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.

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 Most of them include a link (thanks!), but on some sites, I've found out-of-date listings, which offends my sense of order.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.

October 2013: I've been horribly neglecting this page, and so I'm now in the process of scrubbing it ferociously, to get rid of the accumulated detritus. It's big, so I'm working my way through it one day at a time - at this writing, I'm up to Wednesday, but I hope to finish the entire process by the end of the month. Sorry about the mess. November: More of a mess than I thought. Up to Friday, which took a real beating. New Year's Day 2014: Finally, current.

New in the last month

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

The list

• Mondays
• Tuesdays
• Wednesdays
• Thursdays
• Fridays
• Saturdays
• Sundays
• Random days

Links

• There's a Boston open mike mailing list you can subscribe to on Yahoo. I try to post open mike updates to this list.
• You can also subscribe to the NorthEastFolk group on Yahoo, whose calendar has started to list the local open mikes, as well as other recurring songwriter series.
• There are a couple open mike pages here and here which also cover Celtic, jazz and blues, it seems. There are a few stale listings, but also some I'm not familiar with. There's an email address for updates, if you choose.
• If cabaret is more your speed, check out the open mikes section at BACA.
• There's a national open mike listing, generously maintained by Paul Roub. He's on the record as agreeing with me.
• WUMB maintains a list of upcoming folk events and venues.
• The folks at townonline.com maintain a wonderful, informative site about coffeehouse activity in eastern Massachusetts.
• The folks at Shenandoah Music have constructed a nationwide list of open mikes.
• And here's one from the Bay Area: http://www.bayareaopenmics.com/.

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.