The most up-to-date Nashville Comedy open mic show listings are available on a google doc maintained by Drew Davis here:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1Oirs42Jk_Eto-53Y4QjIGv34WiPth1CEeDUBd58XY8U/edit?usp=sharing
Send us a message if you have any info about other mics we should add.
Submit your show here:
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Every comedian you’ve ever heard of – Bill Burr, Sarah Silverman, Daniel Tosh – ALL of them got their start at an open mic somewhere. They went to some bar or a restaurant with a microphone set up in the corner of the room and put their name on a sign-up sheet. They waited for their turn and got up on stage and for the first time ever, told original jokes that they wrote to a room full of strangers. Some of them got laughs, some jokes fell flat. They learned from the experience, made some changes and went to the next open mic to try again.
There is no shortcut in comedy. There are no “one hit wonders” or overnight successes. It takes years to get great and all of your jokes have to be consistently funny before people really start paying attention. Even then there’s no rest. Once they’ve heard your jokes and remember them, it’s time to write more to replace the old act.
This process happens just about every night in cities all across the world. Open mic comics work on the jokes they wrote that week. Traveling, full time comics drop in and try out that new thing they thought of. Some random guy sits watching the show with a page of jokes folded up in his pocket, trying to get the nerve to sign up for the first time. Comedy fans fill the seats watching live comedy in it’s rawest, most unfiltered, most unadulterated form.
Imagine being in the room when a young David Letterman went on stage for the first time. Or being a part of the legendary Boston comedy scene when Steven Wright was completely unknown to anybody who wasn’t there, watching him develop for years. The super famous incredible “breakout” comics of 10-15 years from now are trying standup comedy for the first time ever this week and you could be there to see them.
Nashville’s local comedy scene has had regularly scheduled open mic nights for decades. The current crop of new comics are energetic, excited and pro-actively putting new shows together all around town. Sometimes they’re great, sometimes they’re not, but in general they’re a lot of fun.
Go check out some of these shows. Pick out your favorite up and coming local comics. Tell them what you thought about their sets. Follow them on Facebook and Twitter and share their videos with your friends. Buy them a beer! Every famous comedian you’ve seen on tv started off the exact same way and they probably remember the first time they had a fan. Support your local comedy scene and you’re supporting tomorrow’s comedy superstars when they need your support the most.
