Union University’s Barefoots Joe hosted their open mic night on Friday, Nov. 13, at 8 p.m.
Open mic night is an event hosted to allow students from all around campus to showcase their talents and experiment with new things in front of a warm, loving audience.
I sipped my hot cinnamon dolce coffee as I stood outside of Barefoots, which was where the open mic was happening. Although not as chilly as it was the night of the last Barefoots concert, it was still very chilly.
Everyone was gathered on the grass outside of Barefoots, ignoring the chairs seated right next to the stage. Something about the community of everyone sitting on the ground together brought of sense of warmth to the cold night.
Darius Mullin, a senior biology major who has performed at every open mic since he came to Union, expressed how without open mic at Barefoots, there would have been a lot of material and music he would have never been able to try out.
“I think performance is an integral part of what music is,” Mullin said. “Music is meant to be a shared activity, and I think there is a really important communal aspect to it. I think the open mic is one of the best ways that is expressed on campus.”
Mullin especially stood out by singing a blues song, which, according to him, would have never happened if the open mic was not a thing.
He sang “Hard Time Killing Floor Blues,” by Skip James, which was initially on the guitar, but Darius decided to twist it.
“I’ve never heard a piano cover of that song,” Mullin said. “So I am doing a piano cover of it. To be able to go ‘YOLO’ is a lot of fun.”
The piece was great, and the way he played the piano really put the audience in a trance- in a good way. I genuinely think he should officially be the first to record a piano cover of the song.
The night continued with a dance number and even a stand-up comedy act, which was very refreshing and proved how open mic is not only for singing but for all talent.
Another thing open mic does excellently is making a casual environment for everyone. Everyone was supportive of every performance and clapped for every brave and talented human that graced that stage.
Abby Bone, a sophomore nursing major, decided to sing a Christian worship song mash-up with two of her friends. Bone is very serious about using her voice that God gave her to sing to him. She believes that all her performances should match her religious beliefs, and I have to say, she did just that.
“For performance-type things, I really still like to make sure that what I am singing matches up with my convictions,” Bone said. “It’s hard to find good songs that are good vocally and that I find still praises God.”
Even though she and her friends were the last to perform, her performance was like a conversation that pointed back to God in a non-church space, which was Bone’s primary goal.
“It’s a fun and casual time to sing with friends,” Bone said. “We get to perform and not think about all the little things that come with worship.”
