No Requests Night
⚡ Original music only. No covers.
Original music. An intimate atmosphere. Ten-minute standard slot.
Pick your night
Book a free slot
Full backline provided
Staggeringly Good Night
🎵 Originals and covers welcome.
Originals and covers welcome. A lively crowd. Ten-minute standard slot.
Open Nights
How They Work
Both nights follow the same format. Come along, play if you have a slot, and hang around for the rest of the evening.
Feature Slot
We start each night with a twenty-minute feature set. The main act gets a bit more space to settle in and feel comfortable before the room fills up.
Standard Slots
Ten minutes on stage. Two or three songs, a friendly atmosphere and a chance to share what you've been working on.
End-of-Night Jam
Open to everyone whether you played earlier or not. Try something new, jump in on someone else's idea or just see what happens.
All Levels Welcome
Beginners, regulars and seasoned players all share the same bill. All you need is a passion for live music.
Common Questions
FAQ
No Requests Night (Monday) is originals only. Casemates Studios is a genuine listening room, and the crowd reflects that. Attentive, warm, genuinely there for the music. If you're showcasing original material and want people to listen intently, this is your night.
Staggeringly Good Night (Thursday) is open to originals and covers. The brewery setting brings a livelier atmosphere and a crowd that's there to have a good time. Louder, more energetic, and a great room to shake off nerves or test new material with an enthusiastic audience.
Yes. No booking needed to come as an audience member, just show up. Both nights are good places to see what is happening in Portsmouth's grassroots scene and catch acts that are genuinely breaking through.
Most of our regulars started as audience members. It's a good way to get a feel for the room before you play.
We hated turning people away when we ran out of time, and it was happening more often than we were comfortable with. Pre booking means everyone on the list knows their spot is secure.
It's pre-booking only now. Sign up ahead of the night and your slot is guaranteed.
The only time you can jump on without a booking is if someone doesn't show up. If their slot goes spare, we'll open it to whoever is in the room.
There aren't many places to play live at the moment, so keeping a fair rotation for newcomers and long time contributors really matters.
Standard Slot
One per open mic night. You can hold one for Monday and one for Thursday.
Featured Artist Slot
A twenty minute set you can apply for. You can't hold a standard slot at the same time.
End of Night Jam
Open to everyone, even if you already have a booking earlier in the night.
Guesting, jamming or backing up a friend does not count towards your bookings. It's for genuine collaborations, not a way to build a longer set by having every band member sign up separately. Please use it in that spirit.
Fairness matters. Every act gets the same shot at the room, and we run each slot on a timer so nobody gets short changed.
It's ten minutes each. If the timer runs out mid song, please cut it as naturally as you can so the night keeps moving.
If you want a longer set, you can apply for a twenty minute Featured Artist slot.
Feature slots are twenty minutes and are applied for rather than booked directly. We select acts based on how their material fits the night.
To apply, head to the Events and Opportunities page and fill in the form. Let us know which night you're aiming for and link us to your music. We'll come back to you directly.
For night-specific details including venue, gear, arrival times, and what to bring, head to the event page.
Monday Night
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Thursday Night