Open Mic Events in New York City
"Build Your Skills"
MONDAY
*HANK'S SALOON/Kuntry Karaoke
Atlantic Ave./ 3rd Ave Downton Brooklyn (9 PM)
"Diverse crowd, Hipsters welcome, $2 Pabst Blue Ribbon, FREE shots of whisky when you perform, live blues, country + Rob Ryan doing the Ghost Buster's Rap over "Son of a Preacher Man"...One of the VERY best bands I have sang with, & they let me do Aretha! " - Leah
*Cafe Vivaldi
W. Village/Jones St. (7 PM)
"Cafe Vivaldi has the reputation of drawing some of the best songwriters around. Get there early for sign-up, and get ready to be intimidated by the talent."
*Baggot Inn
W. Village/W. 3rd St.
"The place is huge as NYC folk bars go, but the sound system is great."
*Sidwalk Cafe
E. Village/Ave A (7:30)
"The king of NYC open mic nights. Sign up is at 7:30 (don't be late!) and is done lotto-style."
TUESDAY
*Bar 4
Brooklyn/Williamsburg (9 PM)
*The Lucky Cat
Brooklyn/Williamsburg (7 PM)
"Like any good open mic night, you should show up early - in this case, the sheet goes up at the bar at 6:30, and it fills up quickly."
*6/13-6/27: Open Mic every TUESDAY! 9pm. FREE
Carlitos Cafe (1701 Lex. between 106-107st (6 train to 103st).
212-534-7168, louis@artforchange.org
"Hey! Musicians, poets, comics, all artists, all performers...Welcome to the "CARLITOS PROJECT":
Every Tuesday at 9p. FREE (Though there will be a hat passed around for donations). Sign-up begins at 8:30p. Drink specials throughout the night. Hosted by MC Louis
"All forms of expression welcome, from amateurs and pros, including poetry, comedy, music, opera, monologues, dialogues, trilogues, play and screenplay-reading, belly-dancing, martial arts demonstrations, live psychoanalysis, and anything you might want to share in any form in which you want to share it. Bring something you're working on, or things you'd like to just try out on a live audience. We've had all of the above, and welcome anything else you can throw at us. Come, share (if you like), drink (if you like). Bring friends! family! philanthropists! See you then!"
*6/14-6/28: Open Mic Poetry
Sugar Shack 2611 Frederick Douglas Blvd. corner 139th street
Doors open at 7:30 Show Starts at 9. Admission $5 but please support the establishment
"Wednesday is the Hump day in Harlem. So come one, come all to the finest open mic Poetry has to offer Beautiful atmosphere, tasty food and drink specials complete the cypher!" Hosted by Brother Earl
B E if you're his mans &em:-)
WEDNESDAY
*Laila Lounge
Brooklyn/Williamsburg (11:30 PM)
"This club has an impressive calendar, and the way to get on it is to show up for their open mic "audition" on Wednesday nights. If they like you, they just might have you in their songwriters' showcase at a nicer time of the evening. "
*Nuyorican Poets Cafe
E. Village/E. 3rd St. (9:30) (first Wed. of each month)
"If you haven't been to the Nuyorican, GO! It's a great opportunity to hear some seriously fantastic poetry and hip-hop freestyling. Feeling gutsy? Get up and recite your song lyrics. It's a nice break from the same ol' same ol' open mic scene. "
THURSDAY
*ArtLand Bar
Brooklyn/609 Grand St. (9:30 PM)
"If the Sidewalk Cafe thing is more your speed, you should check out ArtLand on Thursday nights. There's a DJ spinning between sets, and any number of fabulous and sometimes bizarre fellow performers. "
*Living Room Lounge
Brooklyn/S. Park Slope (9 PM)
"This is another open mic/audition sort of situation, and a nice departure from the East Village and Williamsburg scenes. "
FRIDAY
*Postcrypt Coffeehouse
UWS/Columbia University (second Friday each month) (9 PM)
"This probably ranks number two on my list of the best open mics in New York. It's totally acoustic (no mics!) and a great community of folks. The fact that it's only once a month makes it hard to remember, but it's worth the Outlook reminder once a month. Sign up is at 8:20 sharp! "
SATURDAY
*LULU'S
N.6th Street at Driggs in Williamsburg, Brooklyn
Karaoke with a cordless mic, sit at your table and sing...tons of screens and the latest and widest variety of music, all genres. Great sound system, resteraunt upstairs, Fri, Sat, and Sun. The host is a man with an excellent alternative rock voice but also does Prince!" - Leah
SUNDAY
*Pete's Candy Store
Brooklyn/Williamsburg (5-8 PM)
"Pete's Candy Store is a great club in Williamsburg. Full of hipsters. The shows they put on there every other night of the week always feature some of the best local and regional bands."
*Vox Pop Coffeeshop
Brooklyn/Flatbush (7:30 PM)
"This left-wing coffeeshop welcomes folksingers and poets for it's fabulous open mic."
*MoPitkins
E. Village/Ave A (9 PM)
