Just Love Coffee Cafe Open Mic Night
In a lightly populated area outside of Atlanta, you’ll find Just Love Coffee Tributary in Douglasville. Situated among a cluster of restaurants facing a newly built residential complex, Just Love Coffee Cafe had a sign outside its glass doors that afternoon announcing Open Mic Night, an event which happens every second Saturday.
On this Saturday, August 9th, the host, Bonnie Harvey, took the stage and reflected upon those gathered. Some nights the seats are filled and the audience is lively, and some nights only half the tables are taken and the crowd is more mellow. She predicted that this evening would be the latter, though those in attendance clapped loudly to welcome each performer to the stage, and applauded raucously at the end of each act, so perhaps they were not as low key as first predicted.
Just Love Coffee Cafe open mic began with a prayer led by Bonnie. Then she performed an inspiring spoken word poem, one of her shortest, before calling up the first reader to the stage. Those who signed up that night were a diverse range of creatives, from a writer who read form and free verse poetry, to a poet who read an ode he wrote decades ago dedicated to a man who would one day become his husband.
Another spoken word poet read a piece for Coretta Scott King, and then a young writer who could not have been more than 10 years old went to the mic and read three short pieces about her summer vacation and rising up to challenges. It was for this young guest that the host asked at the beginning of the event that everyone choose pieces to perform that did not have f-bombs or did not go too deep into adult themes. Everyone happily obliged, for it was inspiring that this young writer was in attendance and decided to read in front of a room full of adults.
A guitarist sat down on the stool in front of the mic and strummed out popular melodies from the 80s, 90s, and 2000s, while the audience guessed the titles of the songs played. A saxophonist lauded the eclectic range of pieces performed that evening before going into a soulful jazz number that he created himself.
The star of the evening was a singer songwriter reminiscent of Tracy Chapman. With just her guitar and her voice, she charmed the audience and had people clapping to the rhythm as she sang three catchy numbers that stirred up the night.
The host closed the event with a spoken word poem about love and not taking back someone who had done their lover wrong, before ending the open mic as it began— in prayer.
Just Love Coffee – Tributary has a series of events on their calendar and a large menu that serves breakfast and lunch at reasonable prices. There are plenty of chairs and plenty of tables to seat a large number of patrons. Try their food, and on every second Saturday of the month, go to their open mic for a rousing set of performers which promises to keep you entertained during its hour and a half running time.
