r/cincinnatimusicians • u/themixtapefrom98 • Mar 06 '26

black-led/more diverse open mics

hey all!

i am a singer songwriter that is getting into the habit of performing live in the cincinnati music scene. open mics have been a great way to increase my confidence on stage and get some practice. i've enjoyed the ones i regularly attend and have met some really incredible people along the way.

but goodness! does anyone know of some open mics that are maybe a little more diverse??😅 for context, i am a black biracial woman. it can be grating constantly being in spaces where you are not reflected in the demographic hardly at all. and i'm lucky if there's even more than one or two other women there on a given night.

are there any black-owned or minority-owned bars or coffee shops in the greater cincy area that host open mics? or just any open mics in general that contain a wider variety of lived experiences?

thanks for any help!

love the queen city. love all of the phenomenal storytellers and musicians she is home to.

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u/theLoDown Mar 07 '26

I don't really have an answer to your question. But Esoteric is black/poc owned. And they do have live music. I haven't seen anything about open mics. ooh what about that wine bar in OTR, Nostalgia. Again live music but not open mics.

Maybe you need to partner with someone to start one!

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u/themixtapefrom98 Mar 07 '26

thank you for these! i've heard of esoteric but didn't realize they were black-owned! i've also been meaning to go to nostalgia for a hot second. maybe i can reach out to both and see if that's something they would consider hosting in the future if there was someone to run it. thanks again!