The Best Open-Mic Events in Los Angeles This Month

Open-mic events in Los Angeles are having a bit of a moment right now. Blame it on cuffing season energy, the constant itch for stage time, or the fact that everyone you know has a half-finished pilot and a poetry notes app—either way, the rooms are buzzing. Even if the official RSVP numbers look hilariously low (we’ve all seen that "0 people attending" lie on event pages), don’t trust it. The good rooms are still filling up with comics, poets, filmmakers and that one guy who always brings a guitar “just in case.”

Right now, a few names keep getting dropped whenever you ask, “Where should I actually go this week?” Jam in the Van’s Friday open mics (February 2nd and 9th) are the go-to if you want Venice backyard energy without actually crashing a stranger’s house party. SP Presents: Love Liberates is where the poets, empaths and soft-core revolutionaries are heading—think feelings, features, and a crowd that snaps instead of heckles. Animation Night! and the Short Film Open Mic: Night 1 and Night 2 are for the people who would rather screen something than stand alone with a mic, aka your film-school friends who finally finished a cut and need a room to watch them squirm.

Venues like The Eastwood, Jam in the Van, and Reparations Club are doing exactly what you want LA spots to do right now: giving you affordable, low-pressure nights out that still feel creatively charged. The Eastwood is your classic, cozy bar hang—perfect if you want to dip into an open mic without committing your whole night. Jam in the Van is that slightly chaotic, very Westside mix of tour-bus-turned-stage and hangout spot, ideal if you want to perform and then wander to Abbot Kinney after. Reparations Club is more intentional: it’s where you go when you actually care who’s on the mic and what they’re saying, not just whether there’s a drink special.

If you’re trying to choose what to hit this month: Jam in the Van’s open mics are your best bet for big-night-out energy and people-watching; Love Liberates is the one to pick if you’re in a poetry era or processing a situationship; Animation Night! plus the Short Film Open Mic nights are for the nerdy, artsy friend group that still argues about aspect ratios at 1am. None of this is about polished perfection—this is what discovery looks like in Los Angeles right now: tiny rooms, brave first drafts, and the kind of nights you talk about later, even if the flyer swore no one was coming.