Where creativity gets to breathe.
Some spaces don’t ask you to be louder — they ask you to be truer. ‘The Lovely Open Mic’ at LiBre Dessert Café in Hamburg, New Jersey, hosted by Emmy, is one of those spaces.
Set inside the French-inspired spot offering coffee, tea, and thoughtfully made bites — this open mic creates something rare: a place to slow down. A place to show up without liquid courage. A place where creativity isn’t rushed, filtered, or packaged for performance, but offered honestly.
Anyone can sign up. Music, poetry, spoken word, storytelling — all acts are welcome. When 224 attended, we heard voices singing, poems shared confidence, and words that felt lived-in. Every act carried a quiet bravery — not the loud kind, but the real kind.
What makes this night so special is how gently it pulls people out of autopilot. In our twenties especially, so much of social life revolves around bars, noise, and distraction. This open mic offers an alternative rhythm — one that invites presence and reminds us that creativity can exist without excess.
Emmy Fasbender, the heart behind the night, holds the space with intention and care. Her drive to contribute something meaningful to the community is evident in the way performers are welcomed and supported. She began hosting open mics in 2023—“the opportunity fell into my lap before ever attending an open mic myself, before I ever performed in front of others as an adult”—and in doing so, she unknowingly created something much larger than a single event. What grew from The Lovely Open Mic? It became “a space where anyone can express themselves openly without judgement with or without experience, where strangers have become long time friends and in some cases new romantic partners, where we can leave worldly problems outside the door and enjoy instead the gifts within us that we can freely give to others.” Though the mic had changed locations and endured periods of hiatus, it has survived because of community. As Emmy puts it, “the need for others to gather, to share, to be more than what they are today is why I continue to do what I do.” Meeting her and the people who show up for this night made one thing clear: this is not just an event, but a shared value system—one rooted in openness, connection, and the simple truth that everyone has a story worth sharing.
What unfolds at LiBre is more than entertainment. It’s connection. It’s vulnerability made visible. Phones slip into pockets. Applause becomes genuine. Strangers become witnesses — and sometimes, friends.
These are the spaces we need more of. Slower spaces. Places where creativity doesn’t compete, where truth can be spoken or sung without irony, and where people are allowed to discover new parts of themselves in real time.
The Lovely Open Mic at the café is a reminder that community doesn’t need to be loud to be powerful. Sometimes it looks like a warm drink, a brave voice, and a room full of people choosing to listen.
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