One of my favorite metaphors for open mic is that it’s the Swiss Army knife of entertainment.

If that’s true (it is), then the open mic I found in Livonia, MI, is the super deluxe version — fully tricked out with gizmos and features that make playing out just a little more awesome.

Open mic, but make it crafty

From the outside, Navi O’s Hobby Lounge looks like most any storefront in most any suburban strip mall. Inside, it’s a parallel universe of DIY arts that almost defies description.

Think tropical picnic and add club lightning and sexy-time R&B. Think lush astroturf floor flanked by water features and bamboo screens. Think mini easels beckoning from each table.

As you cross the threshold, the proprietor, Jack the Poet, gestures to a basket of wooden trinkets to entice you into painting something. Decline politely (ahem) and witness Jack’s patient smile. “It’s really relaxing,” he says, waiting a beat for you to reconsider.

And y’know what? He’s right. Turns out, having something to do with your hands is a sublime way to calm the nerves and feel less awkward in a new place.

Who knew?

Navi O, that’s who.

Dual hosts, a feature, streaming interviews, and more

To invoke the Theory of Open Mic Singularity (which I totally made up so don’t bother fact-checking), if you’ve been to one open mic, you’ve been to one open mic. Even the same show can be radically different month to month or week to week.

My instinct says this is doubly true at Navi O’s.

The night I went, we had two hosts. Jack the Poet handled intros and outros for folks on the list, and Iyonna Ware presided from the floor and, at the opportune moment, teed up our feature act: Just Mic Da Poet from Chicago.

The list was lean enough for Jack to make the circuit three times through the evening’s assortment of gospel/testimony poets, a retired truck driver and his various musings on death, a woman celebrating her birthday, and one well-meaning out-of-towner (that’s me).

Afterward, Iyonna set up a mini studio on the stage to interview performers for her #CanWeTalk streaming series on TikTok. From what I could tell, this element of the show is connected to Navi O’s mission to help local artists with promotional boosts.

An inimitable cherry on a triple-scoop sundae of uniqueness.

Interludes that actually work

After 38 states and 50+ different shows, I’ve almost stopped expecting to find new structural twists on ye olde open mic format. And yet, it keeps happening.

As Jack the Poet explained, Navi O’s likes to “give the room time to absorb each poet’s words.” So rather than calling poets up one after another, he brought the music back up between performers.

Now, in my experience, intermission is a risky choice. It often creates a leak that drains energy and people from the room, leaving only those who haven’t yet performed.

Not at Navi O’s.

On cue, the audience returned to our paints and marinated in each little gift, just as instructed. Maybe it was the paints and brushes keeping us in thrall. Maybe the possibility of adding a few more strokes is some kinda tractor beam for creative types. Maybe it was the music, the lights, the weird mix of creative relaxation and invigoration.

Whatever the secret sauce, somehow Navi O’s made it work.

This poet’s venue hall of fame

With its multi-sensorial delights, Navi O’s absolutely ranks among the quirkiest open mic venues I’ve found in these United States.

Truly, only three others — the Riff Raff Collective in West Virginia, the Buttonwood Tree in Connecticut, and Emergency Arts in Las Vegas (which sadly seems not to be hosting the Human Experience open mic any longer) — are in the same league.

Not that there’s leagues.

Or if there is, it’s a legion of leagues of one: Each show filling the shape of its venue, making room for its people and its performers, evolving one night at a time into the show that corner of the world needs it to be.

Ready to start your own show? The Perfect Venue: Choosing a Home for Your Open Mic