Most Thursday nights, Cure Coffeehouse in Newport News resonates with live music.
More than just a place to catch local performers over a latte, the shop’s weekly open mic fosters a warm and accepting enclave for new artists and the LGBTQ+ community on the Peninsula.
The atmosphere is embodied by its organizer, Austin Milby. He’s been attending the event since 2014, back when the spot housed the city’s Aromas location. Milby took over hosting it in 2017.
“Our foremost concern is inclusion,” Milby said. “The moment someone walks in that door, my goal is always to approach them, make them feel welcome and make sure that when they leave they have at least one friend; either myself or somebody else.”
The open mic has long been known as a place for folksy, singer-songwriter types but you might catch spoken-word poetry, stripped-down covers of Billie Eilish and even oud renditions of Metallica hits.
“We have authors, comedians,” said Aubrey West, who first came to the open mic in 2013. “Everybody gets the same applause, regardless.”
The event's openness has made it a safe place for first-time performers and a weekly stop for several LGBTQ+ residents. While there are other open mics around the Peninsula, it can be hard to find one that’s as visibly and intentionally engaging with the queer community.
“We’ve all grown up in an era where we’ve had friends who were uncomfortable and who were unsafe,” Milby said. “Now that we have the ability to create a space where those people don’t feel unsafe anymore, we want to do that.”
The open mic’s vibe was co-curated by the community that embraced it and with the baristas at the cafe. The storefront flies multiple pride flags and most of its staff are LGBTQ+.
“I’ve worked at a million other coffee shops just around Hampton Roads, and this place is just so one-of-a-kind,” Juniper Diehl said. “No matter who you are, what you look like, who you love, it doesn’t matter; it’s like we’re all family here.”
The open mic has changed over the years. Milby briefly experimented with punk and hardcore performances, though quickly found it was a little too rowdy for a coffee shop at City Center on a Wednesday. The crowds are smaller than they were pre-pandemic, when Milby said the open mics averaged about 100 attendees during a surge in the folk revival scene.
“A lot of Birkenstocks and banjos,” Milby said.
West and Eli Myers have some of the longest tenure at the open mic. The couple performs as a duo and said the spot gives them a familiar outlet to play while striking up new friendships.
“People who are seasoned performers come here and really enjoy themselves and people who are kind of plinking something out as their first performance in high school, they’re treated just the same,” Myers said. “It is always really nostalgic because that’s very much the way we were just starting out.”
Regulars such as Moira McCain say Milby is a big part of what makes the open mic’s community special.
“During 2020, when the shutdown happened, Austin would just get the whole community to come out here and we’d just sit with each other around a little portable fire and do acoustic music,” McCain said. “There’s an actual care for the community that’s being facilitated.”
Care is what keeps Milby engaged. It’s not always easy to sustain the event or break down the sound system after it wraps up at 10 p.m., knowing he’s got his day job the next day. But seeing the impact makes the choice easier.
“I hope that people keep coming and finding it to be a safe place for them. Because it’s a safe place for me.”
