Today's "Tool Tuesday" tool is something I wish I had when I was first getting started.
In the spirit of total honesty...when I was in the early years of my career, I thought open mic nights were for losers....
...yeah I was a cocky twenty-something with a chip on my shoulder that's for sure.
I thought that if I was a talented, serious, professional-career-seeking musician. Open mics were beneath me.
In fact, I was embarrassed when I performed at open mics or coffee shops. I didn't want to tell anyone!
I thought I was better than that...uh...really. It's not like I was Whitney Houston or something. What was I thinking?
And, I was missing a huge opportunity to grow and mature as a musician.
Glad age and experience has prevailed and I realize how valuable open mic performances can be. In fact, it doesn't matter what stage of music career growth you are at right now. Performing at open mics can make you money.
What?
OK, I'm not saying you can actually make money AT an open mic performance (although it could happen), but if you use the opportunity to make the most of open mic performing, it will have long term benefits that WILL make you money.
But how do you find Open Mic Nights near you?
Today's tool is The Open Mic Network.
Their website lists the info for tons of open mics throughout the US as well as Canada, Australia and some European countries (see bottom of the page).
So head on over to the Open Mic Network and find an open mic near you.
Still not convinced that performing at open mics is a good fit for you?
7 Reasons Open Mics🎤 Can Help You Turn Pro (no matter your stage of career right now)
- Improve your confidence. Learn how you react when you get in front of an audience of people you don’t know. It will be terrifying at first but you’ll improve the more you do it. Remember, performing at open mic nights does not make you an amateur!
- It will give you practice playing in front of people. It’s completely different from playing in front of your phone or a camera. This is a great way to prepare and be ready for paying performances.
- It will help you understand how to craft a set. A lot goes into performances, such as what songs to put together, how the audience is reacting and how you transition between songs. You can use this time to practice adding in covers or new songs.
- Test what you are going to say. Instead of the generic “I wrote this next song…blah blah blah,” you can test different stories and see how the response is. You can also test things like an audience sing-along, or calling on someone from the audience to join you on stage to sing-along.Open mic nights are the best place to test these because people aren’t expecting perfection.
- Learn how to build rapport with your audience. How you engage with them, where you move on the stage during performing. and making your set interactive are just some of the ways you can build this relationship. People want to be part of your set, they are not just there to listen.
- Networking. Meeting other local artists is a great way to find people to share gigs with, co-write songs with, and so much more. Get your name out there!
- Building your fanbase. Show up prepared and have a way for people to sign up for your newsletter or follow you on social media. Do you have a text opt in? Share that during your set. Flyers or postcards are great to pass out at a table after your set. If the open mic is really well attended, you could run a contest. Just make sure it’s ok with the owners or people who are in charge of the event.
Now go out and find one near you using The Open Mic Network.
Always in your corner,
Bree Noble