TIPS FOR
Open Mic Hosts
Every town needs an open mic. A proper city needs one every night of the week.
Running an open mic can be a simple operation—mic, list, host, done. Or you can trick it out with features, competition, pre-show workshops, and infinite other variations.
Whatever your format, you’ve gotta pick a venue, set the schedule, and bang out at least some basic rules. And you’ve gotta promote the event.
Here’s a collection of advice—gathered from open mic nights across the US (including my own)—to help open mic hosts and organizers create an event that hums and set your local talent up for success.
5 Things an Open Mic Host Can Do After an Awkward Performance
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...
3 Ways to Cultivate Open Mic Regulars
So I hit this open mic in Rhode Island at a live music venue called The Parlour. It was terrific in so many ways — space, structure, talent, vibe. That night, I met one of their regulars: a guitar player who also happened to be the most enthusiastic attendee I’ve met...
5 Lessons from Improv that Will Make You a Better Open Mic Host
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...
The Perfect Venue: Choosing a Home for Your Open Mic
Oh, the motley glory of open mic venues! If you’ve been to one, you’ve been to…one. With the notable exception of Busboys and Poets (a handful of DC-based restaurants and political bookstores, each with a stage purpose-built for weekly poetry events), open mics are a...
How Open Mic Builds Empathy
This is the third in a series that explores what makes an open mic worth doing—as in organizing, hosting, attending, performing at, or becoming a regular. Not just because it’s entertaining and inspiring, not just because it’s a great way to improve your craft, but...