The weather always affects my mood. This past Friday felt like fall had finally graced us with its presence. It was bright and clear and most importantly, not in the 90s. Especially as sunset approached, the air tingled with enough chill that it energized me and just made me feel alive.
The energy at Open Mic Night was similar. People were lined up at the doors before 7:30 p.m. When the doors finally opened, people rushed in to claim their favorite spot on a comfy leather couch, leaving the less fortunate on benches and chairs. Barefoots was soon alive with the hum of voices and espresso machines as the room filled with anticipation.
For a lot of people, the lure of Open Mic Night comes from being able to see friends and roommates perform on stage.
“It is wonderful to just see how courageous some of my friends are to get up on stage and share their work,” said Allison Schiebout, sophomore biology and English double major.
Students were indeed courageous this year, trying new things and sharing personal experiences through song. The acts varied from stand-up comedy and musical numbers to original pieces and even a dramatic rendition of the cheeseburger song from VeggieTales.
Ben Trainor, sophomore computer science major, has been a consistent performer at Open Mic since freshman year. His specialty is writing instrumental pieces for the guitar, but this year he decided to try his hand at singing some of his own lyrics as well.
“Overall, it was similar to past Open Mics, but I was more nervous than before since I was singing into a mic for the first time,” Trainor said.
What made it worth while, though, was all the encouragement and support he got from his friends and family after the performance.
Brennan Kress, a sophomore Christian studies major, performed for the first time on Friday night. Kress shared an original spoken word piece, earning whoops and cheers from the audience throughout his performance.
“I would definitely like to perform at Open Mic Night again because it was an opportunity to use my talents publicly in a way that encouraged others,” Kress said.
Open Mic Nights are always a highlight for me because it brings the community of Union together. Friends come to support friends and cheer each other on loudly from within the audience, perhaps so enthusiastically that it can be embarrassing.
However, it’s not just friends cheering the performers on. People they have never seen before clap and encourage them from their seats. When I’m in the audience, I don’t feel like I have a passive role. It’s just as important for me to encourage the performers on stage and help relieve their nerves as it is for them to have practiced their act and perform well.
It’s an evening of giving and receiving, and I think that makes Open Mic Night all the more special. Even though I may not have stage talent, I am still contributing to the success of the night.
This seems to be one of the goals of the Barefoots leadership team, which sponsors and puts together the event.
“I think having an open mic really emphasizes the fact that Barefoots belongs to students,” said Lucas Brogdon, sophomore music major and member of the Barefoots leadership team. “Bringing in bands a few times per semester is cool, but then seeing your friend up on the same stage having fun, playing a song or reading a poem for the sake of art, adds a whole new dimension of personality to the shop.”
And it really did feel like Barefoots was ours. It felt like we had all gathered in someone’s living room, and people were sharing their talents with us. It was a place to build each other up, to make each other laugh and even make each other cry, but most importantly, it was a place to love each other and to love the One who gave us our talents.
Photo courtesy of Gretchen Foels