The What Have You (TWHY) is an open mic every 1st & 3rd Weds at Evening Star Cafe and a concert series at various venues around Northern Virginia.
We encourage bands, jams, one-offs, and generally screwing around. It’s like a house party or a Jon Brion show.
Next Show
FEB 18: Open Mic
(Twin Cities Night)
about the open mic
The What-Have-You (TWHY) music open mic at Evening Star Cafe mixes solo performers, bands, and pickup jams together in a loose, industry-night-style environment.
This is a musicians’ hang, hosted by musicians for musicians who want to maybe perform or maybe just hang out on a weeknight. The vibes are casual and comfortable, with a touch of music snobbiness, but not hipster snootiness. And there are, of course, plenty of Lebowski references. And good beer.
Please abide.
there are rules, smokey
Every 1st & 3rd Weds
Signups at 8, start at 8:30
No email/advanced signups
Solos, combos, & bands
Lots of available free agents
Drums stop at 10:30 (noise)
Full backline, don’t bring amps
Each act gets 2 songs
We shuffle the signup order
is this a…what day is this?
THE OPEN MIC HAS THEME NIGHTS. The first Weds is an “any songs” night, while the third Weds is typically a “theme” night. The idea is, each act has to play one song that somehow satisfies the theme.
Also, in 2026, we’re doing NON-OPEN MIC SPECIAL ENGAGEMENTS.
Here’s the upcoming schedule:
| DATE | DETAILS |
|---|---|
| WEDS FEB 18 | Twin Cities Night: Songs by artists from Minneapolis/St. Paul The Replacements, Husker Du, Soul Asylum, The Jayhawks, Babe in Toyland, Lizzo, Semisonic, Atmosphere, and of course Prince and Bob Dylan. |
| WEDS MAR 4 | No Theme |
| WEDS MAR 18 | Ladies Night: Songs by Female Artists Dudes welcome, but please play a song by a non-dude. |
| WEDS APR 1 | No Theme / Songs About Fools (optional) |
| SUN APR 12 | The What Have You Presents: Music of 1986 at Galactic Panther Our first special engagement of the year. Lineup TBD. Not an open mic. $18 |
| WEDS APR 15 | National Librarians Day Night: Songs about Books & Nerds Based solely on the music video, “Africa” by Toto qualifies. |
| WEDS MAY 6 | No Theme |
| WEDS MAY 20 | Debut Albums Night: Songs from First Records Don’t overthink whether is has to be self-released, an indie label, or a major label debut. |
| WEDS JUN 3 | No Theme |
| WEDS JUN 17 | The Soundtracks of Our Lives Night: Songs from Movies and TV Or the band The Soundtracks of Our Lives if you really wanna be literal. |
| WEDS JUL 1 | No Theme |
| WEDS JUL 15 | Punk vs Funk Night: Never Mind the Bollocks/Bellbottoms Rock your ass off or groove your ass off. Do both and win a prize*. * – not actually |
| More shows in the works… |
lotta ins, lotta outs
your hosts
TWHY is organized and hosted by Del Ray locals Greg Roth and Gabe Fry.
Both have played in numerous bands at numerous venues (sometimes together).
They’ve collectively played the 930 Club, State Theatre, Black Cat, Iota (rip), Rock and Roll Hotel (rip), Galaxy Hut, Jaxx (good riddance just kidding), a parking lot at SXSW, and various empty office buildings for Artomatic.
They’re good men. But not thorough.
open mic
Yes, that is what the signup sheet looks like.
We ask that you signup with
– your name
– solo, duo, band, etc
– your instrument(s)
– if you have a song for the theme on theme nights
We don’t necessarily follow the order of signups, opting instead to establish a nice flow and make switches as the night dictates.
Calling for volunteers to join your jam is encouraged.
Drums stop at 10:30 due to the neighbors. We keep going tho.
backline
We provide a full backline and your basic rock instrument lineup:
Acoustic guitar (s) w/ DI boxes
2-3 electric guitars with pedal boards and 2 tube guitar amps
1 bass + amp
1 88-key keyboard + amp
Full drum set (cymbals/snare/sticks/brushes/mallets/rods and all)
Drum rug which really ties the room together
Full PA system with 3-4 vocal mics
Horn section (sometimes)
you can imagine where it goes from here
You can direct questions to the hosts at thewhathaveyoumusic@gmail.com. Please email ahead if you have any “special requests” or “can I do this” inquiries.