Houston's mics are open

Houstonist has noticed lately a wave of open-mic nights announced at some of our favorite hang-outs. Budding musicians, poets, comedians and performers now have a wealth of options to practice their craft. Below is a list (nowhere near exhaustive) of venues where you can either take the stage or applaud those brave enough to do so.

Sunday
Bohemeo's, 8 p.m., 708 Telephone Road — Music and poetry, hosted by "By Word of Mouth." Sign up when you come in, and then when your name is called, come up and do your thing. Each poet reads or performs 1-5 pieces.

Monday
McGonigal's Mucky Duck, 7 p.m., 2425 Norfolk — Mostly music, usually acoustic. Hosted by Wayne Wilkerson. The Mucky Duck is listed by Billboard magazine as one of the "top twenty" acoustic venues in America. Have a glass of wine to calm your nerves before you hit the stage.

Tuesday
Taft Street Coffee, 2115 Taft Street — Taft Street Open Mic exists to provide a forum to exhibit pieces of poetry and music. The event seeks quality pieces with thought and integrity to both entertain and inspire.

Wednesday
Laff Stop, 7:30 p.m., 526 Waugh Drive — Some of the biggest names in comedy today are from Houston. Houston’s next generation of comics perform for free here every Wednesday. With so many professional comics under one roof, you never know what to expect. So come laugh before they get famous and find out why Houston is considered one of the premiere comedy cities in America today. Shows start at 7:30 and if you want to join the madness, interested performers should arrive by 6:30.

Thursday
The Coffee Groundz, 2503 Bagby — Last Thursday The Coffee Groundz hosted a poetry night during which anyone was welcome to read. No word yet on whether the reading will become a regular event, but our guess is yes, since the coffee shop likes to have a full schedule of activities.

Photo: flickr user fensterbme