Mountainside Open Mic is back for its second season.
The popular downtown open mic held Wednesdays at the Rookery took a multi-month break, but has returned to help local performers tighten up ahead of Alaska Folk Festival.
[It’s a wrap for popular, new open mic]
“We’ve got an official partnership with AFF this season,” said Marian Call, the Juneau singer-songwriter behind the open mic.
That partnership will result in a Songwriter Showcase at the festival.
“We’re going to try to encourage everyone who performs at an open mic to write new songs,” Call said.
This season of open mics started Wednesday, Feb. 27 and run through April 24 with some time off for the festival with no open mics on April 10 or April 17.
“This season we made an effort to book an all-genre showcase,” Call said. “It’s a little bit of a wider range.”
March 6 Radiophonic Jazz will perform, March 13 will be Melanie Brown, March 20 Brooke Munro & Her Bluegrass Toy, March 27 Thistle & Myth, April 3 Queens and April 24 Jocelyn Miles and friends.
Additionally, Call said some people interested in learning how to run live sound have emerged as volunteers and the open mics will serve as a chance for them to learn.
[New open mic let’s attendees draw while they listen]
Aside from the new partnership and eclecticism, the new season of open mics will be a lot like the last season.
While music plays, art supplies will be available to attendees to draw and color as they wish.
Doors open at 6:30 p.m., performances start at 7 p.m., and the featured artist closes out the night.
• Contact arts and culture reporter Ben Hohenstatt at (907)523-2243 or bhohenstatt@juneauempire.com. Follow him on Twitter at @BenHohenstatt.
