Geezer Open Mic...

[6L6]

The average age of players at our weekly Open Mic last night was 72 years old. Ages ranged from a "young" 62 to a "spry" 80 yrs old.

Me? Well, I hit the scales at 74 yrs old.

We've done a lot of things to try and attract younger players, but with little to no success. AND, we're losing fellow geezers who used to be regulars but don't want to come out and play anymore.

The good news is that most of us geezer players have been playing for decades and the level of music being played is very good.

The venue we play at is outstanding. Dedicated stage, great sound system, great food, great atmosphere... you couldn't ask for anything more. Starting time is 7:00PM and it's a 3 song or 15 minutes (whichever comes first) affair.

Those of us who still play this venue would LOVE to see new players come out who aren't carrying Medicare cards.

Appreciate any thoughts/ideas the AGF can offer.

[RedJoker]

There is a local Facebook group where open mics are posted near me. Maybe there is something like that in your area? The kids aren't on Facebook anymore but you can probably pick up some middle agers.

[foxo]

I personally wouldn’t be put off by the age range. I think promoting it online is essential for getting new folk though. In Edinburgh we’re lucky enough to have a website that lists all the open mics and is kept up to date, maybe there is something like that in your area? If there isn’t maybe you should start one!

https://www.outofthebedroom.co.uk/ootb/open-mics/

Originally Posted by RedJoker

There is a local Facebook group where open mics are posted near me. Maybe there is something like that in your area? The kids aren't on Facebook anymore but you can probably pick up some middle agers.

I’m 31 and I think most people are still on Facebook, certainly I have a bunch of people in their late teens and early 20s I met through open mics.

[Chipotle]

Originally Posted by 6L6

The venue we play at is outstanding. Dedicated stage, great sound system, great food, great atmosphere... you couldn't ask for anything more. Starting time is 7:00PM and it's a 3 song or 15 minutes (whichever comes first) affair.

What sort of crowd does the place attract on other nights? What kinds of acts are they booking? If the typical crowd/act there gets age 50+ in the audience, it's not even on the younger people's radar. They probably won't show up for an open mic if they wouldn't go there themselves on another night.

[russchapman]

What's the name of the venue?

[Joe Beamish]

One of the interesting things about open mics in my experience is that there's usually a huge age range of people there. Younger players seem quite happy to mingle with older players.

I tend to learn about music and art related events through Instragram, if not by word of mouth. Facebook not so much. Haven't been there in years.

[RustyAxe]

We had one locally that was just like that. I'm one of the geezers who stopped attending about a year ago. Same old, same old ... every week. A few VERY talented players would come out, but three or four quality sets out of fifteen doesn't make for an enjoyable night for most of us, or for an audience of "civilians". The most recent host (for 2-1/2 years) gave up and held the last one a week ago, and no one has stepped up to do it, yet. I suppose it'll die, or morph into some open jam thing. Time marches on.

[Brent Hahn]

Originally Posted by 6L6

The average age of players at our weekly Open Mic last night was 72 years old...

What part of town (or the Bay Area) are you in? That may have something to do with it.

In marketing terms, it might make sense to target and recruit a few "influencers." Go out and find young performers who can come and play at your venue, bask in lavish appreciation, and then bring in their friends the following week.

Oh, and this being a Brit forum and all... over there, "geezer" usually just means "dude." Not "old dude."

[Steve DeRosa]

We have a similar situation here in S.I., where the main coffeehouse/open mic venue (the late Stan Jay used to hold court there once a month or so) boasts a performance roster composed almost exclusively of card-carrying AARP members - myself included - and although there are many talented younger players (some of these kids - as young as 13-14 years old - are scary good ) they seem to gravitate more toward electric than acoustic and harder styles in general (which essentially puts them on the parallel - and equally thriving - pub/block-party/park-concert circuit). While they do get a few younger singer-songwriter types on open-mic nights and for weekday shows they tend to be the exception, and the Saturday-night gigs are almost exclusively older/better-known/more-experienced players which, from a purely economic standpoint, makes a certain amount of sense: they/we've got an established following, which translates to heinies in the seats, more revenue for the house in both cover and food/drink sales, and a bigger take of the gate for the performer(s). Frankly, as a retired teacher I love seeing up-and-coming acts with something on the ball, but with the inevitable changes in musical styles/tastes the focal points are going to change - and if anyone out here ever puts together an old-fashioned '50s/60s-style "Battle of the Bands" for these kids at a local church auditorium, I'd be happy to be the only one in the audience who was there back when events like these could make or break many a local act...

[Mandobart]

An open mic's success depends so much on the host. When I got back into playing out 10 years back I started attending open mics in my area. The places with a friendly, high energy host who treated everyone equally and kept a tight ship (i.e., sticks to a signup sheet, no preferential treatment, makes newbies feel welcome) would pack people in. I was only 46 then, and we had some great times. I made a lot of friends, played in a few bands, contributed on a few albums all as a result of playing at open mics. I started hosting the open mic stage at a local festival. There were around 15 open mics you could go to each month, with players and audience members of all ages.

Things started to change. Some venues closed or quit having live music. Whole bands would show up and take the stage for 30 to 60 minutes (shame on the host there). The last straws for me was when a host (a friend of mine) asked me to play my solo stuff while an electric blues band set up around me, and another host insisted on live streaming everyone from her phone, seated 30 feet away so all you see is a shaky dark picture and all you hear on the stream is talking, laughing and clinking glasses. One of the good hosts passed away and another moved away. The ones left are into karaoke, or electric blues/rock. The open mic "regulars" now tend to be middle aged never-have-beens playing the same tired covers they've been doing the past 10 years.

Maybe its a case of "familiarity breeds contempt", changing fashion, or being in my mid-50's, but I have no desire to attend open mics now. I also don't volunteer at the folk festival open mic anymore - there's a much better bluegrass festival the same weekend a few hour's drive north. I'll take a festival or song circle where I play with others over an open mic performance for others every time.

[Tycobb73]

bring some amps and a drumset.

[Silly Moustache]

I run an "Acoustic Music" club twice monthly. been running it in various venues since 2006 (or earlier).
Our age range tends to be about the same as the OPs.
We start at 8 until 11.00 with a short break.
i offer 15 minute spots, that's from when I announce your name which means folks should be tunerd up and ready.
I provide music stand if required and you can stand or sit.
Because there is a bar at the end o the room the pub provdes a p.a. and I plug in one large condenser mic. No-one "plugs in".

Young folks occasionally pitch up, but rarely understand the etiquette - the don't put anything in the contribution box, they are never ready, talk too much, (on and off stage) and have no sense of time.

I'll always make them welcome but - well its a different world to the folk club era.

[6L6]

Thanks for the above comments. Some additional info I should have put in my original post:

* We have advertised on FB every week for years.

* The venue is 20 minutes over the hill from the heart of Silicon Valley. Plenty of players around and many of those show up at the Monday night O/M I attend every week.

* The venue in question hosts Karaoke every Friday night and it's a sellout. Our O/M is the night before.

* The venue is well advertised on the San Francisco Bay Area Open Mic list.

[Big Band Guitar]

Maybe you are not making an effort to make them feel welcome.

I am a geezer but I have been to open mikes where I was not a regular and did not fit the general atmosphere. Mostly younger than me.

A little off topic but my pet peeve is the open mike prima-donnas, the ones who leave right after performing taking their friends with them. The last one I went to I was on next to last and the only ones left were the last performer the sound man and the host. Maybe it is because I stink. But it is a lack of respect. By the way I always stay to the end.

[Mr. Jelly]

Honestly I'm seeing clubs or groups of different sorts dying out almost everywhere I look. Along with open mics there are American Snooker clubs, card leagues, pool leagues, dart leagues even soft ball leagues thinning out. Our boat club is slowly dying. There just aren't enough younger people getting into these types of things. By younger I mean anyone under fifty.