Submitted by Neda Sarbakhsh
and Noreen Steinacher
The first Open Mic of 2023 happened on Tuesday January 10th at The Meeting Place in Tobermory. It was a fantastic entertaining night. There were 9 acts including 15 musicians and twice as many audience members. The crowd was almost back to pre-covid days. The amount of talent in this small community is inspiring. Neda, one of the hosts says, “it was refreshing to see new faces both in the musicians and audience”.
In a small rural community where seasonal workers leave for the winter and many retirees go south, there is a unique group of year-rounders who are making this community work with gatherings like Open Mic. Making music informally, sharing the gear, everyone having a laugh between acts and catching up over refreshments at set break. It’s not hard for community gatherings like this to happen. But it takes a few musicians to host and put out the invitation, a place to gather, a little word of mouth, and most importantly, a desire to connect with each other in this wonderful community on a winter’s night.
Thanks Nick and Neda and all the friends and neighbours who are part of our community’s Open Mic.
The next Open Mic is on Tuesday February 14th, 7-9pm at The Meeting Place. Everyone is welcome. We have more chairs!!
