Open Mic nights are the best place for beginner to intermediate musician to perform covers and new material. Having usually gotten in for free, the audience don't expect you to play to a professional standard. Those that play badly usually find audience are sympatheitc to their plight. Often the way to develop a connection to the audience to keep coming back week after week. There is nothing more satisfying for regulars at an open mic night to see their very own become a star before their very eyes.
Finding the Open Mic Night
The best place way to find an open mic night near to you is to look at local open mic nights in your area on the Internet. Open mic nights don't even always last forever so if one sounds interesting it's still going on by phoning up the venue. Not everyone advertising on the Internet so a second avenue is a listings magazine such as time out or your local newspaper
Deciding on the right Open Mic Night for you
Nowadays there are open mic night for poetry, stand up,rapping and all different styles of music from jazz to metal. Some will welcome beginners. Others will want people to perform to a certain standard. There are some open mic night that ask performers to perform originally material and others that welcome performers who perform covers. Their requirements should be listed on their website or advert. But again if you are uncertain phone up the venue and ask.
Practice Before You Go
Most open mic night will welcome you back even if you perform badly. The question is would you want to go back if you felt you had embarrassed yourself. First Practice before you go, making sure you know exactly what you are doing before you get on the stage. Second know what to expect from the venue. Do they have a sound system for example? How long can you perform for?
Arrive Early
Though its very rare that you will need to book a slot at an open mic night before you go, you will still need to put your name down as a performer when you arrive. If you arrive late your name will probably be towards the end of the list and you risk not having the time to get on stage. If you one of the first there, however, you definitely have the chance to perform.
Keep Coming Back
One of the best ways to gain confidence in performing in the beginning to keep coming back to the same venue. That way you make friends and develop a repor with the audience. After a while you may find people begin to look forward to you coming.
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