In 2024 I attended a lot of open mics, mostly hosted by the hardest working musician on the Leicester open mic scene, Fran of Francesca Hatton-Murden Music. I’ve been attending Fran’s open mics since 2021 and it’s a thoroughly enjoyable time. I started by playing my own music from my Grief album and then progressed to mostly covers of Biffy Clyro songs.

My main reason for attending open mics is my working situation. I work from home and other than bumping into my girlfriend Amy between Zoom calls, there isn’t much socialising in working hours. I need connection (so much so that it’s the focus of my second album). Open mics are a great outlet for meeting people.

I’ve met many wonderful people from the Leicester open mic scene. Myself and Tasha formed a quick connection around our taste for alternative music. A few months in and we started duetting together. Before long we had done a few gigs and were approached to run a couple of open mics in Leicester city centre. I couldn’t refuse the opportunity to start these new things.

We’re currently running open mics on Thursday’s, twice a month at the Grand Union and twice month at Baton Rouge in Queens. There’s more about us on our website and for those inclined we’re also on Instagram and Facebook.

If you’re partial to an open mic night I couldn’t recommend checking out the scene in Leicester. There are loads on, so much so that I curate a list on the Leicester open mics website. If you’re a seasoned performer or new to playing, check it out. There’s a great community in this wonderful city.