Open Mic Manor has been running as a monthly event for over four years now. We started out in The Parlour of Mc Kenna’s House and when we had to leave there Lilly let us hold it in Caife Bia-Slainte. We’ve been there for three years now and the event wouldn’t be the same without the café as a venue and the support and trust they give us.
Although Hedda, Zoltan and I run the Open Mic, the nature of the event means we are dependent on the people who show up on the night to really make it happen. We’ve been consistently amazed over the years at the talent and new faces that keep turning up.
The Open Mic being in the café, rather than a pub, means people of all ages can come along and it’s great seeing several generations sharing the stage and interacting in the audience. Being so impressed by the talent in people at the younger end of this age-range is what inspired us to do this Open Mic on Cruinniú na nÓg.
It’s great to be working with the Glens Centre for this one and to be able to offer performers the opportunity of having a quality audio recording of their performance after the event.
That said, I think I’ve played at every Open Mic bar one since we started (I had the terrible fear that night!) and I think I’d want to listen back to very few of my performances, but I’ve enjoyed them, and for the most part I think the audience have too. One of our regular audience members told me recently they felt it was better when the performances were a bit wrong, that it gave it an edge and felt more real.
The point is not to do a perfect performance but about trying something out, getting up on stage and sharing something, and having fun.
I hope this Open Mic will give some younger individuals and informal groups the opportunity to show and share some part of themselves through music and words. We get to know each other better, on another level, through seeing people perform and what they choose to perform, however competent or confident they may be.
I hope we’ll have loads of people at this Cruinniú na nÓg Open Mic and that the audience will be filled with people of all ages, cause there’s heaps of talent around and it’s worth hearing, and I hope the sun will shine for us on the day!
Open Mic is open for young people between the ages of 8 to 18 years old on The Market Square, Manorhamilton from 4-7pm. Pre-register by the 21st of June to ensure a slot, forms are available at & to be returned here. You can even get a recording of your performance!
For more information email admin@theglenscentre.com or phone us at (071) 9855833.
Cruinniú na nÓg aims to celebrate and encourage children and young people’s participation in culture and creativity through a compelling spread of performances, coding, theatre, art and music workshops, readings and screenings, special events and much more. This variety of child-centred events will be free and activity-based, with plenty of opportunities for young people to get ‘doing’, ‘making’ and ‘creating’.
