EVENTS CALENDAR
VIEW OUR CALENDAR BELOW
Book signings, author events, musical performances, panel discussions, wine & beer tastings, meet ups and other expressive events fill our calendar. Have an idea for a perspective-changing program you don’t see here? Email info@visiblevoicebooks.com and tell us more.
Un-Formal Fiction, Un-Formal Poems
An evening of readings by Alexandra Salata,
Matthew Breit,
Michelle Michiko Duke, and
Mercy Tempest Turle.
This event is free and open to the public.
Alexandra Salata was born and raised in Arizona. Her stories appear in Witness, Black Warrior Review, Puerto del Sol, and elsewhere, and she was named a finalist for the 2024 Salamander Fiction Prize. Her work has been supported by the Juniper Summer Writing Institute, and she is a graduate of the Northeast Ohio MFA Program. She lives in or around Cleveland and teaches at the Cleveland Institute of Art.
Matthew Breit is an experimental fiction writer and artist living in Northeast Ohio. His work explores the psychospiritual function of storytelling through themes like death, technology, and pop culture. He holds a degree in Philosophy from Penn State and an MFA from Kent State through the Northeast Ohio Master of Fine Arts program. He currently lives in Kent, OH.
Michelle Michiko Duke is a third-year Northeast Ohio MFA poetry student at the University of Akron and is a graduate assistant teaching English Composition. She currently serves as a student ambassador.
Mercy Tempest Turle (they/she) is a poet/educator/bearded lady from Cleveland, Ohio. Her work explores the relationship between language, gender, and consciousness through Midwestern images and Buddhist schools of thought. Mercy is the managing editor of Dead End Editions and serves as the lead editor of Plum City/Crooked River, an independent anthology of Ohio-based writers, artists, and musicians.
Poets Jam with Ray McNiece and the Tongue In Groove Trio
Come and bring your poetry to Ray McNiece and the Tongue In Groove Trio's Poet Jam! Recite your poetry while the band follows you along with grooves and improvisations.
This is a free open-mic; all are welcome.
Ray McNiece has earned a national reputation as a poet and performer for almost two decades through his solo theater pieces, his poetry and music shows, his captaining of 2 National Poetry Slam Championship teams, his "edutaining" children's shows and workshops, and his yearly country-wide tours of performance poems, stories and songs. Follow Ray on Facebook.
Live Music: Moises Borges
Moises Borges, a native of Brazil now living in Cleveland, has become a prolific performer on the Northeast Ohio scene in recent years. A gifted guitarist, Borges plays in the Bossa Nova tradition, interpreting his original songs and classics by Jobim, Gilberto, and many others. This far away from his native Brazil, the music of his homeland is very much alive when he is on stage. Follow Moises on Facebook, Instagram, and Youtube.
This event is free and open to the public.
Live Music: Garrett Folger & Aidan Plank
Garrett Folger (trumpet) and Aidan Plank (bass) have performed together in many musical settings, but their DUO project brings their collaboration into sharp focus. Rooted in spontaneous improvisation, timbral exploration, and deep listening, the duo creates music that unfolds in the moment with clarity and intention. Their debut recording, DUO (2025), reflects this approach, presenting a focused document of two artists deeply embedded in the Cleveland jazz community as they craft a voice uniquely their own. Listen to DUO on Bandcamp or Spotify.
This event is free and open to the public.
Garrett Folger is a freelance composer, educator, and performer based in Cleveland, Ohio. A graduate of the conservatory of music at Baldwin-Wallace University, he has performed across the country, including at the Kennedy Center and Carnegie Hall, as well as internationally in Canada, Europe, and in numerous festivals across Cuba in 2023. Notable musical collaborations at home include performances with Sammy DeLeon y su Orquesta, the Cleveland Jazz Orchestra, Jazzworks, and his own group co-led by Carmen Castaldi and Anthony Fuoco where many of his own compositions are interpreted. Garrett’s large ensemble compositions have been performed by groups such as the Third Law Collective and the Skatch Andersson Orchestra. Follow Garett on Instagram and Youtube.
Double bassist, electric bassist, and composer Aidan Plank has performed for the past 27 years in the broad and diverse circumstances required of a jazz musician. Since 2013, Plank has served as the bassist for the Cleveland Jazz Orchestra, where he has collaborated with guest artists including Gerald Clayton, Joe Lovano, Maria Schneider, Michael Philip Mossman, Bobby Sanabria, Tierney Sutton, Regina Carter, Ken Peplowski, Bria Skonberg, and many others. Plank’s own collaborative ensemble, Pulse, features saxophonist Brad Wagner, pianist Anthony Fuoco, and drummer Dustin May. Pulse explores new compositions by its members and also works to cultivate a midwestern sound drawing influence from the music of Pat Metheny and Charlie Haden. Plank is also active as a jazz composer. His compositions and arrangements are performed by the Cleveland Jazz Orchestra as well as the Third Law Collective.
Currently, Plank serves as the Assistant Teaching Professor of Jazz Bass at Bowling Green State University’s College of Musical Arts. He holds a Master of Music in Jazz Studies from Youngstown State University.
“Listening to two kindred spirits making music in the moment is always a joy, and Plank and Folger do so with remarkable rapport.”
Brent Kirby Songwriting Share
Brent Kirby, one of Cleveland's hardest working
songwriters and original music advocates hosts the
Songwriting Share,
where he invites two other
songwriters to join him onstage
to play songs,
tell stories, and talk about writing songs.
This event is free & open to the public.
Brent Kirby’s music has been called "Main Character" music, which is representative of the personal emotion and collective perspective he offers in his songs. His performances are reflective in nature, with the listeners often finding themselves as a catalyst in the song. Kirby's universal lyrics are on the surface specific and at the same time deeply layered, where the audience can find a common and personal point of relation and entry into the song. His soulful voice is both unique and soothing, colored with weathered age and experience. In 2022, Brent was voted “Best Folk” by the Cleveland Music Awards and nominated for “Best Songwriter” by the Cleveland Scene. Follow Brent on Facebook and Instagram.
Live Music: Gene Schwartz and the G-Force
Bass-player Gene Schwartz is one of the old-school veterans of the area blues scene. He was a familiar face in area clubs for decades, anchoring the Schwartz Brothers Blues Band, which featured his late brother, guitar virtuoso and vociferous preacher Glenn Schwartz. He also performed with the legendary Cleveland-based bluesman Robert Lockwood Jr., who played more and preached less.
$10 cover at the door.
Poets Jam with Ray McNiece and the Tongue In Groove Trio (Copy)
Come and bring your poetry to Ray McNiece and the Tongue In Groove Trio's Poet Jam! Recite your poetry while the band follows you along with grooves and improvisations.
This is a free open-mic; all are welcome.
Ray McNiece has earned a national reputation as a poet and performer for almost two decades through his solo theater pieces, his poetry and music shows, his captaining of 2 National Poetry Slam Championship teams, his "edutaining" children's shows and workshops, and his yearly country-wide tours of performance poems, stories and songs. Follow Ray on Facebook.
Live Music: The New Soft Shoe
The New Soft Shoe is a Cleveland-based band that covers the catalog of Cosmic American Music's Gram Parsons. Since the founding of the band 16 years ago, they have a consistent monthly 2nd Thursday show at Forest City Brewery, played the Rock Hall and other venues, multiple times at the Gram Parsons Pull in Waycross, GA, Gram’s childhood home, and put their own twist on many of the classic Gram, Flying Burrito Brothers, Byrds, and International Submarine Band songs. In 2026, The New Soft Shoe released their self-titled debut album of their arrangements of songs Gram wrote and played. Follow the band on Facebook and Instagram, and listen to their music on Bandcamp.
$10 cover at the door.