Uncommon Ground is committed to supporting up-and-coming local, regional & national independent artists. Our open mic nights are known to be some of the best in Chicago and we have the longest running open mic night in the city! All of these events are all ages & open to the public. a suggested donation of $5 is greatly appreciated & 100% of the monies go to the performers.
It’s highly recommended that all artists arrive on time for sign-ups to guarantee a spot. If you get here early, hang at the bar, have a greenstar award winning beer, etc. guests that would like to be seated for dinner to see the open mic will be seated by the host, first come, first served, so get here by 4:30 to claim your dinnner table in the music room. (we have full service for dinner starting at 4pm each sunday, so come hungry) The length of stage time for each artist ranges from 5 minutes (1 song) to 15 minutes (2-3 songs), depending on the number of performers that night.
NOTES ON PERFORMING AT OPEN MIC
all ages are welcome to perform.
we can’t have more than 3 people per act. Full bands are not permitted to perform during Open Mic. No drum kits!
We have an outstanding sound system with a PA, but we do not have any house instruments onsite. Artists are expected to bring what is needed for their performance. remember, originality is key.
OPEN MIC COMPETITION
Each week this is a competition. The suggested donation is $5 per performer & guest. Winners are chosen at each of our Open Mic Nights each week. half of that night’s collections is awarded to the nightly winner. The other half goes into an ever growing pot. Twice per year, all of the winners are invited back to compete in our annual Open Mic Finals Competition, where the remaining monies are divided among the top 3 winners!
In order to perform in the finals, you must be invited as a previous weekly winner. All of these events are open to the public and since crowd participation is important, we ask performers to bring along their family & friends! for the finals, guests can make advanced dinner reservations to ensure that they will be in the music room for the competition.
Finalists will get 5 minutes of stage time (or one song each), and original material is encouraged.
Winners are chosen based on the following categories: Performance, originality of their Song, Musicianship, Crowd Reaction/Participation, and stage presence.
Prizes for top 3 performers include but not subject to: Shure microphones, money (growing cash from previous open mic competitions), Greenstar Brewing & Uncommon Ground merchandise, your own show at Uncommon Ground, and artist exposure through press & media. (many of our previous open mic winners have gone on to be included in the voice, american idol, etc)
