Sometimes it feels like the world is stuck in an endless cycle of bad news. And then someone plays you music that just pulls you deeper into it. But there’s another option – music that doesn’t deny any of it, yet still refuses to leave you there. Spoken word on the edge of poetry and music, speaking directly to you. Texts about relationships, about everyday life, about the things that still hold us together. Even serious themes are delivered with a certain lightness – like the moment you hear “Choose a balanced diet / Eat the rich” and realise that irony sometimes says more than explanation ever could.
Joshua Idehen is one of those voices that find you before you go looking for them. A British-Nigerian poet and performer who grew out of London’s open mic scene and went on to collaborate with projects like Sons of Kemet and The Comet Is Coming. Today, he works closely with producer Ludvig Parment, together pushing spoken word beyond literary settings into a live, shared experience. The turning point came with Mum Does The Washing, a track that started as a Twitter thread and ended up changing his career. In 2026, he returns with the album I Know You’re Hurting, Everyone Is Hurting, Everyone Is Trying, You Have Got To Try – a record that holds together personal experience and collective energy. You’ll experience it live on the Steel Stage at Colours, exactly where this kind of performance belongs.