Open Mic
Intended Audience
Intended Audience – Open to all members including people living with cancer, family members and significant caregivers. Also open to the public.
Program Description
At Open Mic, members are invited to perform, with or without instruments. Members might choose to sing a song, play an instrumental, tell a story, or simply listen and enjoy. It is a safe, relaxed, friendly place where beginners, established musicians, and everyone in between, gather to experience the comfort and joy of music and community.
Benefits and Impact
Music has been shown to play an important role in the lives of people living with cancer. Recent studies find that art- and music-based therapies can have a broad range of beneficial outcomes for cancer survivors, including pain relief, reduced anxiety, decreased fatigue, and improved quality of life (Bosman et al., 2021; Bradt et al., 2016; Köhler et al., 2020; Wood et al., 2011). One study from 2017 found that even simply listening to music may reduce the incidence of pain, anxiety, and drowsiness (Bilgiç & Acaroğlu, 2017).
What to Expect at a Session
A guest performer opens each set after which members take the stage and perform a song or share a story. After each set, a guest host, who is also a musician, encourages discussion and a Q & A about the music, the instruments, the songs and their history or anything that participants are curious about.
Open Mic via online is essentially a solo performance, with other members listening or singing along in their homes with their sound muted. In between songs people can unmute to clap and show their joy, and take part in the discussion.
