Pinch, punch, first of the month. Good morning and happy May to you all!
We’ve got not one, but TWO headliner announcements for you in this edition - so where better to start than chronologically? As mentioned at the end of our last edition, the headline set for our next one on the 11th of May will be none other than local hip hop legend Jackill.
Jackill, who will headline Speakin Weird on the 11th of May.
An artist at the heart of the Aberdonian hip hop scene, Jackill has been releasing music both as a solo MC and a founding member of legendary local crew III Collective for over ten years.
Alongside his deft lyricism exploring local life, perseverance and solidarity, he has been a guiding force in developing Aberdeen's creative scene through his work in community outreach and music tutoring, and he shows no signs of slowing down with a slew of releases planned for 2026.
We’re excited to be hosting him and can’t wait to hear his set. Whether or not you’ve seen him perform before, you’re in for a huge treat, so come on down on the 11th - same bat time, same bat venue. (That is to say, 6:30pm doors for a 7pm start at Gaelic Lane Cafe.) Usual entry fees apply, and you can sign up for the open mic on the door.
The poster for the May edition of Speakin Weird, where Jackill is headlining. 11th of May, Gaelic Lane Cafe, 6:30pm doors for a 7pm start.
That’s already quite exciting, so I suppose you’re wondering how we’re going to potentially top it with our next announcement. Well, wonder no more. As follows:
We’ll actually be doing two events in June this year. Yes, really. Details of the latter one shall follow in due course, but for now, we shall focus on the first.
We’re holding it on the 4th of June. But that’s a Thursday, I hear you cry. Yes, you’re correct, it is. We’re shaking things up a bit.
Continuing on from the previous point - we won’t be at Gaelic Lane for this one, but instead at Big Sky Studio inside the Aberdeen Music Hall. This is because we’re collaborating with Light the Blue, a youth festival run by Aberdeen Performing Arts, for this edition.
With all these shake ups, you’d think we would need a pretty special headliner* to top it off. And you’d be in luck, because our headliner for this special edition of Speakin Weird is none other than the wonderful Len Pennie.
Len Pennie will be bringing her amazing poyums to Speakin Weird in collaboration with APA’s Light the Blue Festival.
Len Pennie is a poet who writes predominantly in the Scots language. She writes passionately about the promotion of minority languages, survivors of domestic abuse, and the destigmatisation of mental illness.
We’re absolutely chuffed to bits to have Len join us for this edition and we can’t wait to host her. Our usual entry fees, start times and open mic sign up rules will still apply - so not everything is being shaken up at least.
*all of our headliners are special to us, just so we’re clear.
Our poster for our first June event, a collaboration with Light the Blue featuring Len Pennie as our headliner.
We will still be having an event at Gaelic Lane Cafe in June, at a slightly later date than usual - details of this will come soon.
We hope you’re as excited as we are for both of these events, and we’ll see you there.
Hannah, Aron and Esmond