Leicester · 16 open mic nights · 6 nights a week

Open Mic Nights in Leicester

Every Leicester open mic night - when it runs, how sign-up works, what kit is there.

100% of them list no entry fee; 1 has a full backline. Re-checked on a rolling cycle.

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Tonight List your night

Updated 12 November 2026

At a glance

Leicester

Open mic
nights

listed in Leicester

In detail

7 days from Fri 13 Nov	at least 8
Nights of the week	6 of 7
No fee listed	100% of nights
Full backline	1 nights
Open-Mic Score	71 /100

01 — Find a night

18 nights

Pick your night

When

Day

Has

Type

City

Sort

Fri13Nov Kick-off20:00 Queen of BradgateLeicesterNo feeHouse PA

The Black DogLeicesterNo feeHouse PA1st Sun of the month 15:00Sun

The CookieCity Centre · LeicesterNo feeFull kit 20:00Sun

The Western PubWestern Road · LeicesterNo feeHouse PA1st Sun of the month 20:00Sun

The Organ GrinderTown Centre · LoughboroughNo feeHouse PA1st Mon of the month 19:30Mon

The CriterionCity Centre · LeicesterNo feeHouse PA 20:00Mon

The SoundHouse LeicesterLeicesterNo feeHouse PA 19:00Tue

MoshLeicesterNo feeHouse PA 20:00Tue

The Crows NestEast · LeicesterNo feeHouse PA 20:00Tue

The WheeltapperTown Centre · LoughboroughNo feeMonthly 20:00Tue

02 — The scene

Open-Mic Score

Out of
100

Strong — affordability and walk-in lead the mix, with room to grow on coverage.

Ranked against UK cities (0-100)

Choice	68
Schedule fixed scale	86
Coverage	10
Affordability fixed scale	100
Backline	78
Walk-in fixed scale	89

03 — By night

Nights listed

Leicester's week

01	Thursday	5 nights
02	Tuesday	4 nights
03	Sunday	3 nights
04	Wednesday	2 nights
05	Monday	1 night
06	Friday Tonight	1 night

04 — More of Leicester

Beyond the list

Featured open micThe Black DogLeicester · Sun nights
Popular nightsThe Cookie
The Western Pub
The Organ Grinder
The SoundHouse Leicester

This month

Added	1
Removed	0
Verified	1
Re-verified	1

Also in Leicester

Leicester gigsBooked slots, by date
What's on this weekEvery gig over the next seven days
Leicester venuesThe rooms behind the nights
Leicester music sceneVenues, rates, guides and gigs

05 — Other cities

90 cities

Nights elsewhere

Nottingham Birmingham Sheffield

All cities, A–ZNights

Aberdeen18 Aberystwyth7 Accrington8 Aldershot14

Basildon12 Bath13 Bedford10 Belfast18 Billericay4 Birmingham18 Blackburn5 Blackpool22 Boston9 Bournemouth16 Bradford19 Brighton45 Bristol35 Broxbourne8

Cambridge17 Cardiff34 Carlisle9 Chelmsford8 Cheltenham19 Cirencester7 Coventry19 Crawley13

Derby16 Derry6 Doncaster12 Dublin1 Dundee20 Durham10

Edinburgh34 Egham11 Epsom10 Exeter24

Farnborough4

Glasgow44 Gloucester13 Grimsby8

Hastings15 Hereford21 High Wycombe12 Horley3 Hull18

Inverness11 Ipswich16

Leeds34 Lincoln14 Liverpool27 London70 Luton7

Maidstone9 Manchester59 Margate16 Middlesbrough11 Milton Keynes10

Newcastle25 Newquay10 Newry5 Northampton14 Norwich20 Nottingham32

Oxford23

Peterborough12 Plymouth14 Portsmouth17 Preston17

Rawtenstall12 Reading17

Scarborough11 Sheffield38 Southampton28 Stockton-on-Tees8 Stoke-on-Trent19 Sunderland13 Sutton12 Swansea22 Swindon12

Telford15 Tunbridge Wells9

Waterlooville11 Watford12 Welshpool2 Weymouth12 Woking14 Wolverhampton23 Worthing1 Wrexham18

York27

Live music on stage: a band under the lights

Leicester Open Mics

Open Mic Nights in Leicester

16 open mic nights across City Centre, Western Road, Town Centre, East + more — part of the wider UK open mic directory. Re-verified on a rolling cycle.

71/ 100

Leicester Open-Mic Score

StrongAffordability and walk-in lead the mix, with room to grow on coverage.

Choice68

Schedule86

Coverage10

Affordability100

Backline78

Walk-in89

What's on tonight? Filter the Leicester listings by night

16 open mic nights across City Centre, Western Road, Town Centre, East + more
6 nights a week have at least one
100% list no entry fee
1 with full backline
Venue, sign-up time, slot length and fee per card
Re-verified on a rolling cycle

Find out more Join free

Ready for a booked slot? Leicester's upcoming gigs, sorted by date

One-off gigs at indie venues and community stages
Sorted by date, refreshed continuously
Free and ticketed shows
Every gig links its venue

Find out more Join free

Capacity, backline and booking contacts for Leicester venues

Grassroots venues, pubs and stages
Backline and tech specs where known
Re-verified on a rolling cycle
Claim your venue to keep it current

Find out more Join free

Everything the Leicester scene has beyond the open mics

City guide: venues, promoters and bookers
Local rate benchmarks before you quote
How to get gigs in the city
Members near you on GigXchange

Find out more Join free

Reach Leicester musicians, comedians and poets looking for stage time

2-minute submission — no account needed
Reviewed before it goes live
Free — no listing fee
Corrections and closure reports welcome

Find out more

100% of Leicester open mics list no entry fee — check the night, sign up, play

Last updated: 12 November 2026

16 Open Mic Nights Across Leicester

At least 8 open mic nights are on in and around Leicester in the 7 days from Fri 13 Nov; the other 8 run less often or on dates that vary, so check their listing. 16 open mic nights (5 verified) are running in and around Leicester, from venues like The Black Dog, and 1 offers a full backline. Thursday and Tuesday are the busiest. Every listing shows when we last checked it. Open mics are one layer of the Leicester circuit — see what’s on in Leicester over the next four weeks for the ticketed bills at the same venues.

open mic nights listed in Leicester

14 of 16 take walk-in sign-up on the night
1 venues offer full backline (drum kit, guitar amp, bass amp, mics)
Spread across 6 different nights of the week
Music + comedy + poetry — filter by type below

16
Open mic nights: 6
Nights a week: 100%
No fee listed: 1
Full backline: 12 Nov
Last updated

What’s on in Leicester this week — or see what’s on across the UK.

By Day of the Week

16 open mic nights are listed in Leicester, across 6 nights of the week. Pick a night, see what's on. Each card shows venue, sign-up time, slot length, fee and backline.

Showing 1–12 of 18 · page 1 of 2

Next Sun 6 DecStarts 15:00

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

Next Sun 15 NovStarts 20:00

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

Next Sun 6 DecStarts 20:00

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

Next Mon 7 DecStarts 19:30

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

View details›

EVERY

Tue

The SoundHouse Leicester

Leicester

Next Tue 17 NovStarts 19:00

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

Next Tue 17 NovStarts 20:00

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

Next Tue 17 NovStarts 20:00

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

Starts 20:00

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

Next Wed 18 NovStarts 20:00

Sign-up19:30
Slots15 min
EntryNo fee listed
PAProvided
Backline—
Open toMusicians

Next Wed 18 NovStarts 20:00

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

Starts 19:30

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

Next Thu 26 NovStarts 19:30

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

View details›

Venues in Leicester

40 grassroots music venues are listed in Leicester, including rooms that host these open mics and the places to play once you are ready for a gig. Each card opens the venue's own page with its capacity, kit and what is on.

See all 40 Leicester venues

Leicester Open Mic Scene in Numbers

Counted from the 16 Leicester open mic nights listed: 100% have no entry fee listed, 6% have full backline and Thursday is the busiest night. The chart shows how the week's nights split, day by day.

16
Nights listed: 6
Nights a week: 100%
No fee listed: 6%
Full backline: 88%
PA provided: Thu
Busiest night: 12 min
Typical slot: 20:00
Typical start

Open mics by night · share of the week

6%Mon

25%Tue

13%Wed

31%Thu

6%Fri

0%Sat

19%Sun

Leicester Open Mic FAQs

6 answers about open mics in Leicester, from the best nights for new performers and what is on tonight to whether they are free, which have full backline and how to get a regular slot.

What's the best open mic in Leicester for new performers?

The Black Dog is one of the most-recommended starter mics — check the cards above for full backline + walk-in sign-up venues, which tend to be most welcoming for first-timers. For broader context, browse the UK open mic directory.

Where can I find an open mic in Leicester tonight?

Leicester has 6 different open-mic nights running across the week. Use the day filter above to see what's on tonight.

What else is on in Leicester besides open mics?

Open mics are the regular, low-key layer of the scene. For the ticketed and one-off bills, what’s on in Leicester over the next four weeks lists every grassroots gig we hold for the city — often at the same venues that host these mics. The full evergreen listing is the Leicester gig directory.

Are Leicester open mics free?

None of the 16 open mics we list in Leicester has an entry fee listed - most open mics are free to play and watch, but check with the venue.

Which Leicester open mics provide a full backline?

1 of Leicester's 16 open mics have a full backline (drum kit, guitar amp, bass amp, mics). Filter by 'Full backline' tag to see them.

How do I get a regular slot at a Leicester open mic?

Show up to the same mic 4-6 weeks in a row — hosts run on consistency. Once you're known, ask the host about a featured or paid support slot. We've written a longer guide on how to get paid gigs as a UK artist.

07 — Keep up with Leicester

One email a week. Gigs near you.

Keep up with Leicester

One free email a week with upcoming grass-roots gigs and nights in Leicester. All it takes is your email address and town, you can unsubscribe at any time, and every reader who turns up helps keep Leicester's small venues open.

Help keep grassroots venues open in Leicester

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See what’s on in Leicester over the next four weeks →

How the nights run. 8 of the 16 running nights are weekly and 8 run less often, so check the date before you go. Most start between 19:30 and 20:00. Listed slot lengths are usually around 12 minutes each. Where a sign-up time is given, the list usually opens around 19:30.

Who plays. Besides music, 1 takes comedy. 14 list a PA, so a singer-songwriter can turn up with just an instrument. None lists an entry fee.

After the open mic. Ready for a paid set? The Leicester venue directory lists the rooms that book live music, and the GX Index shows what they pay. Want to run one? How to start an open mic night. More open mics nearby: Nottingham (32), Birmingham (18) and Sheffield (38).

More Cities

Switch to another UK city for the same format with its own local nights, start times and sign-up details, or go back to the UK open mic finder to search every listing at once.

Run a Leicester open mic? List it free.

Listing an open mic is free, takes about 2 minutes and is reviewed before it goes live. It appears beside the 16 Leicester nights already listed, where musicians, comedians and poets look for stage time.

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 a Leicester open mic?

List it free. Performers find you by night and kit - reviewed before it goes live.

Claim your venue List my night

The numbers behind this page: UK open mic statistics and every UK open mic - all from the same directory.