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Gig Calls: Open Now
Somewhere this week, an open mic in Indore has three slots left, a fest in Trichy wants one more band, and a residency in Bengaluru is quietly waiting for someone exactly like you. Nobody told you, because nobody tells anyone. That is the job of this page.
Every call below is open to young and emerging Indian performers: singers, rappers, poets, comics, dancers, players of instruments your neighbours complain about. Closest deadline first. We refresh the list daily and drop anything that has closed.
Open now
Unmukt poetry and storytelling open mics, Delhi and Mumbai
Sign up before: Sunday, 11 October, the day of the show · Delhi and Mumbai · Poets and storytellers. Weekend open mics at a studio in Palam, Delhi, plus a Mumbai edition at Rasa The Stage. Register on Wootick.
District raas-garba competition, Gujarat youth and culture department, Ahmedabad
Apply by: Tuesday, 13 October · Ahmedabad · Garba and raas teams. Teams of 12 to 16 dancers plus four accompanists; ages 14 to 35 for garba and 14 to 40 for raas, in separate rural and city sections. Paper forms go to the district office in Thaltej by 6 pm. Details in the news report.
Zila Yuva Utsav, Munger district round, Bihar art and culture department, Munger
Apply by: Friday, 16 October · Event: Saturday, 24 October · Munger · Ages 15 to 29. Group folk dance, group folk song, poetry writing and oratory, at the fort auditorium. District winners go on to the state round and then the national youth festival. Details in the news report.
Inter-collegiate Sugam Sangeet competition, Dadar Matunga Cultural Centre, Mumbai
Sign up before: Sunday, 25 October, the day of the show · Mumbai · College singers. A light music (sugam sangeet) competition for college students, starting at 10 am. The entry form is on the centre’s site. Apply on the organiser’s site.
Jaipur Open Mic, Voice of Words at Gypsy Monkey, Jaipur
Sign up before: Sunday, 25 October, the day of the show · Jaipur · Any form, rap included. Twenty slots of eight minutes each, and every performer gets a free shot-and-edited video of their set. Rs 299 to perform, Rs 99 to watch. Register on AllEvents.
Sham-e-Baithak, Swantay Sukh at A Thursday Cafe, Nagpur
Sign up before: Sunday, 25 October, the day of the show · Nagpur · Any form. A baithak-style open mic from 5.30 to 8 pm in Dharampeth Extension, and every performer goes home with a gift. Register on AllEvents.
Ghar: an open mic for stories and poems, Tape A Tale, Patna
Sign up before: Sunday, 25 October, the day of the show · Patna · Storytellers and poets. Names go into a hat on stage and ten are drawn for five minutes each, in Hindi, English or Hinglish. Ticketed, 4 to 5.30 pm at Kreativ Beings, Patliputra Colony. Register on AllEvents.
Comic Kaun and Battle Underground, Antaragni ’26, IIT Kanpur
Apply by: not announced yet · Several cities · Stand-up comics, rappers and beatboxers. City prelims across India, with the winners meeting at the finals on campus. The stand-up form asks for links to your performance videos and how many open mics you have done. Apply on the organiser’s site.
Nasha Mukt Bharat Music and Rap Competition, Ministry of Youth Affairs
Apply by: Thursday, 10 December · Online · Rappers, 15 to 29. Solo or crews of up to 10, original lyrics in any Indian language, on an anti-drugs theme. Winners move up from district to state to national rounds. Apply on MY Bharat.
How to read a listing
- Apply by is the last day to apply, not the day of the gig. Sign up before means the organiser takes names right up to the show, and the good slots go first. Apply early anyway; organisers are human and their inboxes are not.
- Who can apply comes straight from the organiser. If it says students only, it means students only.
- Links go to the organiser, their ticketing page, or the news report that announced the call, never through us. CULSEQ does not charge anyone for a listing and never asks you for money to perform. If an organiser charges, the listing says so.
- Under 18? Loop in a parent or guardian before you sign up for anything. The good organisers will ask for them anyway.
Running a call? Get it listed
Open mic, fest competition, audition, residency, grant, collab: if young performers can enter it and it is free or fairly priced, send it to us through the contact form with the deadline, who can apply and the link. Listings are free and editors pick what goes up.
Want the stories behind the calls? Everything we have written about auditions, entries and open stages lives in Gig Calls.