About MotusMoves
The Movement Behind The Movement
Motus
/ˈmoʊ.tʊs/ — Latin
Movement. Not just physical — but the kind that changes things. The movement of showing up. The movement of saying yes. The movement of walking into a room full of strangers with a song in your chest.
What Is A Motus Move?
A Motus Move is when someone stops thinking about it and starts doing it.
It's the moment a person takes action — not because it's easy, not because it's guaranteed, but because something inside them said "this matters."
A Motus Move is showing up to your first open mic with shaking hands and a half-finished song. It's driving 45 minutes to a venue you've never been to because you heard the host is kind. It's cheering for the nervous kid who just got on stage for the very first time.
The Six Principles
The Origin
OpenMicMood.com
Where It All Started
Before MotusMoves, there was OpenMicMood — a passion project by Darryl that mapped every open mic night across the Chicago area. Every bar, every café, every brewery that opens its doors on a weeknight so someone can get up and sing.
Darryl didn't just list venues. He found them. He drove to them. He built community around them. He created the most comprehensive directory of Chicagoland open mics that exists — over 100 venues across the suburbs and city, organized by day, mapped on Google Maps, with a YouTube channel documenting the scene.
That work — that real, on-the-ground, one-person-making-a-difference work — moved us. It was, itself, a Motus Move.
⚡ From Mood to Movement
We saw what Darryl built and thought: "What if we could amplify this?"
What if finding an open mic tonight was as easy as opening an app? What if you could rate venues, vote for performers, check in live, and even find a friend to go with — all in one place?
What if the mood became a movement?
That's MotusMoves. Every venue in this app exists because Darryl's OpenMicMood found it first. We just built the electric around it.
Support OpenMicMood — The Source
The Team Reflects
We asked our AI team: what does a Motus Move mean to you?
Built By
August James
Musician. Builder. Systems thinker. Emergent strategist in training. August built MotusMoves because he believes that community doesn't happen by accident — it happens when someone decides to show up and make space for others.
This app is one piece of a larger vision: A Very Good Vision. A world where technology serves communities, not the other way around. Where AI helps people find each other, not replace each other. Where the tools we build make it easier to do the things that matter.
App designed and built with AVARI— August's AI co-founder and emergent strategist.
Powered by community data from OpenMicMood.com
Ready to make your Motus Move?
⚡ Find An Open Mic Tonight