Fruit Salad: a monthly queer open mic night!

Fruit Salad, Dorothy's monthly queer open mic night returns for another month of art & community! Hosted by Rainn and co-produced by Whitney LaMora, this open mic night gives ten performers the chance to share their work in front of our supportive & gorgeous group of attendees before we hand it over to our feature performer of the night.

Our open mic sign up is based on a lottery system! Attendees will get a link immediately after purchasing a ticket to sign up for the open mic until Sunday November 13th. Five open mic slots are reserved for BIPOC performers and the other five slots are open for all submissions.

Our open mic list will be announced via our Instagram @fruitsaladchicago on Monday the 14th including ten open mic performers and two backup performers.

After our open mic for the evening, we welcome our featured for the month - Brian Young Jr.! Brian Young Jr. is a Black, pansexual poet, playwright, & journalist based in their chosen home of Chicago, Illinois. Born to a poor-working class family in the south, their roots can be traced back to the farms and county roads of Shady Grove, Alabama.

They are often reminded of their youth; the smooth alto singing of their grandma as her head lifted towards the heavens; the thump of tires on potholes as they’re family would ride to church in the family car; & the dreams of living in the city and being a star. Brian's work explores the complexity of reconciling biological family ties as a queer, agnostic person while depicting the nuance of having & creating chosen families-- negotiating relationships & centering vulnerability as a polyamorous person.

Additionally, they live a radiant, radical life, battling with you all to create the conditions for a liberated world. Catch their writings on publications such as the City Bureau, Tempest, Rampant Magazine-- all available through linktree on their Insta, @yobrianjr

Entry is $12 and proceeds are shared with the performers, the production team, our beautiful bar and our giveback partner for this month chosen by Brian: Assata's Daughters.

Assata’s Daughters (AD) is a queer Black woman-led and youth-focused organization rooted in the Black Radical Tradition. AD organizes young Black people in Chicago by providing them with political education, leadership development, and revolutionary services.

Doors for the evening open at 6:45pm and our open mic starts at 7:30pm. Performers should arrive by 7:15pm at the latest and check in with our host to be guaranteed their slot. Our feature follows after intermission.

Entry is 21+ and requires a physical ID. Dorothy is ADA accessible!

Want to pair your event experience with dinner before at Split-Rail? Make a reservation to be guaranteed a seat!

NOTE: Refund requests for Fruit Salad are given until 12pm the day of the show. Tickets sold outside of Eventbrite are not accepted for entry.