Following the success of the Phrased and Confused stage at Summer Sundae Weekender last August, we are hitting the road to come to a venue near you.

For our third national Phrased & Confused tour, taking place in May 2009, we’ve created a heady mix which we hope will keep music and spoken word fans alike entertained. Expect bite sized chunks of song writing genius and poetic wit and beauty, guaranteed to stop you in your tracks and command your total attention.

First up, the blissed out orchestral pop of Woodpigeon, described by The Guardian as ‘Canada’s best kept secret…the most unjustly overlooked band in Canada’. Next up, the darkly satirical poet Murray Lachlan Young, whose playful command of the English language and love of the absurd have won him legions of fans, not least for his regular spot on Radio 4’s Saturday Morning Live, and who Neil Tennant rates as ‘the best since Betjeman’.

We’re really pleased to be able to take on tour with us poet Aoife Mannix & musician Janie Armour, who wowed Summer Sundae Weekender audiences last summer with their beautiful, haunting mix of poetry live accordion and sampled sounds. And finally, we’re also very excited to unleash on a national audience Dead Poets, a cheeky fast-paced mash up of ‘proper’ poetry and sharp-eyed MCing, courtesy of Mr Mark Grist and MC Mixy, of whom 6 Music’s Stephen Marchant says, ‘Absolute dynamite….both of your flows are impeccable’.

Our merry tour bus will be making poetic and musical stop off points at:

Tour Dates

• Bracknell, South Hill Park, Sat, 9 May
• London, Cross Kings, Sun, 10 May – tickets
• Norwich Arts Centre – Mon, 11 May
• Stockton, The Arc – Tue, 12 May
• Derby, Assembly Rooms – Wed, 13 May (call box office for tickets: 01332 255800)
• Exeter Phoenix – Thu, 14 May

Want to know more about what to expect? Check out the video from last year’s Phrased & Confused festival tent at the Summer Sundae Weekender…

Our Phrased and Confused Spring Tour 2009 is supported by Sound and Music and Arts Council England.