And I do mean "mike".

This list was originally compiled by WUMB-FM, but has evolved considerably, due to the contributions of vast numbers of correspondents and fellow musicians, including Tim Sullivan, Steve Rapson, Dan Hart, and the late Marcel Kopp. If it is in error in any way, or if there are details I should add, please send me e-mail. I'm gradually expanding my listings in adjacent states, so don't neglect them. If you're adding a new listing, please tell me the venue (including address and phone), host, cover, signup/start times, how many songs (if other than 2), and whether there's a feature or not.

I do not rate the open mikes, nor can I guarantee the accuracy of the listings; please call ahead to confirm. I do, however, indicate that I've personally visited an open mike with a check mark ().

I now note the status of each listing. "Current" means that I am fairly confident that the listing is accurate. If I'm not, I supply the date of the most recent update or verification. A question mark means that I have no record of updating the listing since November 1999 (when I first started keeping track of dates) and I haven't verified it since then.

For historical purposes, I also maintain an open mike graveyard list, for all you folks who wonder what happened to those open mikes you went to when you were a pup. The graveyard now includes all open mikes which have vanished from the list since its inception.

Since I ain't omniscient, I've added a links section for other acoustic open mike and venue lists.

News

May 2008: This list is generated automatically from a database every time you visit it, so you'll get the updates as soon as I add them to the database.

September 2011: A number of sites seem to be interested in using my open mike listings. Most of them include a link (thanks!), but on some sites, I've found out-of-date listings, which offends my sense of order. So now there's an easy way for you to embed my open mike listings in your Web site.

May 2025: I've been horribly neglecting this page, especially since the pandemic, and it finally drove me around the bend. So I've scrubbed it ferociously, and at least today it's accurate. Waaaaay too many open mike deaths.

New in the last month

(remember, the list of defunct open mikes, if there are any, is when I got around to removing them from the list, not when they actually died)

The list

• Mondays
• Tuesdays
• Wednesdays
• Thursdays
• Fridays
• Saturdays
• Sundays
• Various

Links

• There's a national open mike listing, generously maintained by Paul Roub. He's on the record as agreeing with me.
• There's a Facebook group that keeps a very cool map of open mikes in New England.
• Or, if you prefer a junkier interface, here's another one. Of course, there don't seem to be any open mikes listed there at the moment, so. Maybe that's because they don't agree with me.
• WUMB maintains a list of upcoming folk events.

Open mike graveyard

I began listing open mikes on my Web site in March 1998. Since then, a whole pile have come and gone. Here, I list the open mikes which have been reported to me as being no more (sleeping with the fishes, etc.). I'll be listing these alphabetically, with the date of first listing and the date I reported them as deceased (before July 1999, it's the first date they were removed). These dates are approximate, since I'm always a little behind.