Brad Spurgeon's Blog

Brad Spurgeon’s findings on Open Mics in Milan:

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. Others, like the fabulous Ligera bar, or the Fermento Art n Pub, lasted for a few years and then stopped. 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:

Wednesday – Joy Milano bar, Via Valvassori Peroni, 56, Milan 20133, Tel. 366 981 6519, a new jam as of February 2017, this is a fabulous vibe in a small bar in the middle of a municipal compound for the arts and public activities. The bar is private, so it is open after the hours of the rest of the municipal activities. The jam takes place throughout the whole space of the bar with musicians sitting wherever they want to, and joining in on songs when and where they want; it covers any style you want to bring “to the table.” The first night I was at this Joy Milano jam I had my acoustic guitar, sang songs, mine and covers, and had a couple of brass instrument players backing me along with a guy on a banjo, another on cajon and two others on electric guitars. They played everything under the sun, and I joined in where and when I could. Given it’s location, it’s the kind of jam that will only succeed through word-of-mouth. I hope it does! By the way, it starts fairly late, around 22:00 or beyond, and finishes halfway through the night.

Thursday – Nuovo Anfiteatro Martesana, or NAMA, open to all musicians and styles of music, you bring your own instrument and play what you want, along with other musicians present, Parco Martiri della Libertà Iracheni Vittime del Terrorismo 1, info@nuovoanfiteatromartesana.org.  There is no real list, so you just have to make it known you are there, and try to find the right moment to get on stage, speaking, of course, to the organizer.  I played my pop songs, with an electric guitar – because I did not have my acoustic – and with a bass player and drummer, as I outline in my post about the NAMA jam.

–  La Cattedrale in Cusano Milanino has been described to me as another typical jam session with multiple musicians on stage at the same time, but where anything goes, so as I understand it, even if you are alone with an acoustic guitar, you can find a spot, Via Giuseppe Zucchi, 39G, 20095 Cusano Milanino MI, Italy, Phone: +39 366 724 7352.  Usually I have over the years insisted on having taken part in a jam or open mic before I report it on these Thumbnail guides, but as I am traveling less at the moment, and not updating as often, I wanted to report this one anyway.  And, in any case, I did get to visit this astounding location, see the stage, and realize that if you have a chance to get here on a Thursday night jam night, you must go.  It is a huge former factory building that has been converted into multiple performance and exhibition spaces, and is well worth the visit just to see the place.  The jam takes place on what must be the equivalent of the fifth floor of a regular building, but this structure is quite different….  Has to be seen to be understood, and believed.  On the other hand, as it is located far from the center of the city of Milan, in Cusano Milanino, it is best to call in advance to make sure the jam is taking place the night you want to go.

– Bachelite CLab bar, jam, open mic, classic 2 or 3 songs per performer, unless the evening turns into an endless jam until the early hours of the morning, via Vertoiba 3, Milan, Italy, +39 349 477 1773 Starts at 21:00. Every second week, so make sure there’s an open mic the night you want to go. This is a fabulous, hip and cool bar with a lively crowd, and lots of fun musicians who like to jam. The stage is very unusual in that it is on a mezzanine high above the bar. That ensures both a sense of dominating the locale by the musician as well as having a kind of separation of the stage from the rest of the room. The organizers are nice, work on the sound until it’s as good as can be, and sensitive to keeping the fun going as long as everyone seems to want to have it. There’s a piano way up there on that mezzanine too. This was my first experience and report at the Bacelite CLab bar open mic in Milan.