Helsinki Hudson Launches Virtual Open Mic Night

Club Helsinki Hudson has launched a virtual open mic that streams live on Tuesdays at 7pm on the Club Helsinki Virtual Open Mic page at http://clubhelsinki.live, where broadcasts will be archived for viewing after the fact. The virtual open mic blends performers livestreaming their contributions with pre-recorded segments and footage drawn from Helsinki's extensive video archive.

Local, regional, and national artists who have been featured include Tommy Stinson, Tony Kieraldo, Wavy Gravy, Kiki Dufault, Rick Warren, Ryder Cooley, Poor Boy, Upper Level, Wally Hughes, Patricia Santos, Joey Eppard, Ed Smyth, Liz LoGiudice, and Tim Fogarty.

The Club Helsinki Virtual Open Mic page offers a link through which performers can submit material for consideration.

The latest virtual open mic - episode 3 -- included several tributes to the late singer-songwriter John Prine, who succumbed to COVID19 last week.

"At a time like this, musicians, performers and audiences are hungry for the kind of community-based entertainment efforts that Helsinki's open-mic night provides," said Cameron Melville, a co-owner of Helsinki Hudson with Deborah McDowell and Marc Schafler and host of the weekly open-mic. Musician and multidisciplinary artist Ryder Cooley co-hosts the event.

"We are thrilled that technology enables us to use the Internet as a platform for these weekly gatherings," said Melville. "Nothing beats live entertainment, but in the meantime, our Virtual Open Mic is the next best thing, and a good way to keep our communal ties connected until we can reconvene in real life."

Helsinki Hudson restaurant, nightclub, and event space shuttered its doors on March 13 for the safety of its staff, patrons, and the general community. While a small handful of essential, full-time employees continue in their jobs, working from home managing Helsinki's daily affairs and planning for the future, many of the venue's long-time kitchen staff, servers, bartenders, and nightclub personnel will remain without work until the threat passes and Helsinki Hudson is able to reopen. A crowdfunding campaign has been launched on their behalf.

The campaign, called Help Support the Staff at Helsinki Hudson, uses the GoFundMe platform and is available at https://bit.ly/2Rlyezu