The Lifeboat (now Floc. The Lifeboat) is a Grade II listed ale & cider house at 1 Market Street in Margate's Old Town, Kent, built in the early 1700s and opened as a bar in 2010. In March 2026 it was taken over by Floc Brewery (near Canterbury), keeping the name and becoming the third Floc venue, so the bar now pours Floc's craft beers plus a deep range of West Country and Kentish ciders, perries, mead, wines and artisan spirits. It runs one of Thanet's busiest grassroots music programmes: a jazz club every Monday, open mic every other Tuesday, blues/funk jams every other Wednesday, live bands on Thursday and Sunday (including 'Sunday Around the Piano' 7–10pm) and vinyl DJs on Fridays and Saturdays. There's a house PA for the regular band and jam nights, and it welcomes original acts and covers across jazz, blues and funk.
The Lifeboat Open Mic
Market Street, Old Town's tuesday open mic.
Last updated: 31 July 2026
The Lifeboat Open Mic — Quick Facts
Everything you need before you turn up
Where
The LifeboatMarket Street, Old Town
Margate
Market Street, Old Town, Margate — check venue website for parking and nearest station.
Contact
Walk-in sign-up only
No advance booking
Host: in-house team
Highlights
What’s on in Margate this week — or see what’s on across the UK.
About The Lifeboat
About This Open Mic
The Night
The Lifeboat Ale & Cider House is a snug, candlelit free house on Market Street in Margate's Old Town, and it runs an open mic on the 2nd Tuesday of every month from 8pm to 11pm. It sits within a busy musical calendar here — a band or singer every Thursday, a Poetry & Song evening on the first Monday of the month, and Sunday-afternoon jazz — so the open mic draws a warm, music-loving crowd. Free and welcoming; well worth a slot.
What's on stage — equipment and backline at this venue, verified regularly.
The Night at a Glance
How The Lifeboat’s Tuesday night runs.
Find The Lifeboat
Market Street, Old Town, Margate
Planning Your Tuesday Night
Arrive early to sign up for a slot. Entry is free and the open mic typically runs until 23:00. Bring your own gear.
Part of the Margate live music scene.
Common Questions
Seven things people ask before turning up at Margate's The Lifeboat open mic.
Keep up with Margate
One email a week with live music near you. Free, and it keeps grassroots rooms full.
Help keep grassroots venues open in Margate
—A UK venue stops hosting live music every 5 days — and turning up is what keeps a room open. Get a free weekly email of gigs in Margate. Unsubscribe any time. Privacy.
See what’s on in Margate over the next four weeks →
Booking or playing in Margate? The GX Index publishes what UK gigs actually pay, by city, band size and venue type, and the GX Index reports set out the methodology and the sample behind every figure. Both are free to read and free to cite.
Keep exploring: the UK gig directory for what's coming up, the venue directory for rooms that book live music, the open mic finder for recurring stage time, and what's on across the UK this week. The blog covers pricing, contracts and getting booked, and about GigXchange explains who runs it and why. Something not right on this page? Tell us — or start on the home page.
Run an open mic in Margate?
Add yours to the directory free. 2-minute submission, verified within 48 hours. Reach 1,000+ Margate musicians.
Looking for paid gigs, not open mics?