By Lookout Staff
October 17, 2025 -- Teen performers can once again showcase their talents at the Miles Playhouse during Downbeat 720, an open mic that returned to the historic venue Tuesday after five years away.
Held every second and fourth Tuesday of the month, the free program invites students "to perform their music, poetry, comedy, or art for their fellow participating students and professional artist mentors," City officials said.
Hosts include comedian Joe Hernandez-Kolski, featured on Gilmore Girls and the HBO series Def Poetry, and beatboxer Joshua Silverstein, featured on TV series Drop The Mic and The Late Late Show With James Corden.
Music and feedback is also provided by DJ Jedi, featured on Russell Simmons' Def Poetry Jam on Broadway, and with hip hop trio Digable Planets.
At Downbeat 720, teen performers receive "positive constructive feedback to help strengthen their performances" in a "safe and supportive space," organizers said.
"Downbeat 720 is one of the most magical things I have ever witnessed,” teen participant Owen Thiele said. “It's a space where high school students from all over LA can come and perform their original pieces, sing a cover or read poetry.
"Everyone was so supportive of each other," Thiele said. "It's a place to take risks, to stand onstage and feel comfortable while experimenting and going outside of the comfort zone."
The event was created in 2001 by Justin Yoffe, Ameenah Kaplan, Joe Hernandez-Kolski and DJ Jedi and was held in the Miles Memorial Playhouse until 2020, when it was held online during the coronavirus shutdown.
It returned to in-person sessions at the Virginia Avenue Park Teen Center while the Miles Memorial Playhouse, dedicated to the youth of Santa Monica and completed in 1929, remained closed while undergoing repairs.
The Spanish Colonial revival style building in Reed Park, at Wilshire and Lincoln boulevards, reopened for Santa Monica’s State of the City event in July.
The event kicked off six months of celebrations as the City commemorates its birth on July 14, 1875 "when the town of Santa Monica was first mapped out and the initial plots of land were sold," City officials said.
For more information on Downbeat 720 click here