OPEN MICS BECOMING HAVEN FOR MUSICIANS January 03, 2016 In the past open mic events have mainly been weekly events geared towards giving aspiring musicians a forum to play amidst the filled up venue calendar dates taken up by area bands. In the past few months, open mic at venues such as the Highlander in North Augusta and Sky City on Broad Street have become a place for new artists to rub musical elbows with veteran artists who, despite a decrease in gigs in the area, are enjoying the chance to just chill and rock out a little. What used to be a live equivalent of karaoke has become a quality-filled showcase of artists in the area. On a recent Wednesday night at the Highlander, host Dewayne Brock welcomed a wide array of artists performing on "house" gear. The lineup enjoyed an attentive audience that was privy to a mix of folk, blues, and rock that featured drums, bass, acoustic and electric guitar, percussion, and even a French horn. The Thursday night open mic at Sky City is more sporadic but features a wider range of artists including hip hop performers, soul singers, folk artists, rock bands, and more. M.A.D. Open Mic, now located at That Place Coffee in Le Pavillion on Thursday nights at 6pm, is the longest running area open mic as well as the longest, consecutively running open mic in the southeast to feature poetry on a weekly basis. Going on 4 years, the weekly event of poetry, prose, spoken word, songwriters, and more has welcomed featured that appeared on HBO and the weekly event was featured on an episode of MTV's Made. That Place Coffee also hosts a weekly Saturday afternoon singer/songwriter series that is sort of open mic run. This only touches lightly on open mic opportunities in the area and creates a great chance for young artists to get out and music lovers looking for something new a chance of discovery. HIGHLANDER OPEN MIC WEDNESDAYS 9PM MA.D. OPEN MIC AT THAT PLACE COFFEE THURSDAYS 6PM SKY CITY OPEN MIC SELECT THURSDAYS