The Red Light Cafe has attracted a diverse group of musicians and performers to their Wednesday Open Mic Night since opening in the early 90s. Owner and administrator Bill Hoover moved to Atlanta from southern California after being persuaded by his brother Mark, who had already made the move. The two opened the Red Light Cafe in 1992 and started the Wednesday Open Mic Night the following year. Hoover said that he and his brother “grew up in a family that embraced music” and wanted to “provide a place where musicians, who were developing their music, could look forward to playing a stage where original music was appreciated.”
Mark eventually moved back to southern California in 1999, while Hoover stayed put, keeping the Open Mic Night going strong. Now Hoover has 19 years of experience interacting with and booking artists. Regarding these performers, Hoover likes to think of himself “not as much as a booking agent” for them as much as he is “a friend who is grateful for their ongoing support.” The musicians he supports range from genres such as rock, bluegrass, acoustic, hip hop and rap. So many hip hoppers and rappers were showing up on Wednesday nights that Hoover decided to dedicate a night to them on Mondays at seven, saying the “it only made sense to offer them a night to polish their own genre of music.”
Hip Hop Open Mic is still new, but its connection with Wednesdays at Red Light has attracted artists from out of state. Jerome Martin, a.k.a. JR Speakz, came out all the way from Chattanooga, Tennessee. Speakz and his manager were impressed with the scale of the local venue. Like many of Atlanta’s young local artists performing at Red Light, Speakz, 23, has been rapping for about seven years but has only performed one other time. This shows the necessity of venues like the Red Light Cafe for artists like Speakz to practice and collect a fan base. “The red light is an intimate room to see a show” for audiences, said Hoover. Performers and other interested students can indulge their enthusiasm in live music at 553 Amsterdam Avenue, conveniently located about ten minutes away from SCAD. Lineups and schedules are located on the cafe’s website: http://www.redlightcafe.com/.