Nitty Gritty Slam is the official poetry slam of Albany, NY, certified by Poetry Slam, Inc. and takes place on the 1st and 3rd Tuesday of each and every month at The Low Beat (335 Central Ave., Albany, NY).
NGS is sponsored by Albany Poets, Urban Guerilla Theatre, and The Frequency North Reading Series.
What an exciting night Tuesday night was. Election night in America and the first semi-final at Nitty Gritty Slam to determine who will be moving on to the next stage in the team selection process. The night started out with the open mic to warm up the already smokey room, electrical fires be damned. Mojavi […]
NGS #30 Results – The Top Two Going to the Grand Slam Read More »
What better way to spent Election night than at a poetry slam and open mic? Join us on Tuesday, November 6 at Valentine’s for Nitty Gritty Slam #30. This edition of Albany’s poetry slam series will be a special slam for the top eight points leaders so far in the season battling it out in
Nitty Gritty Slam #30 – The First Team NGS Semi-Final on Tuesday, November 6 Read More »
On Tuesday, October 30 we are hosting our first ever Inappropriate Slam for a special 5th Tuesday edition of Nitty Gritty Slam. If you have poems that you think will make folks feel a little uneasy and uncomfortable, then this is the slam for you. Anything goes regarding content this time around at the slam.
If poetry slams and spoken word performances are dead, then we did not get that memo, because we had another packed house at Valentine’s for NGS #28 this past Tuesday. Our featured poets, Meg Waldron and Robyn Bateman, were a fantastic addition to the open mic and poetry slam. Meg and Robyn put on a great show and the
NGS #28 Results – With Fifteen Poets in the First Round Read More »
We have an exciting night of poetry and spoken word planned for Nitty Gritty Slam #28 as our open slam on October 16 will also feature the sets from poets Meg Waldron and Robyn Bateman! It’s a homecoming for Meg Waldron, who lives in Portland, OR, but is also a product of Albany County. Born
If you were not at Valentine’s last Tuesday night for Nitty Gritty Slam #27, you missed out on an incredible night of poetry and spoken word. The room was packed with students, poets, and even some lucky members of the public who wandered in for happy hour at the bar. We started the night with
NGS #27 Results – A Full House and a Fantastic Feature Read More »
A packed house because St. Rose cancelled classes & the poetry professors sent their students to Valentines (wish they would do that on a Third Thursday sometime). There was a long list of open mic poets so I signed up for the shorter Slam list, w…
Nitty Gritty Slam #27, October 2 Read More »
With tornado warnings hitting the news, rain pouring down, and bluegrass playing downstairs, the poets still came out to Valentine’s for Nitty Gritty Slam #26 last Tuesday. We were joined by some familiar voices as well as new poets hitting the Nitty Gritty stage for the first time. We kicked the night off with the open mic,
NGS #26 Results – Tornadoes and Bluegrass Read More »
We are back with the 27th edition of Nitty Gritty Slam and this time around we are welcoming a special featured reading by John S. Blake. John is an incredible poet who wowed us at the National Poetry Slam in August in Charlotte and it is an honor to have him in Albany with us
Nitty Gritty Slam #27 Featuring John Blake at Valentine’s on Tuesday, October 2 Read More »
We are back at Valentine’s for Nitty Gritty Slam #26 this coming Tuesday, September 18. This is the second slam of our second season and we are expecting big things. Mojavi surprised us all at the last slam by taking off the coach’s whistle and competing… and winning NGS #25. Who will come out of the shadows
Nitty Gritty Slam #26 at Valentine’s on Tuesday, September 18 Read More »
We kicked off the second season of the Nitty Gritty Slam on Tuesday, September 4 with one of our smaller crowds. But we overcame and had a great night of poetry and spoken word with some new, dynamic voices on the mic. We started everything off with the open mic that saw a new poet,
NGS #25 Results – The New Season Begins Read More »
Back up to Saratoga Springs, this month with my friend Don Levy tagging along for the first time in many months. It was another full list of open mic poets & a similar program of the featured poets, the Nitty Gritty Slam team out of Albany, NY, fr…
Caffé Lena Open Mic, September 5 Read More »
The Hudson Valley Writers Guild supports the efforts of writers in all genres by sponsoring readings, workshops, and contests and providing a number of valuable resources for the entire literary community.
