The EDMONTON OPEN MIC FESTIVAL
Sherbrooke Community League Hall & Grounds, July 4, 2026, 11 AM - 4 PM
Community music thrives in Edmonton. Every week, open mics bring together performers across neighborhoods—from Alberta Avenue to the west side, from acoustic coffee shops to beer garden stages. But the network that supports this music—the hosts, venues, equipment suppliers, educators, organizations—often remains invisible.
We bring something new to the open mic experience: The chance for performers to take their acts to the next level. Getting paid for performances and having more time on the stage gives open mic folks the chance to spruce up, get timing down, memorize lyrics and engage with audiences in new and exciting ways. It's time to grow your act!
Supported By
Tom is an arts and culture worker who has worked in the Edmonton music community since 2012. He worked for 8 years as a state hand at the EFMF, has hosted the Square One Open Mic since 2016, and performs regularly around town with The Parklanders. He organized the the Community Music Day festivals in 2014 and 2015. Tom brings 40 years of performing and community organizational experience to this project.
Sherbrooke Community League coordination, craft fair, food vendors, and on-site operations. Catherine brings a organizational, media, and event producetion knowlwdge to the team. She is a superstar at providing stages for musicians, artists, artisans and volunteers for musical and family events. Her dedication to community values is unsurpassed and we are thrilled to have her on this team.
Kim has a a lifetime of experience hosting open mics in the Edmonton area. He brings the experience of a professional musician to our team. He is in charge of our stages and works with hosts and their lineups to make their stages reflect the talent in our community. Kim knows all the venues and performers who we are showcasing in the festival. With Kim in charge of our line up we are sure to be presenting the very best in live community music.
Steve has been playing on community stages his entire career as a performer and song writer. His knowledge of sound systems, amplifiers, and instruments adds to our "Tech Team" working with his son Nathan. Steve also knows that performers who have great sound and the right equipment set up in the best way makes for outstanding community music performances. Our performers are in good hands with Steve in charge.
Nathan has grown up performing at open mics in Edmonton and now has graduated to doing regular shows in community stages in the area. He and Steve make a great tech team to help hosts and musicians get tuned up and sounding great for their festival perfmances. Being a guitar player with experiences on stages like the Heart of the City, Nathan can be counted on to get everyone's sound and equipment in place for great shows.
Our Values
The All-Edmonton Open Mic Festival is built on the belief that music belongs to everyone, as an experience, as a community, as a form of expression, and that the community which makes music possible deserves to be seen, celebrated, and compensated.
We are committed to inclusion: every performer, host, listener, and helper is welcome here, regardless of genre, skill level, background, or experience. We do not sort musicians into worthy and unworthy. We recognize that the courage to share your music is the only credential that matters.
We believe in access: admission is free and all performances are public, because a festival that costs money to attend is a festival that has already decided who can come.
We are committed to fair recognition. We respect the ownership of creative work and the reality that professional musicians depend on their art for their living. Open mic performers are not usually paid, because open mics exist for a different purpose: sharing music with a room, showcasing what you have been working on, giving a gift to the people present. At the Edmonton Open Mic Festival, thanks to a generous grant from the Edmonton Arts Council, every performer receives a small honorarium, not as a fee for professional services, but as an acknowledgment of all the unpaid performances that came before, and a recognition of the extra effort they bring their best to their EOMC set.
We are guided by respect for community: the open mics, venues, and musicians who sustain Edmonton's music culture year-round are the reason this festival exists. We do not present ourselves as something new brought to the community. We are a reflection of what the community has always been doing.
We value belonging: every person who participates, whether as performer, volunteer, sponsor, audience member, or organizational partner, is a full member of this festival. There is no hierarchy of contribution.
We are committed to fair recognition: every performer is paid, because the labour of art is real labour, and the people who animate this festival deserve to be honoured accordingly.
We hold ourselves to transparency and accountability: in how we manage our budget, how we make decisions, and how we represent the community we serve.
Land Acknowledgment
The All-Edmonton Open Mic Festival takes place on Treaty 6 Territory, the traditional homeland of the Cree, Nakoda, Saulteaux, and Blackfoot peoples, and the Métis Nation of Alberta. We acknowledge this land and its history with respect, and we recognize that the work of building community, through music, through gathering, through shared expression, takes on fuller meaning when we understand whose land makes that gathering possible.
We are grateful to be here, and we are committed to ensuring that this festival is a space of welcome for all peoples.