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Mic Drop! @__.mic.drop.__ is honored to welcome Joseph Jason Santiago LaCour as a featured poet alongside Gregory Speed Sr. on Sunday, May 31 from 5:30–8:30 PM at The 418 Project. (Writing workshop is at 415pm with @peggsim )

Jason is extraordinary — luminous, musically poetic, exceptionally savvy, and one of the sweetest, most loving humans and poets we know. His work moves with heart, rhythm, intelligence, and soul. He is truly one of the best poets in our community, and we are so grateful to celebrate his voice.

Come support by showing love the best way we know how: be in the room. Bring your ears, your heart, your people, and your applause.

Mic Drop! Open Mic
Sunday, May 31 | 5:30–8:30 PM
@the418project , Santa Cruz
Featuring @josephjasonsantiagolacour + Gregory Speed Sr. @grownmanspeedVideo Credit: Maleah Rose @maleahhroseeBelly Dancing by the beautiful beloved @sacredmudhenna Rica De la Luz!!!

🎤 MIC DROP! @__.mic.drop.__ is back — ALL the Way Open.

Last Sunday, May 31st, we’re bringing the room alive with two powerhouse features: Gregory Speed Sr @grownmanspeed & Joseph Jason Santiago LaCour @josephjasonsantiagolacour .

Come for the poetry.
Come for the music.
Come for the stories that kick the door open and leave the mic smoking.

✨ Writing Workshop at 4:15
🎤 Open Mic 5:30–8:30
📍 The 418 Project
155 South River St, Downtown Santa Cruz @the418project @downtownsantacruz
📝 5 minute sign ups

Bring your poem. Bring your song. Bring your truth.
This stage is for ALL of it.

#mıcdrop #allthewayopenmic #santacruzpoetry #the418project #openmic

Spotlight on @grownmanspeed 🎤
Greg hosts Mic’ Drop—our monthly open mic at The 418 Project, happening the last Sunday of every month From 5:30-8:30pm.
This is what it looks like when artists take up space—raw, intentional, and fully their own. Mic’ Drop is a space to show up, share your work, and connect with community. Spoken word, music, movement—whatever you’re holding, there’s room for it here.
No gatekeeping. Just real expression and shared space.
✨ Come through or step up to the mic
✨ All are welcome to attend and share
#the418project #micdrop #supportartists

April 26th is @__.mic.drop.__ - The Last Sunday of the MONTH. Come Join Us! @the418project at 155 South River St, @downtownsantacruz We hope to see you and your voice soon!

Happy bizzleday to the one and only @upswell_studios! Always a good time rocking on stage with ya and working behind the scenes in the studio/ throwing events! Shout out to @natewynnphotography for these shots from us rocking at the @__.mic.drop.__ event at the 418 Project in Santa Cruz in 2024 honoring Sammy Chops life with @lysnroots, @devigracedimarco, zylncisco, @gueromojado @kobashi_b ! Support local underground music! One love !

Happy bizzleday to the one and only @upswell_studios! Always a good time rocking on stage with ya and working behind the scenes in the studio/ throwing events! Shout out to @natewynnphotography for these shots from us rocking at the @__.mic.drop.__ event at the 418 Project in Santa Cruz in 2024 honoring Sammy Chops life with @lysnroots, @devigracedimarco, zylncisco, @gueromojado @kobashi_b ! Support local underground music! One love !

Happy bizzleday to the one and only @upswell_studios! Always a good time rocking on stage with ya and working behind the scenes in the studio/ throwing events! Shout out to @natewynnphotography for these shots from us rocking at the @__.mic.drop.__ event at the 418 Project in Santa Cruz in 2024 honoring Sammy Chops life with @lysnroots, @devigracedimarco, zylncisco, @gueromojado @kobashi_b ! Support local underground music! One love !

Happy bizzleday to the one and only @upswell_studios! Always a good time rocking on stage with ya and working behind the scenes in the studio/ throwing events! Shout out to @natewynnphotography for these shots from us rocking at the @__.mic.drop.__ event at the 418 Project in Santa Cruz in 2024 honoring Sammy Chops life with @lysnroots, @devigracedimarco, zylncisco, @gueromojado @kobashi_b ! Support local underground music! One love !

Happy bizzleday to the one and only @upswell_studios! Always a good time rocking on stage with ya and working behind the scenes in the studio/ throwing events! Shout out to @natewynnphotography for these shots from us rocking at the @__.mic.drop.__ event at the 418 Project in Santa Cruz in 2024 honoring Sammy Chops life with @lysnroots, @devigracedimarco, zylncisco, @gueromojado @kobashi_b ! Support local underground music! One love !

Happy bizzleday to the one and only @upswell_studios! Always a good time rocking on stage with ya and working behind the scenes in the studio/ throwing events! Shout out to @natewynnphotography for these shots from us rocking at the @__.mic.drop.__ event at the 418 Project in Santa Cruz in 2024 honoring Sammy Chops life with @lysnroots, @devigracedimarco, zylncisco, @gueromojado @kobashi_b ! Support local underground music! One love !

Happy bizzleday to the one and only @upswell_studios! Always a good time rocking on stage with ya and working behind the scenes in the studio/ throwing events! Shout out to @natewynnphotography for these shots from us rocking at the @__.mic.drop.__ event at the 418 Project in Santa Cruz in 2024 honoring Sammy Chops life with @lysnroots, @devigracedimarco, zylncisco, @gueromojado @kobashi_b ! Support local underground music! One love !

The mic is live.
The room is listening.

Mic Drop! returns March 29 at The 418 Project in Santa Cruz — a room where poems breathe, music rises, and truth gets spoken out loud.

Come early for Ink Drop Writing Workshop at 4:15PM
Then the Open Mic from 5:30–8:30PM.

🎤 Featured Poet: Brandon Luu
🎤 Emcee: GMS @grownmanspeed

This is not a quiet room.
This is a room that listens.

Bring your poems.
Bring your songs.
Bring the piece of truth you’ve been carrying.

Somebody in the room might need to hear it.

$7–10 sliding scale
📍155 South River Street, Santa Cruz

Five minutes on the mic.
A whole lifetime in the room.

See you March 29.

#micdrop🎤 #santacruz #santacruzevents #poetry #bayareaopenmic

🎤 MIC DROP 2026

Poetry.
Music.
Stories that shake the room.

From featured artists to first-time voices, Mic Drop is where Santa Cruz comes to listen, feel, and speak truth.

The mic is waiting.

📍 The 418 Project
155 South River St • Santa Cruz

Follow → @__.mic.drop.__

#micdropsantacruz #santacruzevents #openmic #spokenword #the418project

Ink Drop at 4:15.
Open Mic at 5:30.
Five-minute signups. Real stories. Real people.
Mic Drop is where brave meets breath.

Last Sundays. The next one is March 29. Santa Cruz. @__.mic.drop.__ @the418project
You coming?

Mic Drop 🎤🔥
The All The Way Open Mic is back — and we’re bringing the voltage.

Join us March 29th at 155 South River Street, Santa Cruz for a night where language breathes, bars land, and the room actually listens.

🖊 Ink Drop Writing Workshop – 4:15 PM
🎙 Open Mic – 5:30–8:30 PM

🌟 Featured Poet: Brandon Luu @bluupoet -- Brandon Luu is a poet from San Jose, California. He received his Masters of Fine Arts in Creative Writing from San Jose State University, and he is a member of the Board of Directors of Poetry Center San Jose. He also served as a 2022 Creative Ambassador for the City of San Jose. For him, poetry is an opportunity to bring people together, regardless of age or circumstance. "Through language, we attempt to make sense of the human condition, and from there, we begin to understand each other."

🎤 Emcee: GMS @grownmanspeed – Holding the room with presence, rhythm, and honest energy.

Pull up. Bring a poem. Bring a Song. Bring your breath.

Or just come witness what happens when the mic waits.

See YOU SOON.

$7–10 sliding scale. March 29th Last Sunday!

Mic Drop 🎤🔥
The All The Way Open Mic is back — and we’re bringing the voltage.

Join us March 29th at 155 South River Street, Santa Cruz for a night where language breathes, bars land, and the room actually listens.

🖊 Ink Drop Writing Workshop – 4:15 PM
🎙 Open Mic – 5:30–8:30 PM

🌟 Featured Poet: Brandon Luu @bluupoet -- Brandon Luu is a poet from San Jose, California. He received his Masters of Fine Arts in Creative Writing from San Jose State University, and he is a member of the Board of Directors of Poetry Center San Jose. He also served as a 2022 Creative Ambassador for the City of San Jose. For him, poetry is an opportunity to bring people together, regardless of age or circumstance. "Through language, we attempt to make sense of the human condition, and from there, we begin to understand each other."

🎤 Emcee: GMS @grownmanspeed – Holding the room with presence, rhythm, and honest energy.

Pull up. Bring a poem. Bring a Song. Bring your breath.

Or just come witness what happens when the mic waits.

See YOU SOON.

$7–10 sliding scale. March 29th Last Sunday!

Tonight wasn’t a stream.
It was continuation.

Maestro Desean @maestrodesean — Black LGBTQ wordsmith beyond precision, dismantling fear in real time.
Celia DaPoet @celia_dapoet — Black LGBTQ word architect, building with fire and blueprint both.

This wasn’t nostalgia.
This was active Black history breathing in front of us.

They gave us lineage without performance.
Mastery without ego.
Truth without apology.

We didn’t just “host” a conversation.
We witnessed architects at work.

If you were in the room, you felt it.
If you missed it — understand: this is what legacy looks like while it’s still alive.

Mic Drop! keeps holding the stairwell between history and now.
And tonight?

We stood in it together. 🖤

This breath didn’t survive just to be quiet.

Two Black LGBTQ word architects.
Two lineages walking forward.
One night.

This Thursday
6:30PM PST / 9:30PM EST
Instagram Live

This is not a stream.
This is a continuation.

Pull up.

@__.mic.drop.__ . ✕ @aintrighttribe

Shizue Seigel @writenow.sfbay reminded us that this country has done this before.

During World War II, Japanese Americans — including her family — were imprisoned in U.S. concentration camps because fear was easier than justice.

Her performance asked a quiet, devastating question:

When policy turns on its own people, who speaks?
Who remembers?
Who refuses to look away?

Tonight, we chose to listen.

Grateful for her courage. (photos taken by @peepthis78 )