To round out September, we held our monthly Open Mic Night on Saturday the 26th. We had a lively mixture of performers, including professional musicians, open mic veterans, emerging young musicians and returning acts. The night turned out to become one of our most musically diverse lineups to date, featuring RnB, ballad, folk, blues and pop musicians all on the same stage. In our lineup, we enjoyed the vocal and instrumental talents of Soraya, Maya, Lil Emo, Leon Maddy, Aristea, (blues guitarist), (poet), (RnB singer), (more?). We had the privilege of enjoying balladic vocals of Soraya; the electronic-pop prowess of Aristea; the smooth soul of Maya; the hypnotic blues raspings of (blues man); the genre-bending emo-rap
Our lineup was especially exciting this time as it created a space for young, emerging artists, like 11-year-old Aristea, to share their talents to the same audience as experienced professionals, like local harmonica artist Leon Maddy. This experience is invaluable for performers, and builds a wonderfully unpredictable night and some real gems of performances. Moreover, we value the importance of creating a space for all musicians of all backgrounds to feel like they can perform and be included. Musicians can try out new material, deliver their own rendition of classics, or perfect their own tried and true acts with a fresh new audience. This is all within the community we have built in The RecordShop, where musicians can feel confident performing in a welcoming, safe and uplifting environment.
As the night is on the last Saturday of every month, we are happy to host returning as well as last-minute dropins. This always keeps the energy in the room fresh and completely unique every session. We are looking forward to hosting our next Open Mic on the 31st of October, so come along if you want to witness a night of acts we can promise you won’t see anywhere else – even we don’t know what will happen!