academic Achievement), Kulture Klub, and many other arts organizations. She received the 2009 Artist of the Year Award from City Pages and was Female Spoken Word Artist of the Year at the Minnesota Spoken Word Association's Urban Griots Awards in 2009.
Soul Sounds Open Mic 4th quarter events announced
September 16, 2013
The Golden Thyme Coffee Café and the Saint Paul Almanac are pleased to announce the "Soul Sounds Open Mic," hosted by Tish Jones! Every Thursday from 6 p.m.–8 p.m., first Thursdays also see a special writing workshop at 5 p.m. All ages are welcome, and there is no cover charge. This is a listing of the 4th quarter events in 2013.
June 13, 2013 – Soul Sounds Open Mic with D’Allen White
May 15, 2013
D’Allen White is an artist to look out for. Hailing from Minneapolis, D’Allen White is a South Side Emcee that is making music fresh again. D’Allen White’s music is reminiscent to Hip Hop’s Boom Bap Era. Brought up on the likes of J Dilla, NaS and Black Star, D’Allen uses rap to speak to his generation. Having released two projects, the last being the stand out EP “The Commencement”, D’Allen White is working on his newest album due out in 2014 titled “Not a Single Damn Was Given”.
June 6, 2013 – Soul Sounds Open Mic with the (K.)N.E.W. MN Youth Poetry Slam Team
May 14, 2013
In March 2013, five highly esteemed judges selected the six youth that will represent Minnesota in the international Brave New Voices Youth Poetry Slam Festival in Chicago this August. The team consists of six poets, all of whom are between the ages of 13-19 years old. Mhika, Ramaj, Laresa, Luke, Donte and Kayla will be showcasing their work and discussing with the audience their individual writing processes. Please come out, support, and dialogue with these young poets!
May 30, 2013 – Soul Sounds Open Mic with PaviElle
May 13, 2013
PaviElle hails from the Twin Cities and is an interdisciplinary artist that focuses on bringing truth to light within her art (which includes dance, writing, speaking, and political activism). She is a vocalist/songwriter/pianist who has been performing professionally since 1989. She has participated in such collectives as EduPoetic Enterbrainment, Kahlil & Everyday People, and Sinamn Jones. PaviElle has also been seen in such staged plays for Steppingstone and Penumbra theaters. Currently, PaviElle is recording her first studio album, Fear Not, which will be released this upcoming summer. And, she will be happily back to gracing stages this summer in efforts to promote her album after a five year break from performing.
May 23, 2013 – Soul Sounds Open Mic with CeeWhy
April 28, 2013
The last thing this world needs is another rapper. With anyone who can gain access to a MacBook Pro and GarageBand releasing their half-assed basement raps, I think we can all agree that we can do without another rapper. Fans deserve much more. They deserve artists: people with a healthy respect for the art form of creating music; people who have studied the likes of James Brown, Miles Davis, Prince, Nina Simone, the Funkadelics—not just another person who can flip on the switch of a vocoder. They deserve someone like Dominique “Ceewhy” Suttles.
May 16, 2013 – Soul Sounds Open Mic with Margeaux Davis
April 25, 2013
27-year-young Margeaux Davis has a sweet, friendly spirit—and this girl can groove! Described as "Jazzy... Hip Hop Soul—Etta James meets J. Dilla", Margeaux won Best Female R&B Vocal 2010 at Minneapolis' world-renowned First Avenue, and was nominated for Best Female R&B Vocal in both 2011 and 2012. She recently finished the production Rag Time at Park Square Theater in 2012, with director Gary Gisselman and is currently wrapping up her EP titled, "Won't Do It Again", at Grand Melody Music with producers Andre Dennis and Andre Reynolds.
May 9, 2013 – Soul Sounds Open Mic with Chris Gibson
April 23, 2013
Cristopher Gibson is a writer and performance poet from Perry, OK, currently residing in Saint Paul, MN. Gibson is active in the spoken word and slam communities in the Twin Cities, and conducts writing and performance workshops at various colleges as well as more informal coffee meetings. He also plays in the local punk, hip hop, and occasional dubstep scenes. He is releasing his first book through Beard Poetry entitled, Dysfunctional: Portraits of a Small Town along with a spoken word CD.
May 2, 2013 – Soul Sounds Open Mic features Inspired Works with Writing Workshop
April 23, 2013
"Inspired Works" is a theme. Regular participants are invited to bring in a poem written by another author, perhaps someone they experienced during National Poetry Month, a mentor, a great! The event takes place from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at Golden Thyme Coffee Café at 921 Selby Avenue (corner of North Milton Street) in Saint Paul, MN 55104. All ages are welcome, and there is no cover charge. Every first Thursday, a writing workshop will be held an hour before the open mic begins, from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m.