Open Mic

11/02/2023

The Drop Downs started the open mic night at The Petri Dish back in December 2021 and have hosted the event and supported the venue since that time.

It has been really rewarding to see the open mic become so popular with musicians and audience. There are so many great musicians and hidden talents in and around the Aylesbury area.

As musicians ourselves we understand the difficult of finding live music venues to perform in and its particularly difficult for those musicians wanting to perform original music, so it's been great to collaborate with The Petri Dish and provide a platform for musicians to perform.

This open mic will now transition into a Local Musician Showcase, still to be held on the second Friday of each month, first one on Friday 10th March, The Drop Downs will not be hosting the new showcase or performing on a monthly basis like they did at the open mic, as they feel that it would be unfair to take up a slot each month that another band or performer could use. They are also focusing on writing new material, going into a studio to record some tracks and securing some gigs for Spring and Summer (follow their page for updates)

If you would like to perform at one of the monthly Local Musician Showcase please send an email to: [email protected]

Although it may seem like this is sad news and the open mic is ending, in fact it is not because what was one event will be dividing into two, we are pleased to announce that local band and good friends of ours SoundProof will be hosting a new open mic night at The Petri Dish, they will be held on the last Thursday of each month and the first one will be held on Thursday 30th March. Please message them through their page to pre book a slot.

We (The Drop Downs) would like to thank Frank and Suzie at The Petri Dish for allowing us to run the Open Mic at their venue, it's been a really cool journey and we are delighted that it has been a success and hope that it continues to grow.

We would also like to thank all of the musicians that have performed at each of the open mic events, we are proud that we were able to offer you a platform and hope that you continue to come and perform at either the showcase or open mic. It has been a pleasure getting to know you all and building up a network of musical contacts.

Last but not least a huge thankyou to the audience, all those that have come down to support the performers and the venue, you play a big part in the event and venue being successful and every performer prefers playing to a full (ish) room rather than an empty room, so keep it up.

TTFN

22/01/2023

This is a bit of a wordy post but contains valuable information regarding the positive future of this event so please read.

This open mic event has now been going for one year and despite a slow start it has grown into a very popular event with both musicians and audience, it has however naturally evolved into more of a showcase evening for local bands and has moved away from the traditional open mic night structure. Each month we receive more requests from musicians to perform than what we have slots for which means we then start reserving slots for months in advance which is great but it does then leave no space for walk in acts that might want to just turn up on the night and perform which is what you would expect at a traditional open mic.

We do not want to remove this platform for local musicians to perform and at the same time we don't want to disappoint musicians that may want to just turn up on the night and perform without pre booking a slot. We have therefore taken the decision to continue with the event but with a slight change of direction. We will be re branding the event with a name change which is more representative of what it has evolved into, a showcase of musicians a mix of solo singer/songwriters, and full bands, all genres will be welcome, but there will be some expectations on the quality. Dates, times and venue will remain the same.

We are hopefull that musicians and audience will support this decision and continue to follow us on the next chapter.

Next event will be held on Friday 10th February where we have live music from local musicians starting from 8pm through to 11pm.

Thanks for reading.

18/01/2023

03/12/2022

Sorry for the lack of promotion but we were unsure if we could put on the open mic in December.....

I can confirm though that it will go ahead on Friday 9th December at The Petri Dish.

Look out for the event being posted shortly !

16/11/2022

We have two slots available for this Friday, if there are any of our musician friends wanting to perform, please get in touch to book the slot.

30/10/2022

Would be great to have some support for our first gig with our new lead guitarist Nick Dutton

27/10/2022

Novembers Open Mic will be held on Friday 18th November.

We might be changing future dates to the third Friday of each month, but will keep you posted on this once confirmed.

11/10/2022

We have an array of musicians coming down to perform this Friday at The Petri Dish get yourselves down there

08/09/2022

We are on the look out for a new lead guitarist.
Send us a message for further details.

03/09/2022

16/08/2022

You can now use the BOOK NOW button on our page to pre book your slot.
Times are in half hour blocks, but actual slots are 20 minutes, the extra ten minutes is for flexibility and changeovers.

Next Open Mic is on Saturday 10th September, then we will be back to the usual second Friday of each month, starting October.

Any questions please message the open mic page or email [email protected]

10/08/2022

Thursday 25th August 8pm - 11pm
Come and join us for a night of live music 🎤🎸🎷
Friendly staff and a great bar 🥂🍻

18/07/2022

It's holiday season and...............

Unfortunately there will not be Open Mic at The Petri Dish in August.

We will be back in September.

Contact Open Mic or [email protected]
to pre-book your slot.

12/07/2022

Come and get your fix of The Drop Downs !

05/07/2022

Unfortunately due to unforeseen circumstances we have had to cancel the Open mic on Friday 8th July.

We apologise to those who were due to perform and to those who were looking forward to seeing some live music.

We will be returning in August.

03/06/2022

It's that time again, a week to go until the next Open Mic.
There are a few slots left and you still have time to book yours.

18/05/2022

What another great open mic

06/05/2022

Are you excited as we are ?

We have performers lined up for the whole evening so if you fancy a night of live music get yourselves down to The Petri Dish on Friday 13th May

20/03/2022

And here's some videos of the musicians from Friday 11th March

20/03/2022

Photos of some of the incredible musicians that came down to perform on Friday 11th March.

05/03/2022

It's time to start getting excited for next Open Mic on Friday 11th March.

We have another full night of entertainment, all bookable slots have been booked leaving just the walk in slots left, looking forward to seeing who may come in and play for us.

As always this isn't just about the performers, we love a party atmosphere so all are welcome to come down and watch and also support the venue.

See you all Friday

25/02/2022

All bookable slots are now taken for the Open Mic on Friday 11th March.
There are two walk in slots available though, one at 7.30pm and one at 8pm

23/02/2022

The Drop Downs having a bit of fun at the Open Mic on 11th February at The Petri Dish

Just another day in the office...

19/02/2022

Go and support The Drop Downs at this Battle of the Bands on Friday 25th February.

So who's coming over to Milton Keynes on Friday 25th February, we need you

17/02/2022

What an amazing night !Can't believe it's nearly been a week since the February Open Mic at The Petri Dish, here's some photo's of the night.

Thanks to all those who came down to support and enjoy the music and to all the musicians who came to perform.

CheWi Music
Cwtsh
The Jeff's
STAG
Annette and Bob
Sebastian
Andrew
The Drop Downs

06/02/2022

All bookable slots have now been taken for Friday 11th February

05/02/2022

Hope you are all as excited as we are.

We have a plethora of artists booked up to perform and there are a couple of walk in slots for those that want to turn up and play.

As always we love a fun atmosphere and the audience is just as important as the performers so spread the word and let's fill the room.

See ya there

17/01/2022

What a great turnout we had for our second Open Mic at The Petri Dish on Friday 14th January hosted by local band The Drop Downs

Thanks to all musicians who got up on stage and shared their songs and equally thank you to those who came down to watch and support the performers.

Here are a selection of photos from the evening and include the following people

Constant Garden Rhythm Machine
Elaine Samuels
Ben White and Thomas Lucas
Kyle Perry
Adam Clark who made the decision on the night to get up and sing with his Dad, David Clark of The Drop Downs
Jamie Gell-Brown who got up and joined in with some backing vocals for the last jam
Benjamin Moore who got up and played bass, drums and tambourine for the last few tracks that we all jammed on

It was a real fun night and we can't wait for the next one in February.

13/01/2022

We are also on Instagram as . Install the app to follow photos and videos. https://www.instagram.com/invites/contact/?i=ddbs1iwta59i&utm_content=n08h71u

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11/12/2021

Hurry, hurry! The Drop Downs prepare the stage for you. Will be ready for the first performer pretty soon. Come and create a really great vibe here at The Petri Dish.

We can sing, we can dance, we can enjoy this night again :)
SEE YOU SOON! 💚

28/10/2021