The Lizard Lounge Open Mic Challenge is a gauntlet for local talent and a chance for up-and-coming musicians to make their name in the Boston music scene.
This live music club, located in a tiny room inside Cambridge Common in Cambridge, Massachusetts, hosts challenges throughout the year that attracts some of the city’s most talented artists. Those who are in Boston’s music scene know that this is the spot to hear some of the best music in everything from folk to hip-hop.
Music isn’t just background noise in this dark, intimate space. It is the main event and the crowd is there to listen closely to what each performer is bringing to the table. There is no stage and the audience wraps around each musician as they pour their hearts and souls into the microphone.
Of course, the real attraction is the club’s main event that pits the winners of open mic challenges throughout the year against one another. Each performer goes head-to-head against another act before three celebrity judges choose the one who gets a chance at the final round.
The Lizard Lounge Open Mic Challenge was created by former host Tom Bianchi 12 years ago and has seen some of the area’s top musical talents, such as Josh Ritter, perform on the stage.
The honor of hosting this event was recently passed to the gregarious singer/songwriter George Woods who considers the open mic at the Lizard Lounge to be the “best in the country.”
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"It is the grand incubator of the Boston music scene," said Woods. "You never know what you are going to find in here, but you know it is going to be good."
Artists hoping to reach the next level in their music career know that performing at the main event is a chance to get noticed and earn the respect of the community.
Prateek Poddar is a rising singer-songwriter who competed in the main event this summer with hopes to shine on the biggest “small” stage in the city.
"Anyone in Boston should go to this at least once becausme they are going to hear some of the best musicians they’ve never heard of," said Poddar.
We went to the Lizard Lounge to witness the main event firsthand and were blown away by the performances seen throughout the night. See why the Lizard Lounge is the best destination to see some of the best rising musical talent Boston has to offer.
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