Been too long since you heard a good story? Al Elliott’s got you covered. See him live on stage at This Alabama Life, a live variety show, on March 12 along with musicians, poets, and more.

Elliott is a 5th grade literacy teacher using contemporary rap to help his students articulate their truths with both written and spoken word. He’s the winner of the 2010 Sidewalk Film Festival’s ScrambleJam and contributed music to the Emmy Award Winning Documentary, “Mr. Dial has Something To Say.” Elliott writes inspired hip hop music and is a frequent storyteller at Arc Stories.

Jazz flutist Kim Scott is a Billboard chart topper, Birmingham native, and Chair of the Music Department at the Alabama School of Fine Arts. She has performed at some of the world's most prestigious jazz celebrations and we are thrilled to welcome her to the This Alabama Life stage on March 12!

Jerri Hardesty is a pretty big deal in the world of Alabama Poetry and you can catch her live at This Alabama Life. In addition to winning more than 1,300 awards and titles in both written and spoken word/performance poetry, Jerri recently served as the President of the Alabama State Poetry Society, and was the 2009 ASPS Poet of the Year.

Always dreamed of being on a public radio quiz show? (Of course you have.) Well now’s your chance! WBHM’s Andrew Yeager will host “Wait, Wait… I’m an NPR Nerd” at our third annual This Alabama Life event on March 12. Come show off your trivia chops! 

Make plans now to attend Bards & Brews, the Birmingham Public Library's popular monthly spoken word poetry-craft beer program, on March 6 at the Purpose Center at Dannon in downtown Birmingham. The Dannon Project is a longtime partner with BPL.

Doors will open at 6:00 p.m. Musical entertainment by featured artist Al Elliott will begin at 6:30 p.m. and poetry will flow starting at 7:00 p.m. Voice Porter will serve as host and emcee. Beer samples provided by TrimTab Brewing.

Both seasoned spoken word artists and novice poets are invited to participate in this open mic poetry event. Sign up on site the night of the program.

Free and open to the public. Must be 18+ to attend and participate and 21+ to drink. IDs will be checked.

Black History Trivia Night

Choose a team of 3 to 5 ($any donation amount) to compete or simply show up (for free) to support! This will be a trivia game show with multiple choice responses moderated by Al Elliott. Teams will use their phones to respond to questions presented to the entire group via the TV monitor.

This event is a sponsored by The Committee To Elect Terrika Shaw. https://shaw4judge.com

Sunday on the Mic!

Our Sunday on the Mic series at Bizarre: The Coffee Bar continues on Sunday, February 16th, from 4-7pm. This will include an open mic hosted by our friend Al Elliott (Thed Weller) and will also feature readings from pockets the poet & Mel. Crozby. As always, this is a free event open to anyone who wants to share their thoughts or appreciate the talents of others. Will you stand with us?

Kiss'em or Diss'em Valentine's Day Spectacular at Sidewalk Cinema
Friday, February 14th, 2020
Doors open at 5:00pm (the cinema is open for regular business earlier but ticketing for this event begins at 5pm)

Romeo & Juliet - 7pm
My Bloody Valentine - 7:15pm

Celebrate Valentine's Day with Sidewalk and you can pick your poison - romance or bloodlust, at our Kiss'em or Diss'em Valentine's Party. We'll be screening Romeo + Juliet (1996) and My Bloody Valentine (1981) and our Cinema Bar will be decked out for the holiday and prime for Instagram with photo booths, on demand typewriter poets and astrology readings for those who need some insight into their love life. 

You can join us for the film only ($13.48) or treat yo self with the Valentine's VIP package ticket upgrade which includes a drink ticket (beer, wine or specialty cocktail - 21+ only), an iced cookie and a limited edition I ♥️ Sidewalk magnet ($20 additional). 

Our bartenders will be serving up two speciality Valentine's Day Cocktails, plus, all bottles of wine will be $5 off on Valentine's Day.