This week gave me the chance to make the fourth stop on my local tour of the Open Mic scene abuzz in our fair town.   This journey began four months ago as a personal exploration of the questions: What kind of function do open mics play in our local community for its economy, musicians and music-lovers?   What is the unique flavor of each open mic happening across Sarasota?   So far, I’ve checked out the scenes brewing on the North Trail on Tuesdays at Growler’s Pub; out east at [...]

Last Thursday  gave me an opportunity to do two cool things:  Fulfill a pledge made two months ago to visit and report on one local open mic per month, then report back on its unique “flavor.” Answer a question I didn’t even know I had: What’s the difference between an “open mic” and a “jam”?  This opportunity arose via my friend Steve, who mentioned the other day in passing that a jam happens every Thursday in a park by his house near Bee Ridge. Having never heard of this, my [...]

Last month, I began a personal campaign to visit every open Mic in the Sarasota and Bradenton areas, and report back via TWIS on the unique flavor of each one.   The idea was sparked by an impromptu visit to Growler’s Pub’s regular Tuesday event, where I was surprised not so much by my experience of the visit as I was by what the musicians and the organizer Justin Kaiser told me they got out of being part of it. In response to my last article, people responded with helpful information [...]