Previous Open Stage Headliners

  
Northwood
Ryan Gaughan
Barclay Martin
Drew Gibson
Karen Davis
clueLess
Chris Adams
Lemon Hill
Stephen DiJoseph
Philadelphia Bluegrass Band

Check our calendar for upcoming open stage dates!

Open Stage Guidelines
Donation: $3.00 in advance and $5.00 at the door (for performers and audience)

An Open Stage was presented once each quarter at the coffee house.  The Open Stage had two functions: 

1. auditions for future opener and headliner acts and 
2. as a showcase for aspiring musicians, poets, artists, etc.

To get on the list, you'll need to show up early (6:30 p.m. or so) and get your name onto the sign-up sheet. When you do so you'll sign up to play a specific time slot. No proxy sign-ups allowed without prior approval. You must be there to sign up yourself.

Open Stage participants (individual players and groups) get 10 minutes of playing time (unless there is a shortage of signed-up players) so please be prepared to go on stage quickly when you're scheduled to go on. We try hard to foster a professional atmosphere and will help you as much as we can to keep things moving along at a reasonable pace. 

Excess setup time can spoil a good Open Stage experience for both musicians and the audience so we ask that you make sure you're prepared for a quick turnaround when it's your turn to perform. Being prepared means being in tune before getting on stage and having your equipment ready to go on stage by the time the preceding player is ready to complete his or her last selection.

PA equipment will be provided by the Coffee House so we discourage bringing large amounts of your own sound reinforcement equipment. This includes instrument amplifiers, PA amps and speakers and the like. We don't have the room to store it and do not want to be responsible for keeping track of it.  The Coffee House is an 'all acoustic' venue.  No electric guitars, basses, full drum kits or keyboards please.  We have an upright piano available if you ask for it in advance of the show.

• If you are not ready to perform when your turn comes, you move to the end of the list.
• Instruments with pickups must plug into our board. Leave the amplifiers, effects boxes, etc. at home. Direct boxes are OK, but double check that you have a good battery and good cables. Delays in setup come out of your performance time.
• The house has a piano available and we strongly encourage you to take advantage of it.
• No synthesizers, sequencers, karaoke machines, or CD/cassette tape players, etc.
• You may be asked to limit the volume of an instrument or your voice.
• While acoustic "folk" music is most commonly performed, all "acoustic" genres are OK. Please be aware that children are usually present at open mikes and adjust your performance accordingly.

The intent is for everyone to have fun and provide an entertaining evening of music for everyone so your cooperation is greatly appreciated!