Speakin' Weird (Light the Blue - Music Hall

Best-selling poet Len Pennie has joined the line-up for Light the Blue Festival 2026, taking the headline slot for a special open mic night from Aberdeen’s spoken word collective Speakin’ Weird.

Taking place at the Music Hall’s Big Sky Studio, the evening will offer the chance for young local performers aged 18-30 to take to the stage and share their latest material, centring around the festival theme ‘looking forward / looking back’. We encourage performers wishing to take part to sign up on the night. The show will culminate in a performance from Sunday Times bestseller Len Pennie, a celebrated poet who writes in both Scots and English.

Light the Blue Creative Producer Jordan Blackwood said: “We are thrilled that Len is performing at Speakin’ Weird as part of this year’s Light the Blue Festival. She is an inspirational writer and performer and it will be fantastic to see what other talent we can unearth during the open mic event. It will be a warm, relaxed and easy-going environment to share new material and we encourage local performers to come along and sign up on the night.”

Hannah Nicholson from Speakin’ Weird commented: “”We are delighted to be collaborating with Light the Blue for an event at this year’s festival and getting to host Len Pennie as a headliner is particularly exciting as we hugely admire her work both as a poet and a passionate Scots language advocate. We also hope to encourage plenty of open mic performances, especially from newer voices, so we would like to encourage attendees not to be shy about signing up.”

Starts at 7pm.

Suitable for ages 18+

Speakin’ Weird was founded by Orla Shortall in 2017, and has run monthly since then, with a few venue changes in that time – currently we have made our home at Gaelic Lane Cafe. Following Orla’s return to Ireland earlier in 2026, the event is now run and hosted by Hannah Nicholson, Aron Smith and Esmond Sage, all of whom have been part of the local spoken word scene for a number of years. Hannah is a former Scottish Book Trust New Writers Awardee, Aron hosts Brutha Voodoo’s Playlist Obscura on ShmuFM, and Esmond is involved in a variety of local causes. We bring a variety of headliners every month to our stage, as well as hosting an open mic, with the aim of fostering an environment which is welcoming and inclusive.

Len Pennie is a poet who writes in both Scots and English. She writes passionately about the promotion of minoritised languages, survivors of domestic abuse and the destigmatisation of mental illness. Her two poetry collections poyums and poyums annaw were instant Sunday Times bestsellers. poyums won Scots Book of the Year in 2024 and was the winner of the British Book Awards Discover Book of the Year in 2025.

SOCIAL MEDIA Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/misspunnypennie TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@miss_punnypennie YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCNtTXIIxnGPPi8r1JlIbJgQ/videos Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/people/Len-Pennie/61563527631253/

AWARDS poyums annaw Books Are My Bag Awards 2025 – Shortlisted poyums British Book Awards 2024 – Book of the Year (Discover) Scots Language Awards 2024 – Scots Book o The Year- https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cj9rpwlxrvzo Books Are My Bag Awards 2024 – Shortlisted

Light the Blue is our multi-artform festival for and by young people returning on 2 – 14 June 2026 with a programme of theatre, music, dance, visual arts and more taking place across Aberdeen city.

With over 24 events across 13 days, this year’s festival asks our artists and audiences What’s your story?

Whether  it’s  ‘our story so far’ or ‘our hopes and dreams for the future’ – our stories and imaginations can shape who we are, who we want to become and even the world around us.  

Join us for Light the Blue 2026, where over 1,000 young and professional artists, school pupils and early career creatives from across Scotland will come together to celebrate new and emerging talent, creating opportunities and connection.

GO TO LIGHT THE BLUE 2026