Tuesday Open Mic Information

Every Tuesday is Open Mic Night With NO COVER

Open Mike Poetry 6 PM to 9 PM.

The Ruta Maya Open Mic poetry reading is one of the longest running weekly open mics in Texas. Originally starting in 1995, thousands of poets from Central Texas and all of the populated continents on Earth have performed on the Ruta Maya stage. Hosted by David Bates, the open mike opens with a “Round Robin” open mic with no sign up list from 6 to 7 PM followed by a “Sign Up List” open mic from 7 PM to 9 PM.

Donations of canned goods and non-perishable food items are requested at Open Mic Poetry for the Poets Pantry. The Poets Pantry is a community outreach project by the poetry community on behalf of those who are homeless and stateless and also assists homeless poets with food and clothing when necessary.

Open Mike MUSIC 9 PM to 1 AM

The Music Open Mike is from 9 PM to 1 AM.

Sign up for Open Mike is at 8:30 PM upstairs above the coffee bar with performance order by lottery.

It is not possible to call Ruta Maya and be put on the sign up list.

There is a Ruta Maya House Band available on Tuesdays during open mic that will provide accompaniment if desired.

Performance time is three songs or 20 minutes, which ever is less.

Recordings can be made of Open Mic performances and CDs of these recordings are available to the artist for a $10 fee. Please let the sound man know in advance there is a request to be recorded.

Musician and Event Booking Information

Ruta Maya International Headquarters is an all ages venue and hosts a varied array of performers and events, including rock, reggae, jazz, funk, bluegrass and folk music.

1. Due to a change in our booking policy, it is no longer possible to pay a promotion fee and schedule the venue simply based on venue availability.


2. Before you make a request for a specific date or time period, please check our online calendar. We are generally booked about three months in advance.


3. Ruta Maya International Headquarters has many facets. Even though we are a coffee shop and community center by day, we are also one of the largest live music venues in South Austin. There are many excellent smaller coffee shops and venues in South Austin that may be a better fit for you if you are just starting out or do not have a substantial fan base to draw on.


4. If you are just starting out or do not currently have the ability to draw a substantial audience, please consider playing our open mic on Tuesdays. Open mic is not amateur night at Ruta Maya, but an excellent way to introduce yourself to a no cover audience at Ruta Maya.


5. Music at Ruta Maya on the weekends generally goes from 9 PM until 2 AM. For this reason, it is unusual for us to book a single artist or band. Often we work with promoters or a band that have put together a bill of at least two artists and often three to fill the evening.


6. If you get a booking at Ruta Maya, the most important thing you can do is to PROMOTE YOUR SHOW. Hang posters at Ruta Maya at least THREE WEEKS before your show. Use your email list. Hand out flyers. Contact radio stations such as KUT, KOOP 91.7, 101X, KGSR and KLBJ. Make sure your friends and family attend your show. We love to see Ruta Maya full of smiling, happy and all ages faces.


7. Do NOT count on a built in crowd at Ruta Maya, especially if you are charging cover. While Ruta Maya has many loyal and valuable regular customers, at shows with cover they often stay on the porch where we provide window service.


8. We are fortunate to have many talented members of the Austin music scene playing at Ruta Maya on a regular basis. Please consider coming to some of our shows or stopping by for coffee or attending yoga or a community class during the day to see what Ruta Maya is all about. We are a unique and wonderful place. Thank you for your interest in Ruta Maya International Headquarters.

Sundays are booked by Curt Ganem. You can contact Curt at LivingStage at Yahoo dot com.

Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays are booked by Sandy McCrory. You can contact Sandy at McCrory at AustinTex dot com.

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