Open mic & jam directory

Where to play in Vancouver this week

A verified directory of Vancouver’s recurring open mics, jam nights, and open sessions, grouped by day of the week — the on-ramp into the scene for new musicians.

Entries marked All ages are verifiably open to performers under 19.

Every entry carries the date we last verified it. Open mics die quietly — if the room is a bus ride away, check the venue’s socials first. Run one of these? Corrections via the contact page.

Monday

Club 100 Jam

ANAF Club 100 (East Vancouver) · Weekly

Time
7 – 11 PM (skips holiday Mondays)
Signup
Show up and get on the list — veterans' club, guests welcome
Genre
Rock, blues, country — multi-genre
Cost
Free (club prices at the bar)

The Army, Navy & Air Force veterans' club in East Van holds down Monday nights — the same unpretentious formula as the Legion jams: a hall, a stage, cheap drinks, and a list that works through everyone who signs up. It skips statutory-holiday Mondays, so check before trekking out on a long weekend. A solid answer to the hardest question in the directory: where can you play on a Monday?

Last verified July 16, 2026

Sources

Pacific Bluegrass Jam

The Anza Club · Weekly

Time
7 PM – midnight, September through June (summer Mondays move to Trout Lake)
Signup
Drop-in circle jam; first Monday of the month is Sue Malcolm's beginner-friendly Slow Pitch jam
Genre
Bluegrass, old-time
Cost
Low cover / society membership

The Pacific Bluegrass and Old-Time Music Society has held Mondays at the Anza for decades, running acoustic circle jams rather than a stage-and-list format — you sit in, take a break when it comes around, and pass it on. The first Monday of each month is the Slow Pitch jam, deliberately paced for beginners, which makes it one of the gentlest on-ramps in the city for acoustic players. Note the season: September through June at the Anza, with informal summer jams at Trout Lake instead.

Last verified July 16, 2026

Sources

Tuesday

End of the Line Jam

Princeton Pub & Grill · Weekly

Time
8:30 PM – 12:30 AM
Signup
Show up and talk to the hosts — house band opens, then the list works through the room
Genre
Blues, rock, roots — multi-genre
Cost
Free

The longest-running fixture on Powell Street's east end: Sandy Bone and Double D hold down a house band that can back you on almost anything, so you don't need to bring a full act — just your instrument and a couple of tunes. The room is friendly to first-timers and the list moves fast enough that you'll actually get up. Expect a blues-leaning crowd that will absolutely follow you somewhere weirder if you play it with conviction.

Last verified July 16, 2026

Sources

Wednesday

Anza Club Blues Jam

The Anza Club · Twice a month

Time
7 – 11 PM, first and third Wednesdays
Signup
Drop-in — work through the standards with whoever shows up
Genre
Blues
Cost
Low cover (membership club — cheap annual memberships at the door)

Twice a month the Anza's upstairs room turns into a blues workshop: old standards, rotating players, and a crowd that has heard every 12-bar in the book and still claps. The Anza is a members' club, so budget a few dollars for a membership your first time — it's the cheapest cover in town amortized over a year. Gear-wise you're mostly covered by the house PA and drum kit, but bring your own axe.

Last verified July 16, 2026

Sources

The Gander Jam

LanaLou's · Twice a month

Time
8:30 PM – midnight, first and third Wednesdays
Signup
Drop-in — improv format; short curated opening sets, then open grooves
Genre
Groove-based improv, funk, jam
Cost
By donation / low cover

A groove-based improv jam on the first and third Wednesday of every month, with a rotating cast that has pulled in members of Five Alarm Funk, Bend Sinister, and Brass Camel. This isn't a take-a-number songwriter mic — you'll be jamming with strangers, so bring ears as much as chops. Backline and PA are handled; the hosts fold new players in without ceremony, and short opening sets spotlight up-and-coming locals.

Last verified July 16, 2026

Sources

Thursday

Commercial Drive Legion Jam

Grandview Legion #179 · Weekly

Time
7 – 11 PM
Signup
Show up and get on the list — Legion hall, guests welcome
Genre
Rock, blues, country — multi-genre
Cost
Free (Legion prices at the bar)

The Grandview Legion on the Drive runs one of the most reliable weekly jams in East Van — a proper hall with a stage, cheap Legion drink prices, and a mixed-age crowd of lifers and newcomers. The list is welcoming but the regulars can really play, so treat it as a room to level up in rather than coast. You don't need to be a Legion member to jam; sign in as a guest at the door.

Last verified July 16, 2026

Sources

The Painted Ship Open Mic

The Painted Ship · Weekly

Time
7:30 – 11:30 PM
Signup
Sign up through the venue's calendar page or in person; a featured artist opens each week
Genre
Multi-genre — songwriters, bands, collaborations
Cost
Free

Kitsilano's entry in the circuit, run out of the West Broadway gastropub with a weekly featured-artist slot ahead of the open list. The framing is explicitly social — perform, jam, collaborate — so it skews toward musicians looking for future bandmates as much as stage reps. The west-side location means less competition for slots than the East Van rooms; if the Drive lists fill up before you get there, this is the workaround.

Last verified July 16, 2026

Sources

Trees Organic Open MicAll ages

Trees Organic Coffee (Granville) · Weekly

Time
7 – 10 PM
Signup
In-house sign-up sheet when the host arrives; regulars reserve slots ahead through the host
Genre
Singer-songwriter, spoken word, comedy — anything goes
Cost
Free (buy a coffee)

One of the longest-running open mics in the city, hosted by Marq DeSouza in the Granville Street café — and the only entry on this list that's verifiably all-ages, which makes it the default answer if you're under 19 and want stage time. Sets run two to three songs or ten to fifteen minutes depending on the list, and the café setting means people actually listen. No backline beyond the mics — bring your own instrument, acoustic-friendly.

Last verified July 16, 2026

Sources

Saturday

Saturday Jam with Mike Van Eyes

LanaLou's · Weekly

Time
4 – 7 PM
Signup
Pro guest set first, then an open jam — talk to the host between sets
Genre
Rock, blues, multi-genre
Cost
$15 at the door

A Saturday-afternoon hybrid: host Mike Van Eyes opens with a featured pro set, then the stage opens up to the room. The $15 cover makes this the priciest entry on this list, but you're paying for a real house PA, a sound tech, and an audience that came to listen. Good middle step if a late-night pub list feels like a scrum — daylight hours, seated room, and you're home by eight.

Last verified July 16, 2026

Sources

Sunday

Ivanhoe Sunday Afternoon Jam

The Ivanhoe Pub · Weekly

Time
4 – 8 PM
Signup
Show up and get on the list — full backline provided (PA, mics, amp, drum kit)
Genre
Rock, blues, country — whatever the room brings
Cost
Free

The self-styled "legendary" Sunday afternoon jam at the Main Street institution across from Pacific Central — cheap drinks, pool tables, and a full backline so you can walk in with nothing but a set of sticks. The crowd is genuinely mixed, from DTES regulars to students, and nobody is grading you. Daylight hours make it one of the lowest-stakes ways to play your first bar stage in Vancouver.

Last verified July 16, 2026

Sources

Lynn Valley Legion Jam

Lynn Valley Legion (North Vancouver) · Monthly — last Sunday

Time
3 – 6 PM
Signup
House band backs guest players — put your name in when you arrive
Genre
Rock, blues, country — multi-genre
Cost
Free (Legion prices at the bar)

Once a month, on the last Sunday, the Lynn Valley Legion's house band opens the stage to guests for a mid-afternoon session — the most structured entry on this list, closer to sitting in with a working band than a free-for-all jam. That's a feature if you want to hear yourself backed properly for the first time. North Van location, done by six, and the house band famously breaks for a roast dinner at four.

Last verified July 16, 2026

Sources