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Trivia Night on Thursday nights has been a real success at Harpoon Harry's Restaurant and Bar. Every Thursday night from 7pm - 9pm US1 Radio personality Steve Miller hosts a four round game of trivia. Players can form teams or play solo. Winners of each round will get a prize, and the overall winner of the evening receives a grand prize. Anyone can be a winner, but there are no losers - everyone who plays gets some swag and has a great time. The video to the left was directed and produced by Andrea Najapuer. See how much fun Trivia Night can be! |
Easy Ed, your Open Mike Night Host
Every Monday evening from 7PM to 10PM is Open Mike Night at Harpoon Harry's Bar. The host for these special events is Easy Ed who has created an atmosphere that feels like a family gathering. That is - if your family has a heaping helping of musical talent. Anyone & everyone is encouraged to get up and perform if they desire. If it is your first time playing for an audience, the compassionate environment makes it extremely easy to feel comfortable.
This Open Mike is similar to what you might find in a folk club, but with a much broader range of musical styles that can range from singer-songwriter to rock or jazz to down home fiddle music.
The quality of the performers is usually quite good. Many of the experienced musicians in town come to Open Mike Night because it gives them a chance to try something new or different without pressure from an audience that is paying to see their usual act. The musicians can relax and try something out of the ordinary and that is what makes this venue so special for both the performers and the audience. Other times musicians will drop by to watch the show or sit in for a song or two. Or three. Thus, the camaraderie makes it feel like old friends gathering who share the love of music.
Many of the regular performers who frequent Open Mike Night are excellent singer-songwriters who don't want to play professionally for whatever reason. They would rather play with old friends or just jam with someone new and different.
Chuck Roberts at Open Mike Night
It is obvious that the people with talent want to encourage others to develop to their full potential. The result is that everyone who wants a turn on the stage has the support they need. If someone needs a guitar for accompaniment, someone will be there for you.
If you would like to get a little experience performing before a live audience, here is your perfect chance. This avoids the need to get a traditional paying music gig, which of course requires experience. The old catch-22 in action.
If you need some accompaniment, no worries. Ed as well as many of the other musicians are more than willing to play with a new act to help round out their sound. Even without knowing the song they can improvise and create a sound that makes it appear that the performer is a regular member of band. The musical improvisation at Open Mike Night disproves the notion that musicians need to work together for a while before they improvise well. Through the art of improvisation and playing in the moment, an impromptu band can reach an almost magical state of creativity for the performers.
The fact that Harpoon Harry's is usually packed to capacity on Open Mike Night proves that EZ Ed is doing it right. So if you want to try out some new material or check out the Key West music scene be sure to show up at Harpoon Harry's on Monday night.