We are kicking off the new year with poetry and spoken word at The Low Beat on Tuesday, January 6 with the 85th Nitty Gritty Slam featuring Anthony Ragler.
When he is not binge drinking cranberry juice and eating fruit snacks, Anthony Ragler is a 21 year old writer, performer and father. Using poetry, music and step dance, Anthony aims to change lives and heal wounds. Anthony is an English and Education Major at Mercy College. Anthony is an artist known for using persona and body movement to attack social stigmas and overly-traditional forms of thinking. Anthony was a member of the 2014 NYC Urbana Slam Team that placed 2nd in the nation at the 2014 National Poetry Slam in Oakland, CA, as well as the 2013 Urban Word Slam Team that placed 3rd internationally at the Brave New Voices Festival. He is the Inspired Word 2014 Grand Slam Champion and the Lincoln Center’s first ever youth Grand Slam Champion. Anthony has performed at numerous venues, including the United Nations, Nuyorican Poets Cafe, Symphony Space, Lincoln Center, The Apollo Theatre, and the Audubon Ballroom in NYC, the Scottish Rite Theatre in Oakland, CA, and the Auditorium Theatre in Chicago, Il. He’s the first poet to teach Patricia Smith the Cupid Shuffle and the only poet to win a street fight on planet Neptune.
If you’re not into competing in the slam, but want to get on stage and share your work, we have an open mic hosted by Kevin Peterson before the slam. Sign up begins at 7:00pm, open mic starts at 7:30, and then Thom Francis starts the slam at 8:00pm. Admission is $5.00 ($3.00 with student ID). This is an 18+ show.
If you can’t make it out to the show that night, be sure to follow along on Twitter – #NGS85.
Albany Poets, Urban Guerilla Theatre, and The Frequency North Reading Series have brought slam back to Albany with the Nitty Gritty Slam at The Low Beat (335 Central Ave.) on the 1st and 3rd Tuesday’s of each month.
For information on the rules and format of the Nitty Gritty Slam and to meet the team, go to http://nittygrittyslam.com
