Friday evening will kick off Deep Vellum’s inauguralMusic and Literature Festival in Downtown Dallas. The three day event is happening in Deep Ellum, which is the inspiration for Deep Vellum’s name. The non-profit, which was created in 2013, is a publishing house, bookstore and literary arts center. “It’s all about celebrating the Deep Ellum community, the Dallas literary community, and what our mission is all about: bringing the world’s best writers to Dallas, celebrating with our own amazing writers who call North Texas home, and bringing readers into these conversations that they might not have otherwise, and celebrating it all with music in the mix. Deep Ellum has such a rich legacy of music history, and we’re all about celebrating that and elevating it and having a really special time in this amazing Texas cultural district we call home,” said Will Evans, founder and CEO of Deep Vellum. The festival will take place across 11 different venues in Deep Ellum. More than 60 literary and music artists are scheduled in the lineup for the weekend. The day events are free with registration. The evening shows are available for purchase. Evans said they’re expecting thousands to show up for their first-ever festival. “I think that’s what the beauty of what a book can do. You open up the pages and you’re transported into another world inside the minds and the hearts of a writer and the characters that he or she creates and that conversation that happens between the reader and the writer is so special. And then these conversations between the reader and writer in public, hearing about the creation, the inspiration, how it’s done and what it means, and the author can feel that impact, that dialog coming back from the readers,” said Evans. “That’s what this is really about too. It’s not just for readers to get to see their favorite author. If the favorite author wants to hear from you, the reader, you have a voice in that story and that’s what it’s about. Dallas has a story. Literary Dallas is such a rich ecosystem.” Award-winning poet, essayist and cultural critic Hanif Abdurraqib, originally from Columbus, Ohio, will headline Saturday night’s show. Musician and poet Jamila Woods, who is from the South Side of Chicago, will also headline on Saturday. During the day, there will be poetry readings, musical performances and different panels. “One of my favorite events we’re super passionate about here is all day Saturday; we’re gonna have the poets of Dallas reading outside of Poets Bookshop on Main Street Plaza. And when you’re there, you’re gonna get to see the vast and truly extraordinary diversity of styles and backgrounds that all these amazing poets who call our own city home. We are not just a local book market. We are a part of the world. Dallas is a part the world, so we’re bringing the world to Dallas and Dallas to the world at the same time. That’s the Deep Vellum way,” expressed Evans. To find free tickets click here. This story uses functionality that may not work in our app. Click here to open the story in your web browser. ...read more read less