Milan, Italy – For my 13th city installment of my worldwide open mic guide today I am loading my Milan, Italy page. As a reminder, it all started with my now very popular Thumbnail Guide to Paris Open Mics, Jam Sessions and other Live Music, and due to that guide’s success, I decided this year to do a similar guide for each of the cities I travel to during my worldwide open mic tour.
Musically, Milan in September is a Disaster
Milan? Home of La Scala, opera, classical music like you wouldn’t believe. Oh, jazz, too, why not? But folk, rock, pop, blues? Well, it’s not a world capital. In fact, this list is one of my least successful. Part of my problem is that I always visit Milan in the first half of September, and that coincides with the summer holidays in which so many Milan music joints are closed down from June to mid-October for the “summer.” Another problem is that a lot of jam sessions apparently take part in private associations where you sign up and play in private buildings and residences, and not so much in bars. Over the years I have performed at more open mics in Milan than I have listed here, but they were one-off events – such as an open jam at a circle of anarchists and another impromptu jam at the Leoncavallo public space, and also at another place, a karaoke that allowed me to play with my guitar. I am thinking that I should start a new section on these guides of places I have heard about but never made it to myself, since my short lists like this from my own personal experience can occasionally be limited:
Worldwide Open Mic Guide Philosophy
The only guide I am really in a good position to update regularly is that of Paris, since I live there. But I decided to do guides to all the other 20 and more cities on my worldwide open mic tour in order to give the knowledge I have personally of each city’s open mics. The guide has links to sites I know of local guides that may be more up-to-date, but I have chosen to list the open mics or jam sessions that I have played in myself. There may be others that I know of, but if I have not played there, I will not include it on the list. That way, the user learns a little of my own impressions. But I cannot be as certain that the guide is up-to-date – so check before you go.
So here, now, in any case is the Thumbnail Guide to Milan Open Mics, Jam Sessions and other Live Music. Please do help me whenever you have information to give me on venues.
September 16, 2013 at 4:46 pm
Hi Brad, I’m a keyboard player from Milan.
I’ve just discovered your blog and I’m glad to inform that we’re starting an Acoustic Open Mic evening at To Tap bar- via Giacomo Boni 25.
We made a first esperiment in the end of june and it went very well, so starting next friday 20 september we’re opening the new season, in which we’re planning to make it a recurring event – once a month.
Here’s the link to the facebook event:
https://www.facebook.com/events/320533598092187/?fref=ts
Are you still in Milan? We’ll be glad if you’ll join us!
All musical genres are welcome, original music as well as covers.
The only limit is the volume, that can’t be too loud because che of the size of the location, and because it’s not soundproof.
The place is a little bar, very intimate, and there’s already a little comunity of musicians gravitating around the place.
The Open Mic evenins will start at 21:30 and end at midnight.
There a mixer to plug in guitars, bass guitars or additional microphones.
An acoustic guitar, a microphone, a Nord Stage keyboard and a reduced drumset (snare, hi-hat, one crash, and a cajon – to be played in a traditional way, or with a footpedal, as a soft kick) to be played rigorously with brushes,
are on stage and avaible to everyone.
Hope you’ll be able to come and join us!
Bye-Bye!
Francesco
September 16, 2013 at 4:51 pm
Thanks a million. I am not still in Milan, but I am going to add this to my list of open mics as soon as I can. I’ve decided to add places that I have not been to, but which have been recommended by others, and which I will put under a different section in the Thumbnail page for each city…. Thanks very much and I hope I can try it out some day soon….