by Anna Weaver | Sep 30, 2024 | All Posts, tips for open mic performers, US open mics
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...
by Anna Weaver | Sep 7, 2024 | All Posts, tips for open mic hosts, tips for open mic performers
If you’ve ever been to a slam, odds are that at least once someone stepped up to the mic and quietly said, So, this is some new shit. At which point the whole room shouted, NEW SHIT! And odds are, the energy shift was memorable. I don’t know how far back that...
by Anna Weaver | Mar 9, 2024 | All Posts, US open mics
The more open mics I go to, the more I realize how much the show’s personality is defined by the space it calls home. Purpose-built scenes like The Venue on 35th in Norfolk or the Nuyorican are more likely to be earth-shakers. As the slam refrain goes, in a place like...
by Anna Weaver | Jun 30, 2023 | All Posts, tips for open mic performers, US open mics
A while back I compiled some advice for aspiring hosts and organizers about how to name an open mic show. (Granted, it’s a rarefied problem, but if you ever need help, I gotchu.) Anyway, the post lists a handful of shows with cool names, including one that was still...
by Anna Weaver | Mar 31, 2023 | All Posts, tips for open mic hosts
Every open mic host has her gifts. Mine include a cheerleader’s spirit, a voice that can reach the back of any average-sized room without a mic, and a ready and rowdy laugh. The weaknesses that ride shotgun? That same loud voice when amplified (sorry, front-row...
by Anna Weaver | Dec 2, 2022 | All Posts, tips for open mic performers
If you ask most people, tourism means sightseeing. Pick a city or a country and go see—and eat—whatever it’s known for. Plan a road trip. Take a cruise. Book a tour. Walk around a lot. See things. Take pictures. Learn a little history. Maybe get a stamp on your...
