Reading · Embrace’s Substack

*Morningside Lane at the Open Mic on July 8, 2026*

Wednesday August 12 - Music Open Mic @Madison Arts Center. Sign up - 7pm / 7:30-10pm mic. Everyone gets 1-2 songs (10mins max). First come, first serve. Happens every 2nd Wednesday. We have a Steinway Piano, cajon drum, bass & guitar amps you can use. Thank you all for filling up the list again and respecting the stage time!
Please arrive a little earlier if you want to get a spot on the list when it goes out at 7pm. The first 15 to sign up will get a spot, anyone after will be waitlisted. If the list is over 15 people next month, we will try 1 song per performer and see how it goes.
Friday August 14 - Come Original Showcase @Summer Stage, Madison Arts → MORE INFO← + vendors: like magick (crystals, rocks, jewelry), Good Days in Brooklyn (Crochet pals), and MEXI-BOYS Food Truck! These events are rain or shine. If it rains, it will be inside!
6:00-6:45 dt’s
7:00-8:00 Bryan Hansen Band
6-8pm | All Ages | FREE | BYOB
Sponsored by Madison Downtown Development Commission
Friday August 28 - 4th Fridays Unplugged @ The Asbury Hotel - Featuring: Erika Sherger, Alejandro Ataucusi, and The Sunken City.
7-10pm | All Ages

*The host and performer at the weekly open mic in Portland*

and WOW what a cool city! I went to an open mic that happens every Sunday night at Laurelthirst Public House, the oldest independent music venue in Portland. The host, Lucas Benoit, was so engaging and funny and I loved how he ran the mic. He had somewhere around 22 people sign up with each act doing one song. ONE SONG. It made me think, maybe we could try this out. The music mic at Madison Arts has been consistently full and normally has a wait-list. I’m thinking we could try it out next month and see how it goes, especially if the list is over 15 people. This would give everyone an equal chance at performing (at dare I say, a reasonable hour) and maybe even give us a little more time at the end to network with other musicians.

The live music and art culture in Portland was so vibrant; it was refreshing to see. There were tons of murals, art collectives and alternative spaces, music events, and just great energy for creatives in general. The city is very community driven with lots of different community spaces, including worker owned restaurants and shared artist workshop spaces.

The Last Thursday Art Walk in Alberta was a cool street market that happens 10 months out of the year on the last Thursday of the month. It closes off fifteen blocks (only in the summer) to showcase local vendors, live music, art gallery opening parties, and we even saw a dog trainer demonstration.

Fun fact: They call Portland the Rose City, which is what Madison is coined. Is that a sign?

Everyone in Portland was SO friendly. We would enter a store or restaurant and be immediately greeted with a “Welcome in”. There were many great things about this city, but the thing that I could easily get used to is that Portland is the most vegan friendly place in the country. It was very cool to see so many vegan restaurants and omni restaurants with a thoughtful vegan menu. Why can’t New Jersey be more vegan friendly?! People talk about how AI is bad for the environment, but eating animals is far worse, just saying. Side note: I am not a fan of AI. It’s very obvious when people use AI flyers; I won’t even look at them. We need to support our local artists and outsource the job to them!

One more thing I’d like to share about Portland is that it was super easy to use public transportation. We would hop on the bus and go all over. The best part is, after you pay twice ($5.60) you get an all day pass! It’s safe to say we took advantage of this. The bus runs similarly to a subway train in NYC, but better and more efficiently.