The Boheme Bistro is the perfect atmosphere for fostering creativity – a dimly lit room with couches, tables and booths, candles and a haze of smoke gently floating above the heads of the people that sit and strum guitars in anticipation of the start of Open Mic Night.

Open Mic Night has become a staple on Sunday nights at the Boheme, 2900 West St., as people of all ages take the stage for their 15 minutes of fame.

“There is a variety of music and a variety of the crowd and that’s what makes it the best,” says Justin Means, an employee who brought the open mic concept to the Boheme.

Open Mic Night first began in Ames when Means was working at the Lost and Found Lounge, 121-1/2 Welch Ave. What first began as a small production where two people came to watch grew a crowd of people waiting to get in with seven or eight full-size bands playing.

Means left Lost and Found to go to the Boheme, which is where Open Mic Night reemerged.

“Other bar managers come into catch a band,” Means says. “It’s one of the only ways to get going and to have fun.”

Open Mic Night is held every Sunday from 9 p.m. to 2 a.m. Fifteen-minute time slots are allotted for a single person while half-hour time slots are given to bands.

“This is a really good way for people to enjoy a Sunday night and experience good musicians in Ames and to check out up-and-coming acts,” says Chinmoy Panigrahy, the Boheme’s sound technician.

Bands that play Open Mic Night and get a good crowd reaction can get booked at the Boheme as a main or opening act on Wednesday nights.

For some, it’s the first time they have graced the stage, while others are veterans to the venue.

Guitarist Dan Nielson has played at the Boheme many times, both as a solo artist and with his band.

“Any performance helps you in the long run to develop skills for performing in front of an audience,” he says.

Isaac Norman, a frequent performer at the Boheme for almost two years, comes to Open Mic Night to “listen to other bands, get ideas and to get honest constructive criticism.”

“I have fun and work with other musicians to bring something different to my work,” he says. “The opportunity to work with different types of music makes me a better musician.”

Open Mic Night also gives artists interested in pursuing a musical career the chance to meet people and network.

It also gives local artists the chance to be on stage and perform simply for fun.

“If you play because you love to play, go to Open Mic and play for the hell of it,” Norman says.

Tera Ginter, a solo guitarist, recently started playing at the Boheme because she wanted a place to share her music with people.

“It’s hard to start playing in front of people but this is a nice place and a nice crowd,” Ginter says.

“This is one of the friendliest, open atmospheres in town,” Means says. “If you get up there and play, people are going to respect that. It’s like `The Gong Show,’ but we don’t get to gong anyone.”

Some of the people that perform at the Boheme play covers from other artists, but many use the stage as a sounding board for their own personal experiences. Ginter performs original music that is based off of her life.

“I’m the person I know best,” Ginter says.

Norman says he does both originals and covers because, “it brings more variety to my music.”

The Boheme is all-ages all the time, so a wide variety of people regularly come through the doors on Sunday night.

“It’s a fun, upbeat atmosphere where anyone can come in, hang out and have the best time,” Means says. “The Boheme is like no other bar in town. It’s like a big-ass living room. You never know what’s going to happen, and that’s what makes it so fun.”