Riverside has a variety of coffee shops and venues that host open mic nights where aspiring musicians on campus can go and be heard or listen to others perform.
Daily Brew Coffee House, at 2955 Van Buren Blvd., hosts an open mic night the first Friday of every month at 7 p.m. Sign-up starts at 6:30 p.m. and the open mic night lasts until 9 p.m. Admission is free and is open to all ages.
Daily Brew allows up to three songs, and the open mic is run by Take 2 Productions.
Geneva Gomez, senior sociology major at California Baptist University and barista at Daily Brew, has played at open mic night. Her band Reclaimer plays original songs and pop covers.
“I would definitely recommend coming to check out open mic night at Daily Brew,” Gomez said. “For those who do enjoy writing and sharing their music publicly, open mic at Daily Brew is a great opportunity to do that.”
Another hot spot is Back to the Grind at 3575 University Ave. Back to the Grind’s open mic nights are every Monday at 9 p.m. and Tuesday at 7 p.m. Sign-up starts 30 minutes prior to showtime. The open mic lasts about two hours. Admission is free and open to all ages. This open mic is run by a frequent customer, Dawn Wisner.
Augie’s Coffee House at 4205 Main St. has an open mic night every Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. Sign-up is also at 6:30 p.m. This slot lasts until 8:30 p.m. It is also free and open to all ages. There is not a limited number of songs one can perform.
