An iconic music bar in Sheffield has hosted its final open mic ahead of its permanent closure this weekend.
On Thursday evening, Sheffield said farewell to the legendary open mic at the Green Room after 21 years. Over the last two decades, the venue has been a staple of Sheffield nightlife for local musicians and patrons of the arts.
Glenn Jackson, who founded the bar’s open mic night back in 2005, said: “I do the sound, I do the announcing, I do the promoting and I’ll even collect glasses if they need me to.”
The bar has consistently remained a fixture in Sheffield’s music scene throughout the years, putting on gigs and live acts with local artists and people in mind.
Mr Jackson said: “I’ll be very sad about it ending. It’s 22 years now we’ve been going and I think that’s because we’ve always concentrated on grassroots artists, people that don’t get a look in anywhere else.”
Poet Rosie Murphy, who has attended the open mic for 10 years said: “It’s definitely the end of an era. Glenn’s been doing this for 21 years now which is older than some of the people who come.
“Even the colour, the green room and the green lights. It’s like a fairy tale.”
Over the years, the night became massively popular due to their wide range of equipment, which organiser Glenn Jackson built up over the years. When the event started, it was far smaller.
Mr Jackson said: “There was one guitar and one microphone, now it’s a full band.”
The green room will be taken over by WaterBear, a music college, who have confirmed it will reopen as the WaterBear Green Room in time for Tramlines weekend.
The bar is putting on a collection of their best acts this weekend as a thank you to those who have supported them over the years.
Mr Jackson said: “We are on our last weekend. We’ve got the best of Sheffield on Friday, which is four great acts that have played at the open mic night for years and then Saturday night we have a DJ finishing us off. That’s it.”
The venue will close as locals know it on the 25 of May.