Grossman's Tavern Open Mic - Brian Cober & the Nationals

What could be said about the Toronto music scene without the inclusion of the famous Grossman's Tavern www.grossmanstavern.com on Spadina. It has been touted as the  longest running open mic in Toronto, since 1948, every Sunday night. Recently, there was a tribute to the former bar manager Ms. Louie for her passion and dedication to the Toronto music scene. She passed away at an early age of 45 and many of the local performers came to celebrate her life.

However, I come to celebrate all the young musicians, travellers, and artists, who are looking for the venue to showcase their talents. Every Sunday evening starting at 10:00 pm is the Blues Open Mic led by Brian (Double Slide) Cober, www.briancober.com  known for his unique guitar playing style using the double slide technique he invented. He has a wide repetoire of blues songs, and often opens the night with a set or two of his music before opening up the stage.

There is usually alot of talent that shows up on a Sunday evening, and I refer to it as the unemployed jam, as the people that stay out late on Sunday, obviously do not have to work on Monday mourning. Not too many lawyers or doctors in the crowd!

I have met musicians from Brazil, Nova Scotia and Eastern europe who find out about Grossman's and come to share their talents.The crowd can be a little rough, as I have had some close calls with intoxicated, street people, leering at my dates. However, I find this all quite entertaining, and most drunks leave politely without causing any damages. After all, this is Toronto the Good. The musicians however, can be very passionate and eclectic, making this jam an interesting urban experience.

Brian Cober, the lead singer and jam leader has a busy night trying to select the appropriate act to put on stage, as there is no sign up sheet. He has a great sense of music by rotating the performers from vocalists to ukilelists to harp players, and sometimes putting them together to see how it flies.

For an evening of urban culture, in Toronto's longest running open mic jam, check out Grossman's Tavern on a Sunday night.

Rock On,


The Adventure Guy