Calling all festival lovers, musicians, poets, liggers and sun-worshippers (because the BBC have promised us a heatwave this summer. Oh yes.)

We’re pleased to announce the return of the Phrased and Confused festival tent at the 2009 Summer Sundae Weekender. That’s right, we’ll be heading back to Leicester’s finest boutique festival, over three days between 14th-16th August 2009.

We’ll be dishing up our usual blend of words and music as songs, poems, readings, conversations and whatever else you want to call it. Our mission? To showcase some of the UK’s finest songwriters and poets and to introduce Summer Sundae audiences to some new artists who they’ll hopefully go on to treasure and tell the world about.

Oh, and to bring back Fridge Poetry and our mp3-stuffed usb wristbands (last year’s must-have Summer Sundae fashion accessory!)

So what delectations have we got lined up this year? Well, it’s going to be a stonking weekend, even if we say so ourselves.

We’ve got music from Newcastle songstress Beth Jeans Houghton, gentle and beautiful folk collective Woodpigeon, sugar-rush pop purveyors Skint & Demoralised, and singer-songwriter and ardent lyricist Jeremy Warmsley.

We’ve got poets fronting bands, in the form of Excentral Tempest’s storming band Sound of Rum, in-your-face Salena Godden with guest musicians, and a new folk-inspired trio, The Pencil StringHorn Project, from the mercurial Joshua Idehen.

We’ve also got lyrical wordsmiths including poetry’s answer to the Arctic Monkeys, Byron Vincent, the awesomely talented Inua Ellams, plus sets by Ross Sutherland, Stuart Silver, Tim Clare, Tamsin Kendrick, Stephanie Leal and Jonny Fluffypunk .  Hannah Silva takes performance poetry to a new level with percussionist Alexis Kirke.

We’re excited about a new collaboration from a mother and son duo, slam poet Sifundo and 15 year old MC Jamal Msebele.  Plus Francesca Beard is bringing her Animal Olympics family show, complete with puppets and her amazing Magic Pants!

Four of our featured artists are being commissioned to write new pieces especially for this year’s Festival (thank you Arts Council England!).  Joshua Idehen, Sound of Rum, Hannah de Silva & Alexis Kirke and Sifundo & Jamal Msebele will all be premiering their new material over the weekend.  For more information on the commissions click here.

This year we’re handing over the mic to some of the UK’s best emerging live literature performers.  You may not have heard of them just yet, but they could well turn out to be next year’s headliners!  Our New Voices strand features John Osborne, Michael Edwards, Lorna Meehan and Alyson Stoneman and Liv Torc. There’s also a showcase by Derby writing collective Hello Hubmarine.