Las Vegas Weekly

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Some of the best places to showcase your talents are nestled in our local neighborhoods.

The Beat

Human Experience Mondays (7-11 p.m.)

The classic coffeehouse open mic with an urban twist. Hosted by Human Experience, this forum welcomes spoken-word and musical performances, along with painters and other artists of all types. Local favorite Miss Joy spins live DJ sets between performers and during breaks. Sip lattes, swig beer or nosh on tasty coffee-shop fixings while community residents premiere their original talents.

Las Vegas Country Saloon

Hip-Hop Roots (Tuesdays, 10 p.m.)

Las Vegas’ longest-running hip-hop open mic features local artists and regional touring acts. Performers are welcome to bring their own beats on CD, tap the house DJ for some flow, freestyle solo or employ the human beatbox. And though the venue’s name may suggest otherwise, there’s no need to worry about hip-hop remixes of Rascal Flatts.

The Den at The Royal

Sunday Sermon (Last Sunday of each month, 9 p.m.)

The west end of the Royal’s lobby transforms from chic bar to place of musical worship with help from local musicians Ryan Pardey and Bryan Todd. The Sermon’s co-organizers dress the part, donning robes to pay reverence to the performers. Musicians (solo or full bands), comedians, magicians and even filmmakers are invited to display their original art. Adding to the Sunday school vibe: coffee and doughnuts.

Bikini Bar

Open Mic Night hosted by Smokin’ Joe Foresman (Tuesdays, 9 p.m.)

If you’re easing your way into live performance, test the waters at Bikini Bar. The low-key venue harbors a crowd of beer-seeking, bikini-admiring clientele rather than music experts--a perfect cure for stage fright. Live musical performances are streamed on the bar’s website for open-mic homebodies.

Money Plays

Open Mic Night (Thursdays, 9 p.m.)

“Las Vegas’ friendliest bar” hosts an original music-only open mic night in its welcoming, down-home pub atmosphere. Every set is professionally recorded by a sound engineer and at night’s end, CD copies are sold for $5 to interested performers and attendees.

A couple of other notables:

The Cellar Reggae Open Mic Night, Tuesdays, 10 p.m. Mad Libs and Pub Trivia are played during performance breaks.

Brentwood Cafe & Tavern Open Mic Fridays, 9 p.m. Featuring a multi-instrument backline for full bands.