The Importance Of Open Mic Nights
March 27 | Written By Harry Shufflebotham
There’s a small bar in every town. Often overlooked or hidden, always a little bit too small, always vibrant and full of life. For one night each week these bars are the best places to be, close and busy, always surprising.
Everyone has stories from their town’s open mic nights. In Boscombe it’s Chaplin’s. In Newcastle Under Lyme it’s the Shed. These nights are fundamental to music. They’re inconsistent, clashing and wild. There’s acoustic singer-songwriters. There’s old men singing along to old Bob Marley tapes. You’ll find a keyboardist who’s lugged equipment halfway across town just to be there. There’s dedication to every performer. They’re often unpolished, sparking with potential and creativity. Sometimes someone will come along already feeling like a finished article- bringing a hush of awe across the place.
Newcastle and Stoke based acoustic duo Jack and Rob Hood, performing as Hood Music, started out playing open mics. “We’ve gained so much confidence and performing experience” Rob says. The brothers now perform live music at their own shows, driven forward by the experiences they gained playing open mic in their early days. “At first we used open mics as a way to experience what performing is like. It helped us gain the confidence we needed to take it further. Currently we use them to practise our set list and to make contacts with other musicians and venues.”
At an open mic the atmosphere is everything. Here, egos and nerves are melted away. Performers experience new problems for the first time, plugging a guitar into an unfamiliar amp or suffering horrible tone, hitting a bad note. The worst performances are celebrated, because somebody at least gave it a go. At an open mic, all these problems are ironed out. The community accepts and celebrates them. Over time people begin to get better, they begin to get consistent and it is this community that can nurture people’s talent, helping each other out with technical queries, providing support to one another.
A community that allows musicians to practise with one another and for bands to rise up out of the earth. The best gift an open mic night can give to a musician is confidence. No matter what happens - it’ll never be as bad as you think. Whether the greeting is indifference or celebration, a musician gains an understanding of what works, what doesn’t, and how well their songs and performances land. For the town as well, the lively energy offers a place of respite, to soak up the culture and the community of the place that you live.
“Whether it’s just a musician who’s just playing because they enjoy doing it or one that wants to progress further into the music industry, either way it’s a really good first step. It creates a non competitive environment with other musicians as you support each other, give feedback and help each other to achieve similar goals.” - Rob Hood of Hood Music
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