The Canons' Gait sits at the Canongate foot of Edinburgh's Royal Mile, a few steps from Holyrood Palace and the Scottish Parliament. The 18th-century building runs a modern upstairs lounge bar over a cellar bar that has long been the live-music room: traditional and contemporary folk plays Wednesday through Saturday, and the long-running 'Out of the Bedroom' songwriters' night gathers musicians and regulars in the basement on Thursdays to play original material and listen. The cellar is a busy Free Fringe comedy and music venue every August, packing the room most nights of the Edinburgh Festival. Part of the Old Town Pub Co. group.
Edinburgh · Every Monday · Free
The Canons' Gait Open Mic
Edinburgh's monday open mic. 5-min slots.
Open mic at a glance The Canons' Gait · Edinburgh
Monday
Open mic night
May 2026
Listed since
28 Jul
Last verified
Free
Entry
5 min
Slot length
Closed
Listing status
Run a Edinburgh open mic? List it free — verified within 48 hours
Last updated: 2 June 2026
The Canons' Gait Open Mic — Quick Facts
We’ve marked this as closedSeen it running recently?Checked · 10 seconds, no signup
The Details
Everything you need before you turn up
DayMonday
Start19:00
Sign-up18:30
Slot length5 min
EntryFree · all ages
Capacity–
Performer typesPoetry
Sound engineerBYO / hire on the night
View on map
Where
The Canons' GaitEdinburgh EH8 8DQ
Edinburgh — check venue website for parking and nearest station.
Contact
Sign-up via online
Host: in-house team
Highlights
Free entry for all
PA system provided
Sign-up via online
Poetry welcome
How do you rate this open mic?One tap, no sign-up required.
Spotted something wrong with this listing?Closed, moved night, different start time? Let us know and we'll re-verify within 48 hours.
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About The Canons' Gait
About This Open Mic
Every Monday in Edinburgh
Kicks off at 19:00, sign-up from 18:30
Free entry for performers and audience
5-minute slots
PA provided — BYO instrument
Part of the Edinburgh open mic directory
The Night
The open mic at The Canons' Gait on Edinburgh's Canongate is the Loud Poets open mic — a poetry night, not a music one — running on the second and last Monday of each month. Doors are 6:30pm for a 7pm start, it's free and unticketed, and it wraps up around 9:30pm with a short interval and a featured guest poet each time. Slots are five minutes; sign up in advance via the Loud Poets online form, with a couple of door spots drawn at random on the night. All ages and all styles welcome — past performers have ranged from 8 to 80.
What's on stage — equipment and backline at this venue, verified regularly.
PA + monitors
Drum kit
Guitar amp
Bass amp
Keys / keyboard
Vocal mics
In-house engineer
The Night at a Glance
How The Canons' Gait’s Monday night runs.
18:30Sign-up
19:00Kick-off
21:30Last songs
00:00Venue closes
Every Monday 5-min slots Free entry
Find The Canons' Gait
Edinburgh EH8 8DQ
Planning Your Monday Night
Arrive by 18:30 to sign up for a slot. Entry is free and the open mic typically runs until 21:30. A PA is provided — bring your own instrument and amp.
Part of the Edinburgh live music scene.
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Try the Rate CalculatorCommon Questions
Seven things people ask before turning up at Edinburgh's The Canons' Gait open mic.
Sign-up via online. See all Edinburgh open mic nights.
PA + vocal mic provided. BYO instrument and amp.
5 minutes per act — typically 1 songs solo.
Yes — free entry for performers and audience. Most Edinburgh mics are free; browse the list.
Solo and duo acts work best given the gear available; ask the host before bringing a full band.
Edinburgh EH8 8DQ.
Mostly fellow musicians, friends and Edinburgh regulars across the Edinburgh open mic scene. Edinburgh open mic crowds tend to listen attentively.
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