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Open mic sessions and pub sets are a great way to challenge yourself

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MAKING MEMORIES

I read Neville Marten’s piece, ‘The Learning Curve’, (Neville’s Advocate, issue 530). I’m glad – it’s not just me who is having and to have fun! problems learning songs. Neville is an accomplished player, so it was encouraging to hear he has difficulty getting them to stick. I am recently retired on medical grounds, due to a spinal condition and taking a pasting during Covid, which left me with breathing issues, and, for quite a while, some ridiculous brain fog. Being a bedroom player for many years and enjoying jam sessions with friends, I decided to throw my hat in the ring and perform at my friend Steve’s open mic, held on the first Wednesday of the month at the Futurist Cinema, Kidderminster. It took me ages to get three basic songs down, but I did it, as well as playing harp on a couple of Steve’s songs. It was great, and now my name is on the back wall of the stage, and the bucket list is ticked. But the buzz was infectious and I went back the following month to have a go at some open-D slide.