by Anna Weaver | Jun 30, 2023 | All Posts, tips for open mic performers, US open mics
A while back I compiled some advice for aspiring hosts and organizers about how to name an open mic show. (Granted, it’s a rarefied problem, but if you ever need help, I gotchu.) Anyway, the post lists a handful of shows with cool names, including one that was still...
by Anna Weaver | Mar 31, 2023 | All Posts, tips for open mic hosts
Every open mic host has her gifts. Mine include a cheerleader’s spirit, a voice that can reach the back of any average-sized room without a mic, and a ready and rowdy laugh. The weaknesses that ride shotgun? That same loud voice when amplified (sorry, front-row...
by Anna Weaver | Dec 2, 2022 | All Posts, tips for open mic performers
If you ask most people, tourism means sightseeing. Pick a city or a country and go see—and eat—whatever it’s known for. Plan a road trip. Take a cruise. Book a tour. Walk around a lot. See things. Take pictures. Learn a little history. Maybe get a stamp on your...
by Anna Weaver | Sep 6, 2022 | All Posts, US open mics
After two and a half years, America’s only open mic tourist (that’s me) once again sallied beyond the borders of North Carolina in search of venues, shows, hosts, and performers to learn from. It took a few months of stalking searching, but I managed to find 3 shows...
by Anna Weaver | May 18, 2022 | All Posts, tips for open mic hosts
Let’s start with the obvious: A great open mic needs a skilled host. It needs more than that, of course—a venue that understands and loves open mic for what it is, a co-organizer or two to help promote and manage the show, and (of course) performers. But the host is...
by Anna Weaver | Aug 29, 2021 | All Posts, tips for open mic performers, virtual open mics
So I read this book semi-recently called How to Do Nothing. It wasn’t actually about doing nothing. More like the deliberate not-doing of a certain kind of thing. The kind of thing we don’t decide to do, but rather fall into when we’re not paying attention. Not so...
