Albuquerque’s Longest running open mic and slam, Poetry and Beer has found its new exclusive home. With the recent closure of long time “P and B” venue, Blackbird, It has become very important to both Tractor Brewing Company and the Albuquerque poetry community, and host organization ABQ Slams, that Poetry and Beer, have a place to continue.
Blackbird served Poetry and Beer well, for the time that it spent both in the bar, and on warm nights, on the back patio. Tractor Brewing Wells Park is happy to take on this long-time entertainment and creative expression based beast of a flash back to the beats – while paying respect to where it came from.
So cheers to the Golden West, Rhythm and Blues, Blue Dragon, and Blackbird – beloved venues of beat makers, and rhyme spitters, as the beat continues, the poem goes on, the mic stays hot, and the crowds keep looking for somewhere to hear and be heard – Tractor Brewing Company can only be proud to be considered a place worthy of those hearts, voices, strings, microphones and dreams.
What should one expect if this blog is the first time you are reading about poetry in an Albuquerque brewery? Well, expect folks of all ages, and backgrounds, to get up on stage and reveal pieces of their lives, at times: gripping, sad, funny, sexy, and so much more. It doesn’t always rhyme and it’s not always nice. It is however always respectful of: race, sexual preference, and affiliations and choices that individuals make to be unique in this world. Slam poetry is raw and honest, without being damaging, or aggressive – it heals rather than hurts, and helps one grow, if even at times, that growth is uncomfortable. If you’ve never seen this art form live and on the mic, I strongly suggest you get out into this city of ours and check it out – who knows, maybe do some mic checking yourself. Before every slam there is an open mic portion. Folks who sign up will have 2 pieces of work, or 5 minutes, whichever comes first, to do their thing – whatever “their thing” is. The open mic portion is wide open and judgment free – the Slam of course, is a competition.
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Information on the Hosts, Location and Date and Time Below:
Poetry and Beer
Hosted by Damien Flores and Joe Romero
Tractor Brewing Wells Park 1800 4th Street NW 87102
LIVE on our tap room stage at 7pm
THE SECOND TUESDAY OF EVERY MONTH
The show is not only a competition but an open mic. Performers of all kinds are welcome, bring your jokes, your songs, your poems, and your stories, it’s your stage too.
The SLAM portion of the evening can be signed up for the night of, and is a qualifying slam, for our Albuquerque Slam Team, that is sent to The National Poetry Slam Championships, each year. For more information on Slam poetry in Albuquerque you can visit www.abqslams.org.