Longest-running Asian American open mic series persists in a changing Little Tokyo

Twenty-five years ago, the very first edition of Tuesday Night Cafe took place outside a defunct church in Little Tokyo, a Georgian-style building with ionic columns where generations of Japanese American used to worship.

The building had been converted into the Union Center for the Arts, and the young Asian American performers gathered in its courtyard were starting their own scene by holding an open-mic night.

So many had been struggling to be taken seriously as artists and find gigs elsewhere in L.A. Leaders at the Little Tokyo Service Center, which had reclaimed the church, happily offered up the unused space, hoping to revive a neighborhood with too many vacant storefronts and streets that emptied at night.

“They said, ‘Use the space for free’ which was the magic word for us,” said co-founder traci kato-kiriyama. “We begged, borrowed and stole equipment, like wherever we could get it, and sort of brought it all together.”

The coutyard of the Union Center for the Arts, a former church, has served as the main home of Tuesday Night Cafe.

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Sophia J. Chang

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A big birthday

Today, Tuesday Night Cafe is the longest-running Asian American open mic series in the country, with seasons running from spring to fall, the shows always falling on a Tuesday.

It also serves as a constant in a neighborhood undergoing massive change because of a surge in popularity and all the trappings that come with it.

A celebration of the series’ milestone birthday is taking place Saturday from 4 to 9 p.m. — not in its usual spot outside the Union Center but at the Terasaki Budokan center to accommodate what will be a larger-than-usual turnout of alumni, volunteers and long-time fans.

A launch pad

Singer-songwriter MILCK plans to attend the “jubilee.” Tuesday Night Cafe is where the musician, whose real name is Connie Lim, first tried out her 2017 viral hit “Quiet” in front of an audience. The song about sexual assault became an unofficial anthem of the #MeToo movement and landed her a record deal and big venue dates. But she’s returned repeatedly to play under the night sky in Little Tokyo.

“They provided a space for so many of us in the AAPI diaspora to feel a sense of belonging and inclusion and acceptance,” MILCK said.

Here's MILCK performing at Tuesday Night Cafe in 2011:

The event on Saturday will feature DJ sets and a performance by Bitter Party, which has played its brand of “ghost pop” music at Tuesday Night Cafe over the years. (Scroll down for more details of the event.)

There will also be, of course, open mic slots that could be filled by anyone – be it poets, comics, singers, even fire jugglers. Performers spanned generations, from singing children to Japanese American elders telling stories of their youth.

“I always thought that it was good to keep people on their toes,” said kato-kiriyama, a writer and performer. “There's an excitement when you don't know what's coming next.”

A place to be vulnerable

Eddy Gana attended their first Tuesday Night Cafe event during the aughts when they were a student at UC Irvine and, as they recall, starved for culture and looking to bond with others over their shared Asian American Pacific Islander identity. They say the hosts encourage clapping and snapping fingers “to give the love back to the artist.”

Sean Miura, lead curator of Tuesday Night Cafe, speaks to volunteers and performers during an event.

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Sophia J. Chang

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“Seeing our AAPI community on a platform, sharing our stories and being vulnerable – particularly those who are queer and proud to be so – it was a very welcoming space to be,” said Gana who has since performed poetry multiple times at Tuesday Night Cafe.

Stephanie Prom, a volunteer and singer, said she’s been to other open mics around L.A.

“It feels competitive almost, like you have to prove something,” Prom said. “Whereas I felt like coming to a place like [Tuesday Night Cafe] it's very much like whatever you bring to the table, people want to hear it.”

TNC’s vibe and multi-disciplinary format were so admired that the series inspired other events to launch around Southern California and beyond— some still operating, others no longer active.

One that’s still going strong is Sunday Jump, an open-mic series in Historic Filipinotown co-founded in 2012 by Gana. The two series have had crossover events in the years since, featuring each others’ regular performers.

“It just helps a lot to have a space where we can talk about our culture and not have to overexplain ourselves,” Gana said.

Saturday’s celebration: If you go

Organizers of Saturday’s celebration at the Terasaki Budokan urge attendees to order tickets here, which are priced on a sliding scale from $5 to $15.

Aside from live music, there will be artists’ workshops and food from Little Tokyo restaurants such as The Park’s Finest and Cafe Dulce.

The band Bitter Party, long-time friends of Tuesday Night Cafe, will perform at Saturday's celebration.

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Earlier arrivals can take part in a 5:30 p.m. drawing for a Mitski concert at the Hollywood Bowl later this month.

Honors will go to local leaders like Evelyn Yoshimura, a leader at the Union Center for the Arts, who supported the creation of Tuesday Night Cafe.

kato-kiriyama still remembers pre-launch advice from Yoshimura from 25 years ago that fits with the come-as-you-are ethos for the series.

“Evelyn, at a certain point, was like, ‘You just need to start. You're gonna make mistakes, and it's okay,’” kato-kiriyama said.