UK · 1,466 open mic listings · 91 cities

UK Open Mic Finder

Q: Are open mic nights free to attend?

About 97% of UK open mics are free for both performers and audience. A small minority charge £2-£5 entry, usually when there's a feature act or a prize pot. Each listing on this page is tagged Free or Paid so you can filter before you travel. Once you start getting paid work, use our Rate Calculator to check what UK musicians actually charge by role and city.

Q: What gear do venues provide?

Backline varies. Around 71% provide a PA and at least one vocal mic; about 10% have a full backline (drum kit, guitar amp, bass amp). Bring your own instrument and any pedals. Every listing breaks down exactly what's on stage — filter to full backline to see those nights only.

Q: How do I sign up to perform?

Most UK open mics use walk-in sign-up on the night (89% of listings), typically 30-60 minutes before the music starts. The rest take sign-ups online via the venue's website or social media. Slots are usually 10-15 minutes or 2-3 songs. Arrive early — popular nights fill up fast. New to gigging? Read our guide on how to get your first paid gigs after a few open mic nights, or check the Gig Directory for upcoming paid shows near you.

Q: Can I submit my open mic to the directory?

Yes — submission is free and takes 2 minutes. Use the Submit form linked from the top of the page. We review every submission and verify the venue is real before adding it to your city. If you run a venue, you can also claim and edit your listing once it's live — or browse the wider GigXchange platform for paid bookings via our venue tools. Starting one? How to start an open mic night.

Q: What's the difference between an open mic and a paid gig?

Open mics are typically walk-in, free, 10-15 minute slots — great for testing material and meeting promoters. Paid gigs are booked in advance, last 30+ minutes, and require a press pack or showreel. After a few open mics, performers usually progress to support slots, then headline gigs. The Musicians' Union publishes guidance on the transition from unpaid to paid work. See our city-by-city booking guides for what venues actually pay, or browse artist profiles to see how working musicians present themselves.

Q: What is the busiest night for open mics in the UK?

Wednesday is the busiest open mic night in the UK, with 378 of 1,466 listings (26%) running on Wednesdays. Thursday follows with 357. Weekends are quieter — Friday and Saturday combined account for just 6% of all listings, as most venues reserve peak trading nights for paid acts. Venues hosting live music under 200 capacity typically don't need a separate licence thanks to the Live Music Act 2012, which is one reason weeknight open mics are so common.

Q: Do UK open mics provide PA systems?

71% of UK open mics provide at least a PA system and one vocal microphone. 10% offer full backline including drums, guitar amp and bass amp. The rest either have no PA or have not listed one. Each listing on this page shows exactly what equipment is provided. Venues playing recorded music between acts may also need a PPL licence — that's on the venue, not the performer.

Find an open mic near you - 1,466 UK listings (834 verified), when they run, how to sign up, what kit is there.

97% are free entry, 89% take walk-ins and 71% have a house PA. Re-verified on a rolling cycle.

Popular cities

London Manchester Brighton

Tonight List your night

At a glance

Updated daily

1,466

Open mic
listings

across 91 UK cities

In detail

Free entry	97% of nights
House PA	71% of nights
Full backline	10% of nights
Typical slot	12 minutes
Busiest nights	Wednesdays + Thursdays

01 — Find a night

1,466 nights

Pick your night

When

Day

Has

Type

City

Sort

Sun1Nov Kick-off12:00 Friars Square Open MicFriars Square Shopping Centre, town centre · AylesburyNo feeHouse PA1st Sun of the month

Oh Yeah Music CentreBelfastPaidHouse PADates vary 12:00Sun

The Vaults BarStony Stratford · Milton KeynesNo feeHouse PA 12:30Tonight

Foundry SocialCardiffNo feeHouse PA 13:00Tonight

The Bear ClubMill Yard · LutonPaidHouse PA1st Sun of the month 13:00Sun

Whitby Pavilion (Musicport Open Mic)West Cliff · WhitbyNo feeMonthly 13:00Sun

Foundry ProjectThe Ginnel · HarrogateNo fee 14:00Tonight

Hafan Yr AfonNewtownNo feeMonthly 14:00Sun

Holbeach United Services ClubHolbeach, South Holland · HolbeachNo fee3rd Sun of the month 14:00Sun

Jazz.Co-opNewcastleNo feeHouse PAFortnightly 14:00Sun

02 — The map

Tap a city

Nights near you

London70 Manchester59 Brighton45 Glasgow44 Sheffield38 Bristol35 Edinburgh34 Leeds34 Cardiff33 Nottingham32

03 — By city

Top 10 of 91

Where the nights are

01	London	70 nights
02	Manchester	59 nights
03	Brighton	45 nights
04	Glasgow	44 nights
05	Sheffield	38 nights
06	Bristol	35 nights
07	Edinburgh	34 nights
08	Leeds	34 nights
09	Cardiff	33 nights
10	Nottingham	32 nights

All 91 cities, A–ZNights

Aberdeen18 Aberystwyth7 Accrington7 Aldershot11

Basildon11 Bath13 Bedford10 Belfast17 Billericay4 Birmingham17 Blackburn5 Blackpool22 Boston8 Bournemouth14 Bradford18 Brighton45 Bristol35 Broxbourne5

Cambridge17 Cardiff33 Carlisle9 Chelmsford8 Cheltenham19 Cirencester7 Coventry18 Crawley12

Derby15 Derry6 Doncaster12 Dublin1 Dundee18 Durham10

Edinburgh34 Egham10 Epsom9 Exeter24

Farnborough4

Glasgow44 Gloucester11 Grimsby8

Hastings15 Hereford21 High Wycombe12 Horley3 Hull18

Inverness11 Ipswich14

Leeds34 Leicester17 Lincoln14 Liverpool27 London70 Luton7

Maidstone9 Manchester59 Margate16 Middlesbrough11 Milton Keynes9

Newcastle25 Newquay9 Newry3 Northampton14 Norwich20 Nottingham32

Oxford23

Peterborough11 Plymouth14 Portsmouth17 Preston17

Rawtenstall9 Reading17

Scarborough11 Sheffield38 Southampton28 Stockton-on-Tees8 Stoke-on-Trent17 Sunderland13 Sutton11 Swansea22 Swindon11

Telford14 Tunbridge Wells9

Waterlooville11 Watford10 Welshpool2 Weymouth9 Woking11 Wolverhampton21 Worthing1 Wrexham18

York27

04 — By night

Nights listed

Midweek rules

01	Wednesday	378 nights
02	Thursday	357 nights
03	Tuesday	267 nights
04	Sunday Tonight	215 nights
05	Monday	147 nights
06	Friday	74 nights
07	Saturday	20 nights

05 — In numbers

Live data

The scene, counted

97%Free entry

89%Walk-ins

71%House PA

16 nights re-checked this month, 0 added. Free to cite: DOI 10.5281/zenodo.20173300 · CC BY 4.0 · all our open data.

06 — Best equipped

Full backline rate

Travel light

01	London	39%
02	Hastings	27%
03	Bristol	20%
04	Manchester	19%
05	Margate	19%

Live music on stage: a band under the lights

UK Open Mic Directory

UK Open Mic Finder

GigXchange lists 1,466 open mic listings, 834 verified, across 91 UK cities — 97% are free entry. Find an open mic near you, filter by day, fee or backline. Re-verified on a rolling cycle.

Open mic directory

Open mic finder at a glance UK open mic nights · 91 UK cities

1,466

Open mics

liveGX directory

UK cities

mappednationwide

97%

Free entry

no chargemost

Nights / week

every dayweekly

834

Verified

hand-checkedrolling cycle

Nightly

Re-checked

rolling cycleverified

Recurring open mic nights, verified and updated on a rolling cycle

1,466 open mic listings, 834 verified · 91 UK cities
97% free entry — the rest £2–£5
71% provide a PA + vocal mic
Typical slot: 12 minutes, walk-in sign-up
Wednesdays + Thursdays are the busiest nights
Reported corrections reviewed within 7 days

Find out more Join free

Ready for a booked slot? Type a city to see its live gigs

9,474 upcoming gigs, sorted by date
803 in the next 7 days
Sourced from venues, promoters and artists
Every gig links back to its venue

Find out more Join free

The stages behind the nights — capacity, backline and booking contacts

3,309 UK grassroots venues, pubs and stages
40% provide a PA in-house
Re-verified on a rolling cycle
Claim your venue to keep it current

Find out more Join free

Every city has its own open-mic hub — type yours

Open mics in 91 UK cities, London to Aberdeen
London leads with 70 nights
Filter by day, fee and backline per city
City hubs link gigs and venues too

Find out more Join free

Reach performers actively looking for stage time in your city

2-minute submission — no account needed
Verified before going live
Free — no listing fee
Corrections and closure reports welcome
Update sign-up times and backline any time
Reaches performers by city and day

Find out more

97% of UK open mics are free entry — walk in, sign up, play

Last updated: 1 November 2026

Find an Open Mic Near You

1,466
Open mic listings: 91+
UK cities: 97%
Free entry: 3 types
Music, comedy, poetry: 1 Nov
Last updated

A UK-wide open mic directory: every night searchable by city, day of the week, entry fee, backline, and performer type. Listings are re-verified on a continuous rolling cycle — the longest-unchecked nights are re-checked every night, and reported corrections are reviewed within 7 days; confirmed closures are marked as closed.

1,466

open mic listings tracked across 91 UK cities, from London to Aberdeen

97% free entry for performers and audience · the rest are £2–£5
71% provide a PA + vocal mic · 10% offer full backline (drums, amps)
12-minute slots typical · walk-in sign-up, 30–60 minutes before start
Wednesdays + Thursdays are the busiest open mic nights nationally — 50% of all listings

Want what is on this week rather than the open mic list? See what’s on across the UK — live music by city, updated daily.

How to cite this dataset

GigXchange, UK Open Mic Directory. Available at: https://gigxchange.app/gigs/open-mic-finder. Licensed under CC BY 4.0.

DOI 10.5281/zenodo.20173300 · HuggingFace · Kaggle · CC BY 4.0 · All our open data

Search by Location

Explore open mics near you — or click a city for its full open mic list.

91 cities mapped · 1,466 open mic listings · London alone has 70

Browse by Day

Filter all 1,466 listings by night

Click a day to filter the listings below.

Showing 1,465–1,466 of 1,466 · page 62 of 62

EVERY

Thu

Kennedy's Bar & Restaurant

York

Next Thu 5 NovStarts 21:00

Sign-up19:30
Slots12 min
EntryNo fee listed
PAProvided
Backline—
Open toMusicians

Starts 20:30

Sign-up—
Slots—
EntryNo fee listed
PAProvided
Backline—
Open toMusicians

View details›

Browse by City

Jump straight to a city for the full local list.

London70 mics Manchester59 mics Brighton45 mics Glasgow44 mics Sheffield38 mics Bristol35 mics Edinburgh34 mics Leeds34 mics Cardiff33 mics Nottingham32 mics Southampton28 mics Liverpool27 mics York27 mics Newcastle25 mics Exeter24 mics Oxford23 mics Blackpool22 mics Swansea22 mics Hereford21 mics Wolverhampton21 mics Norwich20 mics Cheltenham19 mics Aberdeen18 mics Bradford18 mics Coventry18 mics Dundee18 mics Hull18 mics Wrexham18 mics Belfast17 mics Birmingham17 mics Cambridge17 mics Leicester17 mics Portsmouth17 mics Preston17 mics Reading17 mics Stoke-on-Trent17 mics Margate16 mics Derby15 mics Hastings15 mics Bournemouth14 mics Ipswich14 mics Lincoln14 mics Northampton14 mics Plymouth14 mics Telford14 mics Bath13 mics Sunderland13 mics Crawley12 mics Doncaster12 mics High Wycombe12 mics Aldershot11 mics Basildon11 mics Gloucester11 mics Inverness11 mics Middlesbrough11 mics Peterborough11 mics Scarborough11 mics Sutton11 mics Swindon11 mics Waterlooville11 mics Woking11 mics Bedford10 mics Durham10 mics Egham10 mics Watford10 mics Carlisle9 mics Epsom9 mics Maidstone9 mics Milton Keynes9 mics Newquay9 mics Rawtenstall9 mics Tunbridge Wells9 mics Weymouth9 mics Boston8 mics Chelmsford8 mics Grimsby8 mics Stockton-on-Tees8 mics Aberystwyth7 mics Accrington7 mics Cirencester7 mics Luton7 mics Derry6 mics Blackburn5 mics Broxbourne5 mics Billericay4 mics Farnborough4 mics Horley3 mics Newry3 mics Welshpool2 mics Dublin1 mic Worthing1 mic

UK Open Mic Scene in Numbers

Live statistics computed from all 1,466 listings on every page load — these numbers can't go stale.

Wed

Peak Night

Wednesday is the UK's busiest open mic night with 378 listings (26% of all listings)

12 min

Typical Slot

The typical UK open mic slot is 12 minutes or 2–3 songs

71%

PA Provided

71% of UK open mics provide at least a PA system and one vocal mic

10%

Full Backline

10% offer full backline (drums, guitar amp, bass amp, PA)

97%

Free Entry

97% of UK open mics are free for both performers and audience

8pm

Typical Start

Most sessions start between 7pm and 8:30pm — typically 8pm

89%

Walk-In

89% use walk-in signup on the night — no pre-booking needed

57%

Verified

57% verified against a live source, on a rolling re-check cycle

Open Mics by Day of the Week

National distribution across all listings

Mon

147

10%

Tue

267

18%

Wed

378

26%

Thu

357

24%

Fri

Sat

Sun

215

15%

What is the busiest night for open mics in the UK? Wednesday is the busiest open mic night in the United Kingdom, with 378 of 1,466 listings (26%) running on Wednesdays according to GigXchange's open mic directory. Thursday is the second-busiest night with 357 sessions. Weekends are quieter — Friday and Saturday combined account for just 6% of all listings, as most venues reserve peak trading nights for paid acts.

How long is an open mic set in the UK? The typical UK open mic slot is 12 minutes, usually 2–3 songs, based on 1,466 listings tracked by GigXchange. 97% of UK open mics are free for both performers and audience. 71% provide a PA system and at least one vocal microphone; 10% offer full backline including drums, guitar amp and bass amp.

Do you need to sign up in advance for a UK open mic? No — 89% of UK open mics use walk-in signup on the night, typically 30–60 minutes before music starts; the typical start time nationally is 8pm. The rest take sign-ups online via venue websites or social media. Data from GigXchange's UK Open Mic Finder, re-verified on a rolling cycle.

Open Mic Rankings

Which UK cities have the most open mic nights, the best equipment, and the highest free-entry rates?

Most Open Mics

#	City	Count
1	London	70	4.8%
2	Manchester	59	4%
3	Brighton	45	3.1%
4	Glasgow	44	3%
5	Sheffield	38	2.6%
6	Bristol	35	2.4%
7	Edinburgh	34	2.3%
8	Leeds	34	2.3%
9	Cardiff	33	2.3%
10	Nottingham	32	2.2%

Best Backline Provision (cities with 15+ listings)

#	City	Rate
1	London	39%	39%
2	Hastings	27%	27%
3	Bristol	20%	20%
4	Manchester	19%	19%
5	Margate	19%	19%
6	Glasgow	18%	18%
7	Birmingham	18%	18%
8	Cambridge	18%	18%
9	Sheffield	16%	16%
10	Brighton	13%	13%

07 — Small print 12 answers Common questions Open Mic FAQs

Common questions about UK open mic nights, answered with live data.

How do I find an open mic near me?

Pick your city from the city list, or filter by night to see what's on tonight. Every listing shows the venue, sign-up time, slot length and backline. The directory covers 1,466 open mic listings across 91 UK cities — or browse by region: London, Manchester, Bristol, Glasgow, Edinburgh, Brighton.

Are open mic nights free to attend?

About 97% of UK open mics are free for both performers and audience. A small minority charge £2-£5 entry, usually when there's a feature act or a prize pot. Each listing on this page is tagged Free or Paid so you can filter before you travel. Once you start getting paid work, use our Rate Calculator to check what UK musicians actually charge by role and city.

What gear do venues provide?

Backline varies. Around 71% provide a PA and at least one vocal mic; about 10% have a full backline (drum kit, guitar amp, bass amp). Bring your own instrument and any pedals. Every listing breaks down exactly what's on stage — filter to full backline to see those nights only.

How do I sign up to perform?

Most UK open mics use walk-in sign-up on the night (89% of listings), typically 30-60 minutes before the music starts. The rest take sign-ups online via the venue's website or social media. Slots are usually 10-15 minutes or 2-3 songs. Arrive early — popular nights fill up fast. New to gigging? Read our guide on how to get your first paid gigs after a few open mic nights, or check the Gig Directory for upcoming paid shows near you.

Can I submit my open mic to the directory?

Yes — submission is free and takes 2 minutes. Use the Submit form linked from the top of the page. We review every submission and verify the venue is real before adding it to your city. If you run a venue, you can also claim and edit your listing once it's live — or browse the wider GigXchange platform for paid bookings via our venue tools. Starting one? How to start an open mic night.

What's the difference between an open mic and a paid gig?

Open mics are typically walk-in, free, 10-15 minute slots — great for testing material and meeting promoters. Paid gigs are booked in advance, last 30+ minutes, and require a press pack or showreel. After a few open mics, performers usually progress to support slots, then headline gigs. The Musicians' Union publishes guidance on the transition from unpaid to paid work. See our city-by-city booking guides for what venues actually pay, or browse artist profiles to see how working musicians present themselves.

How often is the directory updated?

Listings are re-verified on a continuous rolling cycle — the longest-unchecked nights are automatically re-checked every night, so the whole directory keeps cycling through verification. Reported corrections are reviewed within 7 days; a night confirmed closed is marked closed on its page. Each night's own page shows when it was last checked. Popular cities: London, Manchester, Glasgow, Bristol.

What is the busiest night for open mics in the UK?

Wednesday is the busiest open mic night in the UK, with 378 of 1,466 listings (26%) running on Wednesdays. Thursday follows with 357. Weekends are quieter — Friday and Saturday combined account for just 6% of all listings, as most venues reserve peak trading nights for paid acts. Venues hosting live music under 200 capacity typically don't need a separate licence thanks to the Live Music Act 2012, which is one reason weeknight open mics are so common.

How long is an open mic set?

The typical UK open mic slot is 12 minutes, usually 2–3 songs, based on 1,466 listings. Slots range from 5 minutes at busier nights to 20 minutes at quieter venues. Most hosts announce a time limit at sign-up.

Do UK open mics provide PA systems?

71% of UK open mics provide at least a PA system and one vocal microphone. 10% offer full backline including drums, guitar amp and bass amp. The rest either have no PA or have not listed one. Each listing on this page shows exactly what equipment is provided. Venues playing recorded music between acts may also need a PPL licence — that's on the venue, not the performer.

Which UK city has the most open mics?

London has the most open mic nights of any UK city with 70 listings (4.8% of the national total). Manchester is second with 59, followed by Brighton (45), Glasgow (44), and Sheffield (38). See the full city rankings above.

Do you need to sign up in advance for a UK open mic?

No — 89% of UK open mics use walk-in signup on the night, typically 30–60 minutes before music starts; the typical start time nationally is 8pm. The rest take sign-ups online via venue websites or social media. Arrive early at popular nights — slots fill up fast.

Run an open mic? List it free.

2-minute form. We review every submission before it goes live. Reach the UK musicians, comedians and poets actively looking for stage time in your city.

For Artists For Venues For Agents For Promoters For Organisers For Fans

ForArtistsGet booked. Get paid. ForVenuesFill the calendar. ForAgentsRun your roster. ForPromotersBuild the bill. ForOrganisersBook acts for your event. ForFansFind tonight’s gigs.

Run an open mic?

List it free. Performers find you by night, city and kit - verified before it goes live.

I'm an artist List my night

The numbers behind this page: UK open mic statistics, every city's open mic list and the venue directory - all built from the same data. Looking for tonight? See what's on across the UK this week.