For hosts of open mic nights
The open mic sign-up sheet, without the clipboard.
Free open mic sign-up app with QR code check-in, live running order, and fair slot times. No account. No app download. Works on any phone.
QR code check-in
Print the QR once, stick it near the door. Performers scan and sign themselves in from their phone.
No app download
Works entirely in the browser. No App Store, no Play Store, no installs for host or performer.
Fair slot times
Splits your night into halves and divides the stage time across everyone who actually turned up.
Live running order
Everyone sees the same lineup in real time. Drag to reorder or tap Randomise to shuffle fairly.
No sign-up, no account
Possession of the admin URL is the authorisation. No passwords to remember or share.
48-hour auto-delete
Performer data vanishes two days after the night. Nothing to manage, nothing to look after.
Every open mic host ends up doing the same awkward thing: a clipboard on the bar, a marker that's gone missing, and a crumpled list of names that half the room can't read. The List replaces all of that with a QR code. Punters scan it, type their name and what they're playing, and they're on. You see the whole room's sign-ups live, in order, on your phone — a proper open mic running order, not a smudged piece of A4.
The real trick is fair slot times. A two-hour open mic with twelve performers isn't twelve ten-minute slots — you've got an interval, sound-check overhead, and a closing set. The List splits your night into halves, divides the available stage time across the people actually signed up, and updates the plan the moment someone new joins. More performers? Slots shrink. Someone drops out? Slots widen. You never do the maths in your head again.
It also means no favouritism. Need to prove you're not stacking the deck? Tap "Randomise" and the list shuffles in front of the room. Want to bump the headliner to the closer slot? Drag them. The audience sees the same order you do — nobody's wondering whether they've been forgotten.
The List is free, has no login, and the data vanishes two days after your event. Nothing to manage. Nothing to cancel. Just a cleaner way to run the night.
Paper sign-up sheet vs The List
Paper works until it doesn't. Here's where a digital open mic sign-up sheet earns its keep on a busy night.
| Aspect | Paper sign-up sheet | The List |
|---|---|---|
| Legibility | Names you can't decipher, especially when someone signs up after a pint. | Typed names with what they're playing. Clean and searchable. |
| Running order visibility | Only the host sees the clipboard. Performers ask "am I next?" all night. | Performers see the same live running order on their phones as you do. |
| Slot-time maths | Host does mental arithmetic after each signup and quietly messes it up. | Slots recalculate live as people join or drop out. Halves, intervals, the lot. |
| Reordering | Cross out and rewrite. Mess if more than 2 changes. | Drag a name up or down. Or tap Randomise to shuffle fairly. |
| Late arrivals | Get squeezed in wherever there's whitespace, which looks like favouritism. | Added to the next available slot automatically. Everyone can see why. |
| After the night | Clipboard goes in a drawer with 11 names and a phone number you shouldn't still have. | Data auto-deletes 48 hours after the night. UK GDPR-friendly by default. |
8 performers across a 2-hour open mic
Typical run-of-show
- 1Night is split into 2 halves of 60 minutes each.
- 24 performers per half → 15 minutes each (2 songs, give or take).
- 3Running order posted live — no more shouting "who's next?"
- 4Drag to reorder or tap Randomise for fair shuffling.
- 5Add a late arrival and the slots recalculate instantly.
How slot times actually get calculated
You tell The List how long your night is (default 2 hours) and how many halves you want (default 2). When a new performer signs up, the available stage time in each half is divided across the people currently in that half. If half one has 4 people and 60 minutes to play with, everyone gets 15 minutes. Add a 5th person, now it's 12 minutes each — all automatically.
The host can still reorder, move people between halves, or reset the list. But the default behaviour is fair: first come, first served, evenly split. Late arrivals don't get punished with a 3-minute closer slot, and early arrivals don't hog the night.
Performers see exactly when they're on
Right after a performer signs up, their phone redirects to their own live page. On it: a pie wheel showing the whole running order, their own slot highlighted, and a countdown to the start of the night. They stop asking "am I up yet?" and stop hovering near you.
When the night goes live their page flips. The current performer's slice pulses. When they're next, they see a rough time estimate. When they're up, a big "YOU'RE UP" banner appears. You hit Done when they walk off — the pie rotates and the next performer's phone lights up automatically. Auto-advance kicks in too, if you're busy holding a pint and forget to tap Done.
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posterposter.app →Questions hosts ask
Do performers need an account or an app?+
No. They scan a QR, type their name and what they're playing, and they're on the list. That's it. No downloads, no sign-in, no email. Works on any phone with a camera.
How do you work out slot times?+
You tell The List how long your night is (default 2 hours) and how many halves you want (default 2). It divides the available time across the people signed up. Add someone late and every slot shrinks by a proportional amount — the plan stays fair.
Can I reorder the list myself?+
Yes. Drag performers up and down, move someone between halves, or tap Randomise to shuffle everyone in front of the room. The public signup page keeps showing the live order.
What happens to the sign-ups after the night?+
Events auto-delete 48 hours after the last activity. Nothing is kept long-term, nothing to manage, no data to worry about. The List is intentionally a one-night tool — you open it when you arrive, run the night, and the list evaporates.
Is this really free?+
Yes. Free forever for hosts. We pay for the servers with non-intrusive ads on the marketing pages — there are zero ads on the performer sign-up page itself.
Does The List work for comedy open mic nights too?+
Yes, but we have a dedicated comedy-night page with set-notes fields and timing tuned for comedy. Same engine underneath — just a different preset.
Can I use it without Wi-Fi at the venue?+
Performers need mobile data or Wi-Fi to scan the QR and sign up. Once they're on the list, your admin page polls every 5 seconds, so intermittent connectivity is fine.
Ready in 10 seconds.
Tap the button. Share the QR. That's it.
Running something else?