Northern Groove

Suppose you asked me 3 and half years ago if I thought an open mic/jam night in Fort St. John was viable? I probably would have said no. Not because there aren’t any musicians in this city, but because the musicians in this city are too busy working, sleeping, working, vacationing, working, shopping in Alberta, etc. Anyone who has lived here long enough knows what I’m talking about. In April 2005 we started anyway, and it was called Jam Night with Ryan Hennessey. Except often times it ended up being Ryan Hennessey…onstage…alone…

In those early days, however, musicians started showing up even if only once every few weeks. I learned first hand that there were some quality players here and there were some memorable performances. Actually, there were some downright bigger-than-this-town musical performances! That little stage in the corner has earned me some long-lasting musical friendships with a host of great people, who were all part of that formative first year. Then the out-of-towners started showing up…people working in the area for a few days, visiting friends, even touring musicians would grace the stage. Still, it was kind of hit-and-miss and I often found myself playing for an hour or so before shutting down early. I’d shrug my shoulders at the bartender and together we’d hope for better luck the following week.

These days, Open Mic at Egan’s is a vibrant, dynamic and quite simply magical experience. Our ranks have swelled to the point where Russ and I have to keep a list of performers each evening to ensure everyone gets a chance to play. The patrons love these evenings, the staff at Egan’s absolutely love these evenings (!) and the musicians love them too. We’ve got people from all different walks of life playing all types of music and everyone gets so much out of it. People are constantly thanking us for the spontaneous entertainment, and the good vibe spreads instantly so that the following event builds on the momentum. I swear, sometimes I don’t know how we do it!?! Those Wednesdays just keep getting better…

…which leads me to say, with so much pride and excitement that Open Mic at Egan’s is now moving too a WEEKLY format!!! Yaaay!!! Russ and I feel that there are too many performers who deserve more time to hone their craft and we can’t provide that time with a bi-weekly situation, so starting January 7,2009 Open Mic will be take place every week. There’s an added bonus: with so much talent in the room, we would like to have a feature artist at the end of each night. That is, someone who is given an opportunity to ‘headline’ the evening and take us all the waaayyy home, baby! I’m having difficulty writing this cause I’m really stoked about it!! Maybe we need a radio spot, Russell, hmmm??....