“I had no stage fear, there was no pressure,” says Arathy Prasad about her open mic performance at Cricket Shack café near Kazhakkoottam, a week ago. It was the first such experience for this final year BDS student. “I was at the café with a friend and came to know that they host open mics. I wanted to give it a shot.” Three days later she tuned in with Hindi, Malayalam and English songs and also played the ukulele while her friends cheered her on.
Arathy belongs to a growing group of youngsters entertaining diners in cafes and boutique restaurants that have begun open mic sessions on their premises. The open mic scene is in its nascent stages in Thiruvananthapuram. Post the lockdown many restaurants and cafes are attracting customers via open mic sessions. Music is the staple for the time being, some places are hosting aspiring standup comics as well.
“After the lockdown, we wanted people to know that we were back in business. We have been conducting open mics since March 2022 and there has been a good response, especially from the college-going crowd. Now, we have open mics on Thursdays and our in-house musicians perform on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. We are all set to open a similar space at our sister concern, Madison Street at Kulathoor,” says Mahesh Kumar, owner and chef of Cricket Shack. He adds that the artistes are chosen after a screening process wherein they submit a video of their performance.
Eve’s Coffee on the Pettah-Anayara road added a space to host open mics when they went for an expansion after the lockdown. “It is a cozy space with 25 seats. We provide all facilities to put up a show, be it a musical night, karaoke sessions or standup performances,” says Beta Jayakumar, owner of the space, a popular hangout for fans of board games.
40 FEET at Kazhakkoottam has already done live standup shows and open mics since it launched in February this year. More such shows are in the pipeline.
Promotions on social media
Open mic spaces are provided free of cost for the artistes. “These events give more exposure to the eateries. The artistes and their friends promote our restaurant through their social media handles and we, in turn, post their videos on our social media pages,” says one of the restaurateurs.
Old’s Cool Café and Diner at Kuravankonam is adding a performance space on its rooftop. They used to host events organised by Space, an artists’ collective before the pandemic. “I didn’t want to stop that since I am looking at building a community on social media. There will be music, standup, caricature…,” says Roy, who has taken over the space from its previous owners.
At present, Lulu Mall is also hosting open mic for musicians and standup comics on Sundays. Those interested in participating are required to contact the management with a one-minute video of their act to get shortlisted.
Hangouts such as The TownHouse, Kowdiar, Terrace by Makkawao at Kazhakkoottam and Ovenly at Vazhuthacaud have been hosting programmes even before the pandemic. “Terrace launched open mics two years before the pandemic. We are restarting it this month and plan to hold at least two sessions every month,” says Aneesh Latheef, who runs the place.
TownHouse had started its operations in 2019 with open mics. They hosted the Cochin Comedy Project standup team early this year. “We are renovating the restaurant and open mics will be back from next month. Budding talents can showcase their act and we are not restricting it to music or standup,” says Kabeer Madathil, restauranteur.
Ovenly opened its cake shop-and-restaurant in 2019 with a music programme. “My husband, Prasanth Peter, and I didn’t want it to be a dine-in-only facility. Being ardent music buffs, we wanted to give a stage for up-and-coming musicians. There aren’t enough spaces in the city for musicians to jam and we wanted to provide one such platform. We have open mics every day and musical nights on Fridays and Saturdays,” says Hema Edwin of Ovenly.
Sreya Mary, who has given two open mic performances at Ovenly wishes there were more such spaces in the city. “Otherwise, It is not easy for amateurs to get a platform,” points out Sreya.
IT professional Arun Sadasivan, who has been to open mics in Bengaluru, says he is excited about the trend catching up in Thiruvananthapuram. “It is all about the vibe — the music, ambience, food... I thoroughly enjoyed the music sessions here. The singers didn’t disappoint either,” says Arun.
