Well – the second El Golfo open mic was smoother than the first, a little bit smaller turn-out wise, a little bit bigger tips (for the feature) wise and all-in-all probably reflected pretty close to how I’d like the thing to run. Figuring out how to make my breakdown a LOT swifter would be great because I have the suspicion that eventually the staff will want to beat me with their mops and things, but that’s MY problem. The actual open mic portion, however – was awesome.
Rob Gould. 
A surprise visitor! Loralyn Coles from across the river! Michael Gerber was a regular at Busboys, glad he’s found us here. The marvelous Jean Bayou. 3/5 Silver Strings. Hrm, the room actually was pretty packed, this makes it look a little sparse, but … it’s not!
Annette Wasilik and Talking House
I’m not sure how long I’ve known about Annette, but I think she turned up in my Life while I was running the Republic open mic. I remember being surprised by the smokiness of what she delivered, the interesting chords… I remember really enjoying her from the get-go.
Since then she seems to have really exploded onto the local scene, and recently, teamed up with Brian on guitar and Jeff Karn on mandolin, she’s been putting together a really solid performance that continues to just make me joyous, whether she’s talking about kids or romance of the end of the world.
Annette Wasilik and Talking House. … joined by Nicole Belanus.
The El Golfo open mic is made possible in part through the support of Dave Eisner and the House of Musical Traditions. Our featured artists are supported through the generous donations of our audience! Gallery here : http://www.ilyaimy.com/wordpress/2020/01/08/january-8th-2020-djangolaya-at-the-first-el-golfo-open-mic/
Video here: https://youtu.be/ZlA8o5KbQxk
Jimmy Stewart surprised me by coming down from Baltimore a second time! Debbie Bucci. Kate Buckholdt. Sam Moten. Neema Meena. Skip! Nicole Belanus. Joey Jenkins bringing on a new song… which ALSO has “cyanide” in it. Weird, no? A surprise-visit from Joe Credit of the Vine Brothers – he’s just moved to Baltimore!
The El Golfo open mic happens every Wednesday at El Golfo in Silver Spring, MD. Signup at 6:30pm, performances at 7.30pm. 2 songs / 10 minutes whichever’s shorter, with a family-friendly environment – and is hosted by rob Hinkal of the band ilyAIMY. Rob’s Open Mics were declared a National Open Mic by Shure Microphones, “Best of DC” from Dcmusicdownload.com and have received recognition from the Library of Congress.
Tonight we were graced with:
- Linc Bradham
- Rob
- Rob Gould
- Loralyn Coles
- Michael Gerber
- Jean Bayou
- 3/5 Silver Strings
- Annette Wasilik and Talking House
- Jimmy Stewart
- Debbie Bucci
- Kate Buckholdt
- Unnamed String Band
- Sam Moten
- Neema Meena
- Skip
- Nicole Belanus
- Joey Jenkins
- Joe Credit
