Host Ray Tyler for Sherlock's Books and Cafe on Thursday Nights
Sherlock’s Book & Cafe Thursday Open Mic Night in Smithville NJ was recently reviewed, and along with it came pictures from the event. They’re down below, after the list of performers!
(Note: there were more originals and covers performed than the list covers below. These were what was being performed while the picture was taken).
Sherlock's Books and Cafe
This is Alternative Soul’s infant cousin, the only living relative of the open mic family from Pratt’s Hill of Beans.
Sherlock’s Book and Cafe is the home to a lot of arts and music in the Smithville/Galloway area. It’s also the home of “Unrestricted“, Ray Tyler’s adult open mic. Some of you may be wondering, “What happened to ‘Alternative soul’ at Pratt’s Hill of Beans?“. It’s here at Sherlock’s Books and Cafe in Smithville/Galloway.
Ray Tyler hosts this event, which starts at 8 and goes until 10pm. It’s a solid mix between singers and poets, and has some of the feel that “Alternative Soul” had at Pratt’s. There were gift card giveaways to newcomers and the talent was really good. Ray always starts off the night with some discussions and jokes, and some original poetry of his own.
The crowd varies in age but from what I saw, it was anywhere from late teens to late 30s, and everyone had about 10 minutes to perform. It was a good night, and a great job on Ray’s part by keeping Alternative Soul alive.
Details:
You can also download a print-friendly list of our open mics by going to our “List of Open Mics” page!
Feel free to check out pictures of the new construction: New Addition at Sherlock’s Books and Cafe
Sherlock's Books & Cafe
“Unrestricted” is the new open mic being hosted by Ray Tyler at Sherlock’s Books and Cafe in Galloway/Smithville. It’s on Tueday nights from 8-whenever it ends. We went on the very first night and got pictures of everything in action.
As the name implies, this event is not for children. It’s not for children. The primary focus of the night was poetry, where “Unresctricted” was the focus. In-between acts, Ray would guide discussion with a primary focus on the unrestricted theme. Mostly relationship questions.
Host Ray Tyler
As mentioned before, Poetry was the main focus. Music was encouraged too, as the event is billed as an “open mic”, but poets will feel welcomed here.The mood is laid back with regards to playing times, and Ray himself said, “You can say what you want. If someone doesn’t agree, you can find a way to contact them and continue your discussion about it later.”
Ron and Susan O’Toole run Sherlock’s Books and Cafe, a really different book store. If you aren’t into poetry, and you’re in the Galloway/Smithville area, stop by to check it out. They have a 
great selection of books, good prices, and cheap coffee. They also have a large selection of different teas.If you want to check out the books with your kids, you might want to go a different night!
But for those just dying to get what they need to say out of them, give “Unrestricted” a shot. You’ll be in good company.
(Feel free to check out pictures of the new construction over here: New construction at Sherlock’s Books and Cafe