Gold Winner Danny Banfield, Freeman’s Little New York, Sackville
Silver Winner Rockbottom Brew Pub
Bronze Winner Rockin’ For Dollars, Reflections Cabaret
Danny Banfield, the affable host of your choice for Best Open Mic Night, is grateful for the win. Usually, Banfield spends his time making others sound good—that’s what a good open mic host does, after all. This year, he changed the name of the event to Freeman’s Sackville FreeJam in an attempt “just call it what it is: It’s an open jam.” A more collaborative affair, the jam gives would-be stars options—play alone, with your own musicians or give the house group a try. Banfield says 75 percent of attendees choose have someone join them, and perhaps because of this, he calls the group a “family of friends.” “We have a wide range of capabilities as far as musicians are concerned,” Banfield says. “From pros down to weekend-warrior guys, when someone new comes we always let them know no one is judging you, this isn’t a contest, these are musical games. We’re all willing to make mistakes. It’s a jam! We all just sit and listen and clap and support and hoot and holler.”