Verb Garden 2024
Please note programme times are provisional at present and may be subject to some change nearer the time of the festival.
THURSDAY 25 July
Thursday 17:45 - 18:15 and Saturday 23:15-
Ross Anderson and Lewis Watt
Ross Anderson is a 23 year old singer/songwriter from Clydebank. From reaching the quarter finals of ITV’s The Voice UK in 2018 to now having the amazing opportunity of recording at the iconic RAK Studios in London which has seen the likes of The Beattles, the Rolling Stones, Prince and Ed Sheeran, Ross spent November there recording a new single and has spent further time at studios across London.
Spotted by Canadian pop sensation Sean Mendes while busking Ross has made a name for himself with a growing social media presence across Tik Tok and Instagram. Relishing the transition from street performer to recording artist Ross is set to release new music in 2024.
Having gone down to enthusiastic audience acclaim at Belladrum 2022 and 2023 Ross will again be joined by highly talented singer and guitarist Lewis Watt to bring their amazing vocal sound to the Verb Garden.
Thursday 18:30-19:15
John White, Under a Covid Skye.
John White wrote his first article for the award winning West Highland Free Press newspaper just days before lockdown and continued with a weekly column throughout the pandemic and beyond.
'Under a Covid Skye' is a collection of the first year’s published writing and a unique insight into life on Skye during that unprecedented time. Being of the moment, he candidly used day-to-day experiences and a perspective from an active life to entertain and comment on events both local, national, and global.
He writes about immortal jellyfish and delivering prescriptions on a Ducati motorbike, being on a mountain in a whiteout, and the starlings at a bird feeder. He writes about art, cutting logs and a fascination with Venn diagrams. From drive by funerals to driving the Skye library van many years ago, he tells a thought provoking story.
At the Verb Garden John will talk about his journey to becoming a columnist and writer showing slides of adventures and inspirations along the way with readings from Under A Covid Skye.
“Though he doesn’t shy away from difficult subjects, he doesn’t lecture or pontificate and there is always reason and perspective in his words.”
Keith Mackenzie (Editor of West Highland Free Press)
Thurs 19:30-2015
Caroline Burrows
Join the cycling poet Caroline Burrows and her bike for spoken word and stories on themes ranging from literary adventures by bike, star gazing, the Northern Lights, heartbreak, social commentary, and trees.
Caroline’s first full poetry collection Verse Cycles was published by indie-press The Jawbone Collective in 2024. Her poetry has appeared on BBC Radio 4, BBC Sky at Night Magazine, and Kendal Adventure Film Festival. She’s been Poet in Residence at Cromarty Arts Trust, shortlisted for best show in the Saboteur Awards for her one-woman poetry tour ‘Turning Pedals into Poems’, and named one of Cycling UK’s #100WomenInCycling.
She’s written poetry commissions for Glenside Hospital Museum, Bristol Ideas, and Triodos: The Ethical Bank. Her short stories have been published in The National Flash Fiction Anthology, and The Charles Causley Trust. Articles about her literary cycling adventures have appeared in Cycle, and Adventure Cyclist Magazines.
IG/Twitter:X/Facebook/YouTube/Linktree: @VerseCycle
“Underlying everything is an unflinching rootedness in the realities of 21st century lived experience; an enduring sense of the physical, temporal and emotional terrain.”
Tim King, Poet, Bard of Exeter 2019-2021, Host of Taking the Mic.
Thurs 20:30-21:00
Chris Boyland
CD Boyland is a [d]eaf poet, visual poet, and editor. He was born in 1972, Coventry in the English West Midlands and now lives in Cumbernauld.
His first, full-length collection of poems, 'Mephistopheles' was published by Blue Diode Press in December 2023 and has been described as " a work of desire, refusal and ardent storytelling". Alongside his poetic and creative practice, he is a current Co-editor of the Glasgow Review of Books and a Trustee of the Edwin Morgan Trust.
As well as producing several works of poetry, he has also curated exhibitions of visual poetry and performed live at events across Scotland.
Thurs 21:15-21:45
Partners in Chryme will celebrate verse, and worse will subject you to it with no holds barred, bar illegal maneuvers of course as we are proper, punctilious, and private apart from when we are not, which is mostly on Thursdays. Partners in Chryme will be John McGeoch and Jackie Goode, giving it laldi at the Verb Garden.
Thurs 22:00
Movie - title TBC
FRIDAY 26 JULY
Fri 10:15 - 11:00 am
Maura McRobbie, Smugglers Midnight Escape
Who were the smugglers living off the west coast of Scotland in the 1760s? Where were their secret caves and trails? What did they smuggle and why? How did they hide their loot? What happened if they were caught?
Highly commended Scottish author Maura McRobbie will read excerpts from her latest novel: ‘Smugglers Midnight Escape’ set on the island of Cumbrae off the Ayrshire coast, where smuggling was rife in the 18th century.
Activities will include drama, craft and colouring.
Age range 6 – 12 and with a chance to take part in a Smugglers Competition: "Where Have the Smugglers Hidden their Loot?"
You can also visit Maura’s Blog online!
Fri 11:15-12:00
Freewheelin
Acapella septet Freewheelin are a fresh new face on the Inverness music scene. Well-respected choir leader and singer Kate O'Connell from Findhorn, now based in Inverness, has brought together a group of talented vocalists to create lush harmonies.
Their repertoire spans folk, gospel, pop, world music and contemporary inspirational songs. After debuting at The Botanics and WASPS, the group are known for their heartfelt songs and beautiful harmonies.
Fri 12:15 - 13:45
Scotland Street Press, with Jean Findlay and Petra Reid
Scotland Street Press is a small, independent publisher of fiction, history, poetry, biography and translation based in Edinburgh.
Featuring readings from two of their prominent writers; Jean Findlay author of the historical novel ‘The Queen’s Lender’ and Petra Reid, author of ‘MacSonnetries'.
Petra will also be launching a new collection of Limericks; ‘Twenty-six limericks, a toy piano and Bonnie Prince SugarBucks recently discovered crown - what could possibly go right?
Let Petra take you on a short, bumpy ride from the A to the Z of UPF's, Type 2 Diabetes and Man's expulsion from The Garden of Eden. Fully illustrated pamphlet available.
Ps - we hear there’s FREE SWEETIES FOR EVERYONE!
On Jean Findlay’s The Queen’s Lender …
“Fast-paced, informative, gripping and beautifully written.” Historical Writers Association
On Petra Reid’s MacSonnetries …
“A witty sequence of 154 sonnets, with a contemporary postmodern twist. Reid glides effortlessly over the social, political, cultural, and ideological mores of our times.” The Bottle Imp
Fri 14:00-14:45
Tom Houston, Hanging Out With San Marzano Tomatoes
Based very loosely on true events Tom Houston will perform a variety of bitter-sweet stories, songs, and delights.
Tom Houston has released 6 solo albums and two with the band davesnewbike. He has led and facilitated a variety of arts projects throughout Scotland. He has received no sponsorship from the marketing wing of San Marzano tomatoes for this production.
Fri 15:00-15:45
Ambrose Parry
Ambrose Parry is a pseudonym for a collaboration between Chris Brookmyre and Marisa Haetzman.
The couple are married and live in Scotland. Chris Brookmyre is the international bestselling and multi-award-winning author of over twenty novels, including Black Widow – featuring a skilled female surgeon - winner of both the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year and the McIlvanney Prize for Scottish Crime Novel of the Year.
Dr Marisa Haetzman is a consultant anesthetist of twenty years experience, whose research for her Master’s in the History of Medicine uncovered the material upon which their novels are based.
“The murder mystery that leaves you mesmerised and wary of modern day quackery”
The Express
“Gripping historical mystery" 5/5 STARS
The Sun
Fri16:00-1630
Willie MacAskill
Willie MacAskill is considered to be one of the finest songwriters in the Highlands. Based in Inverness, Willie has been performing in Scotland, the UK, Europe and the US for over 20 years.
Willie first performed with his band The Lush Rollers, latterly as a duo with his late brother Tabs MacAskill and now performs solo.
Willie’s influences are deeply rooted in Americana and his songs reflect his pragmatic and classically melancholy take on life.
He’s planning a much overdue return to the studio later in the year and will be using his Belladrum performance as a chance to air some newer material alongside some of his more well-known songs.
Fri 16:45-17:30
Chris Brookmyre
Chris Brookmyre reads from his new novel The Cracked Mirror.
A cross-genre hybrid of Agatha Christie and Michael Connelly, The Cracked Mirror is the most imaginative and entertaining crime novel of the year, a genre-splicing rollercoaster with a poignantly emotional heart.
It’s over 25 years since multi-award-winning Sunday Times bestseller Chris Brookmyre’s first book, Quite Ugly One Morning, was published. Since then, he has established himself as one of the most popular crime writers in the UK.
His enthusiasm for hurling himself into extracurricular activities such as the Scotland v England Writers football, the Caledonian Challenge, Channel 5 Egg Heads, the Fun Lovin’ Crime Writers (including appearances at Glastonbury), BBC Question Time and a live celebrity Mastermind with Clive Myrie (specialist subject Buffy the Vampire Slayer) is well known and means he has more to talk about than most.
In a previous life, Chris worked for Screen International which involved frequent trips to Los Angeles. A TV adaptation, The Cut which also centres on the film industry is in development with production company Highland Midge and Chris and his wife Marisa are currently writing the scripts. It was also recently longlisted for the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year.
Fri 17:45-18:15
Reserved for Up Close & Personal interview with guest to be confirmed.
Fri 18:30-19:30
Drunk Muse Press presents Home/Hame Dhachaigh/Bayt
Drunk Muse Press presents an hour of poetry and music from Cáit O’Neill McCullagh, Martin MacIntyre and Cheyenne Brown, introduced by renowned poet and Drunk Muse Press Editor in Chief, Hugh MacMillan; coming together to ceilidh with the Verb Garden audience, drawing on their diverse and common experiences of moving away from and longing for home, and of finding new belonging in places and with people that offer the possibility of new homecomings.
Martin MacIntyre is an acclaimed award-winning author, bard, and storyteller who has written eight works of fiction and one collection of poems with his work meriting a Saltire First Book Award and several more accolades.
Highland-Irish archaeologist, and singer, Cáit O'Neill McCullagh writes at home, on the north shore of the Cromarty Firth, composing a growing selection of poems. Since then, over 70 of Cáit’s poems have been published while she has been merited with several wards. Her writing can be found in print and online; in journals, magazines, and anthologies.
Alaskan-born musician Cheyenne Brown is now based in the Highlands, where she has a busy teaching studio, with both local pupils and participants zooming in from around the world. The last year has seen her perform live on Radio 3 and perform at Dinan Harp Festival in Brittany.
Hugh McMillan is a poet from Dumfries and Galloway whom Iain Crichton Smith once described ‘as a joy to read, a joy to hear.’ Twice winner of the Callum MacDonald prize he was also a winner in the Smith Doorstep and Cardiff poetry competitions. He has featured in the anthologies ‘Best British Poems’, ‘Best Scottish Stories’ and ‘Best Scottish Poems’ and edited the latter in 2021. His poetry has featured three times on National Poetry Day postcards.
Fri 19:45-20:30
Captain of the Lost Waves
The Captain makes his return nearly 22 months after a life changing road traffic accident where both he and his family were caught up in a police car chase resulting in being hit by the stolen vehicle.
During the challenges of such a stark rehabilitation, music was miraculously still being created, albeit in a very slow, labored and somewhat sedate ‘late-night fashion’ - where strong painkillers/opioids became ‘married’ to those rare and fleeting moments of energetic impulses that screamed out to be expressed – hence a reflective, healing, contemplative album emerged.
The Captain is an ethereal troubadour, storyteller, and free-thinking renegade.
His musical offerings are inspired by the great songwriters and philosophers of yesteryear. This is visceral music for the mind and body, full of dreamy verses, life affirming choruses and sheer audacity. Where melodic invention meets alternative folk, progressive, world and ambient sounds. The Captain was chosen by English Folk Expo as just one of 12 English artists to represent team England in the inaugural Global Music Match 2020, an exercise where 96 artists from 14 countries were featured world wide.
“The Captain was born to be an entertainer, perhaps even a prophet…watching his show is a life altering experience, there are no words in the English language to describe him.”
The Huffington Post
Friday 20:45-22:15
Versaye! With Lorna Callery-Sithole, Wendy Miller, Texture and Georgia Bartlett-MacNeill.
Versaye! bring their celebrated show to the Verb Garden for the first time featuring four of the finest on the Scottish spoken word circuit. Co-founder of Versaye! with Wendy Miller, Lorna Callery-Sithole is an award-winning, working-class, multi-disciplinary poet, visual artist, and Slam Champion from Pollok whose work has appeared in Magma, Glasgow Review of Books, New Writing Scotland, Best Scottish Poems, and Causeway/Cabhsa.
Poet, playwright, queer artist, and guitarist, Wendy Miller is also one-half of Glasgow spoken word night Versaye! along with partner in rhyme, Lorna Callery Sithole. Wendy’s poetry, published by Gutter and New Writing Scotland, is diverse ranging from the socially engaged and political work to the playful ones about potato scones. She is a lover of language in all its forms.
Georgia is the 2023 Loud Poets Central Belt Slam champion, she's been performing at open mics and curated nights across Scotland for the best part of a decade, with highlights including being a part of the Glasgow contingent of the 2015 Words First programme by BBC Radio 1 Xtra and The Roundhouse, supporting Shane Koyczan in 2017 during his world tour.
In October 2023, she launched her first poetry pamphlet, "HER-I-TAGE", which featured at the Radical Book Festival, hosted by Lighthouse Books. Her poems cover a range of topics, and can go from hilarious to hard-hitting in just a few well-chosen words.
Texture is a rapper, slam champion and performer with releases on This Is Not Pop and Black Lantern. He weaves complex tapestries of myth, memes and dystopia with prescient, multi-layered rhymes, devastating bass and breezeblock beats. He is about to release his first book, The Darkest Timeline, with Revol Press. He's performed acclaimed shows at Edinburgh Fringe, Hidden Door, Verve Festival and the World Slam Championships in Paris.
Fri 22:30
Movie - title TBC
SATURDAY 27th JULY
Sat 10:00
Kids/Family movie - Title TBC
Sat 11:45-12:30
Susi Briggs
Yum and other Scots stories for weans.
Ideal for families, nursery age and early primary. Susi Briggs is an award winning author, poet, storyteller and musician from Dumfries and Galloway.
A Scots language advocate promoting visibility and literacy. She is also the present Scots Scriever for the National Library of Scotland.
Susi and her best pal Alan McClure co host, write and produce Oor Wee Podcast, a storytelling and sang show. Susi also sings the blues with Wave Blues Band.
Sat 12:45-13:30
Alex Patience and Hilary Wilson
Alex Patience, traditional story-spinner along with musician song-writer, Hilary Wilson - bring a giggle of story-songs and tales o' life in the Far North. Alex shares traditional stories & knowledge spiced with a wide range our culture, arts and nature. A trained theatre maker and community artist she is a story holder with a belief in passing along our stories and cultural knowledge, trained teacher, member of Equity, Scottish Storytellers, Scottish Union of Artists and a Gaelic learner.
Hilary has a lifetime of observing the natural world, and a fascination with its folklore and wonder. This passion for nature is brought together with music, song and art to engage both children and adults. Hilary is a trained primary school teacher, forest school leader and singer songwriter
Sat 13:45-14:15
Susi Briggs
Scots Scriever, author storyteller and poet Susi Briggs will be sharing poems from her upcoming debut poetry collection Diva Blessing.
Sat 14:30-15:30
A Most Unsuitable Game - Official Book Launch!
Karen Fraser, Julie McNeill and Fiona Skillen have teamed up with Tippermuir Books to tell the untold tales of women’s football 50 years on from the ban.
A Most Unsuitable Game reflects the stories of those who played for formal teams, those who represented Scotland and those who played informally in their local streets, backcourts or parks.
What comes across from these stories and poems is a passion for playing football, the joy that the game provides regardless of where it is played and the sense of community and connection that it creates amongst those who play it or support a team.
Karen Fraser is an independent researcher associated with the University of Stirling. Her PhD research focused on the history of women’s football in Scotland from 1960 to 2021. While she has worked on different aspects of the history of Scottish football, her focus remains seeking to uncover the untold history of women’s football in Scotland. She has published articles, presented at conferences, and has contributed to television documentaries, radio programmes, museum exhibitions and newspaper articles.
Julie McNeill is the Poet-in-Residence for St Mirren Football Club Charitable Foundation, the only female poet attached to a professional football club (as far as we are aware) in the UK, perhaps the world. She is the Makar of The Hampden Collectionand author of two poetry pamphlets Ragged Rainbows and Something Small, her latest book ‘We Are Scottish Football’ was released earlier this year (Luath Press 2024). Julie is also the co-author of the award winning Mission Dyslexia series for neurodivergent children. With live poems from Shaun Moore, Hamish MacDonald, Hugh McMillan and Linda Jackson.
“Tenacity, prowess and passion. This book is a celebration of women’s resilience and strength - it tell the untold tales of women’s football through poems, stories and reminiscences. Fiona, Karen and Julie have created a long overdue celebration of the determination and passion that became the foundation of the modern game.”
Eddi Reader
Sat 15:45-16:15
Up Close & Personal - Guest TBC
Sat 16:30-17:15
Bobby Motherwell
Bobby is a singer/songwriter and poet from Glasgow and he is the Poet in Residence at RSPB Lochwinnoch where he spends most of his spare time writing about and photographing wildlife there.
He writes about his love of the outdoors, the natural world and his own personal life reflections. His solo music project is Sulidae, and his album Kitchen Sink Dharma was released in August 2023 to some critical acclaim. The album was chosen as the featured album of the week on BBC Radio Scotland.
He is currently working on a book and a musical essay on the life of Alexander Wilson, the Poet naturalist from paisley who emigrated to America in 1794 and became know as the father of American Ornithology. His poetry performance reflects on and lean heavily on Wilson’s story. His poem about Wilson The Swift in the Passing was commended at the recent Janet Coates memorial Award at the Paisley Book Festival. He released his first book Lots of Things in January 2023 which is a collection of poetry, prose and photographs compiled during and shortly after Lockdown in 2020. He has had poetry published in Dreich, the Stanza Poetry map of Scotland and Sweetycat Press.
“Kitchen Sink Dharma is the debut album by Sulidae. Featuring the superlative songs and poetry of Bobby Motherwell.”
Ian Anderson, BBC Radio Scotland
Sat 17:30-18:15
Calum MacLean
Calum Maclean is a presenter, author and obsessive outdoor swimmer from Inverness.
Whether it’s diving under ice, being eaten alive by midgies or lifting heavy stones from the earth, he feels most alive when outdoors.
Best-known for his outdoor swimming adventures on social media and BBC ALBA, he was named the “most influential Scot on TikTok” (not his words!) Calum is the author of 1001 Outdoor Swimming Tips and speaks about the power of releasing your own creativity.
Sat 18:30-17:30
We Are Migrant.
Because we are. We are all part of the never ending shift of humanity seeking a wee part of this beautiful planet where we can find peace and call it home.
Based on the new poetry collection of the same name by the renowned poet Jim Mackintosh, We are Migrant brings to The Verb Garden a unique and powerful message of solidarity with all those thousands who have for centuries risked everything to cross war zones, deserts and treacherous waters in search of that peace. Returning to Belladrum for his fifth year, Jim is joined on stage this year by the incredible poets Linda Jackson, Julie McNeill and Donna Campbell with their own words of hope and truth all woven with the music of the blues powerhouse Gus Munro.
Sat 19:45-20:30
Captain of the Lost Waves - for show description see Friday 19:45-20:30
Sat 20:45-23:00
The Verb Garden Poetry Slam! Three wise(?) judges, an esteemed (?) compere and a host of slam poets who take to the mic to see who will be the annual Saturday nite slam winner!
Expect a variety of themes from the absurd to the profound, acerbic to surreal. The winner books a place in the Scottish slam finals with a chance to go on from there to perform at European and World finals.
Previous Verb Garden winners have gone on to win at not only the Scottish final but to win or achieve runner-up at the Coupe du Monde de Poesie world slam finals in Paris. Furious, frantic and fun.
Sat 23:15-Close
Ross Anderson and Lewis Watt - for show description see Thursday 17:45-18:15