Sing Your Heart Out in Spartanburg
Calling all local musicians of all talent levels; start warming up your vocal cords and practicing your chords!
As local venues return to regular programming and booking live music, open mic nights are a great way for musicians to both practice new music material and flex their skills in front a crowd.
We're bringing you a line-up of all the hottest Open Mic Night events and karaoke venues in Spartanburg. In addition to numerous live music venues and street buskers in Downtown Spartanburg, there's somewhere you can sing and play your heart out, nearly every night of the week. From biergarten and taproom stages, to family-friendly events and poetry readings, these eleven different venues provide a platform to make your voice heard.
Take the Stage at these Open Mic Nights
SUNDAY: Spartanburg's current open mic scene arguably began with Sunday Songwriters' Night, held at the former Brickhouse Pizza. Led by Jamison Smith since June of 2007, the popular open mic that launched many a Spartanburg music career moved to Delaney's Irish Pub (117 West Main St) when the pizzeria closed. Each Sunday evening, 6pm to 9pm on the outdoor patio on Morgan Square, the songwriters' event features opening tunes from Smith and an hour of original music from two or three featured musicians, followed by open sign-up.
Jamison Smith performing at Delaney's Sunday Songwriters' night; taken by Joan Wheatley.
TUESDAY: Maybe solo performances aren't your open mic preference. FR8yard, downtown Spartanburg's premier biergarten (125 East Main St,) hosts a jam night each Tuesday. Aptly named "Pass the Mic," the 7pm-10pm event includes both a featured artist or band of the week and a rotating host musician of the month. For the second half of the night, jam out with FR8yard's backing band, including TJ Jeter, Jonathan Inman, and more. Sign-ups begin at 6pm, with each slot time including either 15-minutes or 3-songs.
WEDNESDAY: Open mic night at RJ Rockers Brewery's taproom (226 West Main St,) hosted by Clay Johnson, runs 6pm-9:30pm weekly, with open sign-ups.
THURSDAY: For Thursdays, we're headed to Nu-Way Lounge & Restaurant, (373 East Kennedy St,) for Spartanburg's oldest dive bar's classic jam night. Music starts at 9pm, and continues long into the early hours of the morning until the bar closes at 2am. (The grill closes nightly at 10pm though, so plan your dinner accordingly.)
J. Stephens also hosts a monthly open mic in Boiling Springs. Each third Thursday monthly, catch the tunes at New Groove Artisan Brewery (4078 Hwy 9, Boiling Springs,) from 7pm-10pm.
FRIDAY: Once a month, each third Friday, head to the Little River Coffee Bar (188 West Main St) for a family-friendly open mic event from 7pm-8:30pm. The humble stage is the perfect, quiet setting for a budding musician to find their voice, comedians to test material, or poets to read their recent work. Sip a latte and gather 'round the cozy mural setting for an intimate performance setting for all ages.
Photo via Little River Coffee Bar.
Sing Your Heart Out at Pop-Up Karaoke Nights
One of downtown Spartanburg's most popular late-night bars, Main Street Pub (252 West Main St) hosts not one, but TWO, karaoke nights hosted by DJ Nuvo each week-- 8pm-2am on Tuesdays and 8:30pm-2am on Thursdays. This venue is a Spartanburg Little Theatre favorite, so prepare to hear everything from Broadway showtunes to throwback classics.
How about a themed karaoke night? Ciclops Cyderi & Brewery (197 Saint John St) hosts karaoke most Saturday nights, 7:30pm-10pm. Themes range from classic Disney to Pride icons; check their social media for each week's theme and hosting beertender.
Karaoke photo via Ciclops Cyderi & Brewery.
FR8yard (125 East Main St) hosts a brand-new monthly karaoke night in the yard-- every third Sunday of the month from 7pm-9pm.So there you have it! A whole week's schedule of interactive music!
Get out there to enjoy some tunes, support your local musicians and venues, and tag us in your adventures at @intheburg864.
Cover photo of Clay Johnson hosting RJ Rockers Brewery's open mic night; taken by Zach Parks Photo.