Open Mic Night Returns to Nanola

Open Mic Nights have always been places where people can go to try out new material or to just get in front of an audience. I played my first open mic with Mother Judge at McGeary’s back in the late 90’s. I have played dozens of different open mics since then.

Open Mic Nights and live music are what I have missed the most since last March. The folks at Nanola in Malta have taken the leap and have started their Wednesday night Open Mic Night back up again. Local musicians Matt Cosgrove and Liam Benjamin started hosting the revamped event on February 3. Taking every precaution to keep everyone safe, they have found a way to bring this much needed artistic outlet back to life. Sign-ups are contact free, microphones are swapped out and sanitized between each performer and all group size, social distancing and mask rules are strictly enforced.

As with most open mics, each performer is given three songs. This past Wednesday, just about every genre of music was represented. Performers don’t have to be musicians either. Spoken word, poetry and comedy is welcomed. One of the things I always enjoyed about open mic nights was the community that it helps foster. Musicians meeting other musicians. The older, experienced performers encouraging the new guy at his first open mic. This one felt especially welcoming.  The sound system is state of the art and a dedicated front of house sound person definitely helped make me sound my best.

Nanola Open Mic runs every Wednesday from 6:00-9:30pm. Live music is making a slow comeback, but it is still alive and kicking. If you are a performer and want to knock some of the rust and dust off, come out and play. It is about time.