Mike Dennis is a classically-trained violinist whose boyhood love of Run DMC, Beastie Boys and Gangstarr led him to create a unique kind of string-heavy hip hop music he refers to as Violinica.“Violin in hand and a multitude of effects and loop pedals at his feet, he builds up to a string and percussion crescendo before opening his mouth and… wow!

This guy doesn’t just spit rhymes, they just cascade out at a speed that is as ferocious as his lyrics.” – Wake The Deaf (Ben Gallivan)Performing using Jess (violin), a loop pedal and a cajon, Mike builds up layers of dense harmony and embellishes with thoughtful, energetic rhymes drawing inspiration from British life and the perils and profits of love with a fanaticism for rhythm bending and syncopation.Championed by 6Music’s Tom Robinson, Mike has been enthralling audiences across the country and the continent with humour, sass and virtuoso musicianship for nearly a decade. This is not a gig to miss.