Dylan Ross
Dylan is a poet and performer, built from equal parts love and anger, on a mission to bring people together and tear old inequalities and injustices apart; all with the simple tools of words wrapped in honesty and humour.
Dylan has been gigging extensively as a performance poet since 2019 and has built up a reputation for high energy and inclusive punk-tinged sets.
New pieces are largely written for each new performance or to commission. When able, Dylan records these and adds them to SoundCloud. Although he feels they never quite capture the live experience of ‘being shouted out by a man in a hat’. Whilst he pontificates over those recordings, and anguishes over the scarcity and quality of video, there IS some stuff there.
Dylan is currently working on a ‘long-form’ piece (Epic*) which aims to find similarities, metaphors, and allegories to the modern world with a mix of English folk myth and actual English heritage and history from the 15th century. He has performed a few pieces from this work, often with musical backing, over the last year and hopes to showcase a version of that in the spring. This isnt perhaps the vital work the world needs right now, but it’s where his head is at. (*Epic sounds rather grand… …rather, it is just really long).
This has caused Dylan to write more songs in the last year. They are folk-ish.
In the meantime Dylan continues to write new work, perform with community groups, put on gigs for himself and others and, mostly, he tries to find ways to celebrate all that is beautiful even that which may be broken.
Spoken Word : Positive Punky Performance Poet
Story Teller : Fireside and Folk Tales
Writer : Short Stories, Novellas, Epic Poetry
Musician : Guitar, Tenor Guitar, Shruti Box
Friend : Snowflake and Rabble Rouser
Regularly performing at both Apothecary (experimental stuff, ‘first chance to hear’), as well as other nights across the South West. Alas, not an exhaustive list. Dylan would like to thank all the amazing bands, other poets, performers, storytellers, musicians and promoters he has worked with over the last few years, not least during ‘The Great Crumble’. Even more importantly, Dylan would like to thank the audiences who – time and time again – amaze with their patience, enthusiasm and support.
FUTURE
30-05-2025 Jo Solo – Bridport WI Hall (Support)
15-12-2025 Gracie Bassie’s Speak Easy – Bridport Arts Centre (Support)
PAST
15-09-2024 Seat of Cear Dur (Bard of Dorchester) – Guest Performer
24-08-2024 Bardfest (birdfest!) 2024
27-07-2024 Bridport Folk Festival (Solo Music) Full set – The Woodman
25-07-2024 Folk Fringe – MC and Performer
22-06-2024 Bridport Folk Society (Solo Music) Supporting Toby Hay and Aidan Thorne
23-11-2023 Culture Club, Beaminster (with Martin and Lucy)
05-11-2023 Rocksteady for Refugees, Masonic Lodge – with Skalatons
16-09-2023 Let Music Unite, Portland (chesil beech!)
18-08-2023 Bardfest 23
23-02-2024 (William) Barnes Night (featuring address to Dorset Knob and world first “(get yer) Knob In t’ Hole” competition)
13/05/2024 Best of Bridport – The Lyric Theatre
24-04-2023 Brave Saint George (And Alternative Celebration of Englishness)
23-02-2023 (William) Barnes Night
06-01-2023 Thirteenth Night.
30-11-2022 Fireside Tales
20-11-2022 Telling The Seasons
03-10-2022 Bridport Short Story Slam (2nd Place overall, Peoples Vote Winner)
30-07-2022 TUC – Summer Celebration
23-07-2022 Folk Fest
20-07-2022 Summer Of Discontent
07-04-2022 Art For Ukraine
05-12-2021 Krampusnatch (Woodman)
24-11-2021 Supporting The Skimity Hitchers
09-10-2021 We Shall Overcome
14-08-2021 Folk-Fringe – Full Saturday Night Set
20-09-2020 Roped-In for Bridport
05-03-2020 Supporting Eve Appleton (COVIDIFIED)
27-01-2020 Scratch and Spit
05-12-2019 Krampusnatch (LSI)
08-11-2019 Cupboard Love
05-10-2019 We Shall Overcome
25-07-2019 Zombies! (Supporting The Woodlouse)
18 to 21-07-2019 Fanny’s Meadow
11-05-2019 Left Fest
02-04-2019 Extinction Songs (Speaker on March)