eople-watch, get caffeinated, and kick back with live music and poetry at an all-inclusive open mic night gaining momentum in Union Square, Somerville. On sleepy Bow Street, in a retooled bank building with tall windows and good acoustics, a diverse and mutually supportive succession of performers in Tevas, mohawks, and mom jeans gathers each Thursday to occupy the stage for a while at Bloc 11, the popular café owned by the Diesel Café crew. Sit and listen under the stars in the ivy-covered garden with a latté and sandwich, or indoors near the stage surrounded by art-clad brick walls and a friendly crowd.

Local indie singer-songwriter and organizer Kristen Ford led off a recent Thursday with a couple of acoustic gems, followed by a spectrum of performers from a bassist born in the 1990s to a sexagenarian ukulele player, a Creole musician to a talented fiddler.

Get in on the act and sign up at 6 p.m. or come see the show at 7.

Rain Robertson and Kirsten Amann are coauthors of the Boston blog of Ladies United for the Preservation of Endangered Cocktails.