The Newest Upper East Side Open Mic Showcases a Ton of Talent

 When we opened Bros Guitar Shop, I knew I wanted to create a space for New York City’s amazing musicians to showcase their talents. Performing is difficult at every possible skill level. New performers have the jitters, and seasoned performers are perfectionists. We’re all too caught up in what we’re doing wrong that it can sometimes be difficult to get lost in the sauce. As creatives, we need to get lost in the sauce once in a while. 

I am also passionate about live events. I believe these two entities are synonymous: live music and community. You can’t have one without the other. Some of the most famous musicians of all time got to their current status by playing tiny, hole-in-the-wall venues. Their first fans were locals who just stumbled in and fell in love with a song or two. Here we are, a guitar shop in Manhattan, with ample resources to invite our community. So, I decided to begin Open Mic Sundays at Bros Guitar Shop.

Our first couple of Open Mics went off without a hitch. This past week, we were so excited, yet humbled, by the crowd that came by to perform for and with us. There was such a wide range of genres, ages, and walks of life at this Open Mic Night, proving my intuition to be completely right. This level of diversity is exactly why I want to do live events, especially ones like Open Mics. Even legendary singer songwriter Bob Dylan hung out at Open Mics in NYC before his legacy career took off. He would head to Cafe Wah in the West Village with his acoustic guitar and a dream. I don’t have a doubt in my mind that Bros Guitar Shop Open Mic could find the next Bob Dylan. 

I cannot emphasize enough how pressure-free these gigs are, though. We don’t care if you’ve played one gig or one hundred gigs. If you have the drive to pick up an instrument and showcase your stuff, come on down. There is so much weight placed upon performers these days. We could blame all kinds of things; record labels, TikTok (follow @brosguitars, BTW), or society at large could all be at fault for creating egregious standards for musicians, but doing so would be incredibly unproductive. Instead, let’s all wind down and jam.

These Open Mic Nights are going to be a regular, frequent thing. These are all-ages, all-experience-levels welcome events. I seriously cannot emphasize enough. This is a judgment free zone. You’re welcome here. Who knows? You might even find your next bandmates and your next favorite guitar before the evening ends. 

I truly cannot thank the community enough for their overwhelming support. Thank you for making our first Open Mic an absolute smash success. We are so stoked to do more of these.

Open Mics at Bros Guitar Shop are every second and last Sunday of the Month.