Open Mics and Jams in New York New York

A Brief History of New York City

The island the Lenape called Mannahatta was a landscape of forests, streams and marshes when Dutch traders founded New Amsterdam at its southern tip in the 1620s. The English seized the colony in 1664 and renamed it for the Duke of York. After the Revolution, New York briefly served as the first capital of the United States, and George Washington took his oath of office on Wall Street in 1789.

The opening of the Erie Canal in 1825 made New York the gateway between the Atlantic and the American interior, and the city became the nation's financial and commercial capital. Millions of immigrants arrived through Castle Garden and later Ellis Island, filling neighborhoods with languages, foods and musical traditions from around the world. In 1898, Manhattan, Brooklyn, the Bronx, Queens and Staten Island were consolidated into a single city of five boroughs.

Through the 20th century, New York became the center of American publishing, finance, theater, art and media. It survived fiscal collapse in the 1970s and the attacks of September 11, 2001, and remains the most populous and most culturally influential city in the United States.

The New York Music Scene

It's hard to name a genre New York didn't shape. Tin Pan Alley songwriters invented the American popular song, and Broadway still sets the standard for musical theater. The Harlem Renaissance filled the Cotton Club, the Savoy Ballroom and the Apollo Theater with jazz and swing, and bebop was forged in jam sessions at Minton's Playhouse in Harlem and the clubs of 52nd Street.

In the late 1950s and '60s, Greenwich Village coffeehouses and the Sunday hootenannies in Washington Square Park fueled the folk revival and launched Bob Dylan. In the 1970s, CBGB on the Bowery incubated punk and new wave, Fania Records spread salsa worldwide, and hip-hop was born at a 1973 party in a Bronx apartment building. New York is also home to Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, the Metropolitan Opera and the New York Philharmonic.

Today, the jazz scene is as deep as it has ever been, Brooklyn has become arguably one of the best places in the country to hear and play bluegrass and country, and the city's open mic culture runs every night of the week.

Popular Live Music Venues in New York City

Big Stages

• Madison Square Garden and Barclays Center – The city's arenas for the biggest tours.
• Radio City Music Hall, the Beacon Theatre and the Apollo Theater – Iconic historic theaters.
• Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center – World-class classical and jazz halls, including Jazz at Lincoln Center's Rose Theater and Dizzy's Club.
• Brooklyn Steel, Terminal 5 and Webster Hall – Mid-size rooms for indie, rock and electronic acts.

Clubs and Listening Rooms

• Bowery Ballroom and Mercury Lounge (Lower East Side) – Essential indie rock rooms.
• The Bitter End (Greenwich Village) – Open since 1961, a legendary folk and singer-songwriter stage.
• Rockwood Music Hall (Lower East Side) – Multiple stages for emerging singer-songwriters and bands.
• Jalopy Theatre (Red Hook, Brooklyn) – A hub for the folk, bluegrass and old-time community.
• Sunny's Bar (Red Hook, Brooklyn) – A beloved waterfront bar long known for bluegrass.

Jazz Clubs

• Village Vanguard (since 1935), Blue Note and Birdland – Legendary rooms for top touring artists.
• Smalls Jazz Club (183 W. 10th St., West Village) – A tiny basement club, opened in 1994, famous for its late-night jam sessions.
• Mezzrow (West Village) – Smalls' sister room for piano-and-bass listening.
• Cellar Dog (75 Christopher St.) – Opened in 2021 in the former Fat Cat space, under the same ownership group as Smalls.
• Ornithology Jazz Club (Bushwick, Brooklyn) – A living-room-style club built around a nightly jam session.

Open Mics and Open Jams in New York City

In New York, you can find a music open mic or jam session practically every night of the week. Below are standout options across the boroughs, followed by a schedule.

Before you go: NYC listings change constantly, and many jams have rotating hosts or seasonal schedules. Always check the venue's calendar or social media before heading out with your gear, and expect a drink minimum at most jazz rooms.

Jazz Jam Sessions

• Smalls Jazz Club Late-Night Jam (183 W. 10th St.) – After the final set, roughly midnight on, with rotating hosts such as Carlos Abadie, Greg Glassman, Matt Snow and Ben Barnett. Musicians sit in free; listeners pay the cover and drink minimum. This is where working New York players trade solos, often until the early morning.
• Smalls Afternoon Jam – Sunday afternoons. A no-cover session (one-drink minimum) and a slightly more relaxed entry point.
• Ornithology Jazz Club (Bushwick) – A jam session follows the main show most nights, including late-night sessions on weekends. The owners built the club around the jam, and it's home turf for many young Brooklyn players.
• Java Jam at Alphaville (Brooklyn) – A weekly improvised session that draws players from the experimental, funk and jazz scenes.
• Café Erzulie (Brooklyn) – A late-night open jam in its garden.
• Jazzcultural – A members'-club-style room whose busy calendar is built largely on jam sessions and workshops.
• The New JAM Jam Session at ShapeShifter Lab (Brooklyn) – Recurring evening jams.
• New York Jazz Workshop Jam (265 W. 37th St., 10th Fl.) – Periodic Saturday jams at the school's Midtown studio, great for students and returning players.

Bluegrass, Old-Time and String Band Jams

• Sunny's Bar Bluegrass Jam (Red Hook, Brooklyn) – A weekly jam that has made Sunny's one of the best-known bluegrass spots in the city, plus Sunday afternoon jams out front in summer.
• Mona's Bar (East Village) – A long-running weekly bluegrass jam, with a popular Tuesday night session.
• Boathouse Bluegrass Jam (Gowanus Dredgers Canoe Club, 165 2nd St., Brooklyn) – Wednesdays, 6:00–8:30 p.m., April through October. Just bring an acoustic instrument. The club has also added a weekly jug band and Black string band jam.
• Bluegrass on the Green Grass (East Fourth Street Community Garden, Brooklyn) – Second and fourth Saturdays, 1:00–3:00 p.m., during the garden's open season. Free.
• Brooklyn Conservatory of Music Community Bluegrass Jam – Open to all ages and abilities; pay what you wish.
• Superslow Jam (Hamilton Terrace, Harlem) – A low-pressure bluegrass jam for beginners, organized through the NYC Bluegrass Jams Meetup group.

Blues Jams

• Big Ed's Blues Jam at The Red Lion (Greenwich Village) – Thursdays, starting at 7:00 p.m., with music running very late.

Open Mics

• Paddy Reilly's Open Mic (519 2nd Ave., Kips Bay) – Tuesdays. Sign-up at 6:00 p.m., music at 7:00 p.m., running as long as the list. Any style, originals or covers, with what the venue calls the best sound in NYC.
• Pete's Candy Store (Williamsburg) – A cozy, long-running Sunday open mic for original material only. Sign-up has opened at 4:00 p.m., with music 5:00–8:00 p.m. Confirm the current schedule.
• Cuckoo's Open Mic at the SoHo Playhouse – Wednesdays at 9:30 p.m. A variety mic open to music, comedy, poetry and more, with seven-minute slots.
• InspiredWordNYC 1st Wednesdays Open Mic at Sugar Mouse (47 3rd Ave.) – First Wednesdays. A singer-songwriter-focused open mic run by Mike Geffner.
• Nuyorican Poets Café (236 E. 3rd St.) – Legendary open mics and poetry slams, often named among the city's best.
• Ashford & Simpson's Sugar Bar (254 W. 72nd St.) – A soulful Upper West Side open mic tradition; check its socials for current nights.
• Otto's Shrunken Head (East Village) – Open mics and live music in the back room of a tiki bar.

NYC Open Jam & Open Mic Schedule at a Glance

Tips for Playing NYC Open Mics and Jams

• Know the etiquette. At Smalls and Ornithology, sign up with the host, wait your turn and call standards everyone knows. Don't overstay your welcome on the bandstand.
• Budget for minimums. Jazz clubs typically charge a cover or drink minimum for listeners; musicians often sit in free.
• Travel light. You'll likely be carrying your gear on the subway. A gig bag with backpack straps is worth it.
• Go late. The best jazz jams don't heat up until after midnight.

Helpful Local Resources

• The New York City Jazz Record (nycjazzrecord.com) – A monthly calendar of every jazz show and jam session in the city.
• nycbluegrass.com and the NYC Bluegrass Jams Meetup group – Bluegrass and old-time jam listings.
• openmikes.org – Musician-maintained open mic listings for all five boroughs.
• DoNYC (donyc.com) – Event listings, including open mic roundups.