Weekly open mic night for original songwriting at the historic Cactus Cafe venue on the University of Texas at Austin campus.
Cactus Cafe is hosting its Songwriters' Open Mic tonight, Tuesday, September 29, from 7:30 PM to 9:30 PM, with doors opening at 6:30 PM. It's a weekly thing, so if tonight doesn't work, it'll be back every Tuesday through November 24.
The one rule that sets this apart from your average open mic is that it's original music only—no covers. That means everyone who takes the stage is playing their own songs, so you're hearing new material rather than a run of songs you already know. It's a listening room, not a background-noise kind of spot, which makes it a good place to catch people working through things they've written themselves.
For context, the Cactus Cafe has been a listening room on the University of Texas at Austin campus since 1979. Over the years it's built a national reputation for showcasing local, regional, national, and international acts—names like Lyle Lovett, Robert Earl Keen, Lucinda Williams, Nanci Griffith, Alison Krauss, Jimmie Dale Gilmore, Townes Van Zandt, Bill Monroe, and the Chicks have all played here. Billboard magazine once listed it among fifteen 'solidly respected, savvy clubs' nationwide 'from which careers can be cut.'
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It's an all-ages venue, and the open mic is just one part of its weekly schedule, alongside nights like Vinyl Night and Wednesday Night Jazz. Admission is free, and it runs from 7:30 PM to 9:30 PM at the Cactus Cafe in the Texas Union, 2308 Whitis Ave, Austin, TX 78712.
