Roisin Dubh’s Online Open Mic rallies Galway’s live music community in uncertain times

Over 300 people have tuned into the Roisin Dubh’s online open mic night from their homes, as the venue has had to temporarily close due to Covid-19.

Local musician Tracy Bruen has organised the Roisin’s Sunday Open Mic Night for nine years. The night has become a staple for musicians and music lovers in Galway.

“People travel from all over the country to perform at the open mic every Sunday, and our regular audience is always growing.” Tracy said.

“So it’s a really special night focused on the open mic family, which is a supportive and welcoming community”.

When the government advised that pubs and venues should close to fight the spread of the Covid-19 virus, Tracy wanted to find a way to keep the open mic community going.

“When the Covid-19 crisis started, I started thinking about what was going to happen to all of Galway’s musicians and the people who look forward to the event every week.

So I posted online about doing a virtual open mic night, and the response was pretty massive. 300 people tuned in, the reach was beyond anything I could have anticipated,” she said.

Tracy, a teacher, acknowledged that many of her fellow musicians have been “completely devastated by pubs closing, in terms of loss of income”.

 Roisin Dubh co-owner Gugai said that they do not know when the venue will be able to open it’s doors to the public again.

“The online open mic night was “such an incredible thing to watch. We are so proud of Tracy for pulling it together,” Gugai said.

Tune in this Sunday at 9 pm on the Facebook page ‘Open Mic Night at Roisin Dubh’, where Tracy says you can expect “top quality craic, brilliant original tunes and covers, and to interact with the musicians by messaging in!”