Caption: Coffee House plans to host at least two more events this semester in Cafe 1853. credit @MCCOFFEEHOUSEINSTAGRAM/COURTESY
By Kelly Kennedy, Senior Writer
Coffee House held its first Open Mic Night of the semester last week on Saturday, Feb 5. Coffee House takes place monthly in Cafe 1853, and is a place where students can come to perform music, stand-up comedy, poetry or simply enjoy the show.
Coffee House has become a vital part of the MC community, giving students an outlet to express themselves and open up.
This event is currently hosted by seniors Luis Chavez and Emily Peters, and next semester will be passed down to two sophomores students, Matthew Regalado and Jill Tuthill.
“It’s a lot of fun meeting people and seeing new talents and accompanying people on the piano or singing with them.” Chavez said. “That’s very rewarding for me, I always have a lot of fun. What I have seen personally was that it helps people come out of their shells, because the coffee house is more informal, where you can do anything you want.”
Regaldo, who will carry the coffee house traditions next semester, explained that it was Chavez who originally encouraged him to participate.
“I heard about Coffee House from Luis Chavez when I was a part of Manhattones last year, who told me I should come on and sing a song.” Regaldo said. “I was pretty nervous at first, but I went on towards the end of the night and it was awesome, I really enjoyed it and it kind of opened the door for me to get more into performing.”
Coffee House has been becoming more popular recently, as many bands have started to pop up around campus. This has become one of the spots for new bands to come and practice in front of an audience.
“A great thing about Coffee House is that you get to see all the new bands,” Chavez said. “All the new groups that are trying out stuff before they start doing sets, come here and they’ll perform at the coffee house and it’s so cool and it’s so diverse.”
Regalado is a part of one of the bands that have been performing at Coffee House: Contraband.
“We’ve been a group for about 5 months, and it’s been a joy to be able to play with them and express my musical ideas.” Regaldo mentioned. “Performing is also an important aspect of being in any band, so I feel Coffee House is a great way to put new ideas out there.”
Jamie Schrieder is a sophomore who is taking the Album class at MC this year. He and his fellow classmates performed for the first time at Coffee House last week.
“Playing at Coffee House for the first time was really cool because I showed up not expecting to perform until I saw who else was there and we were able to give a sneak peek of the Beatles album composition class.” Schrieder said. “I’ll be back next time for sure.”
As Chavez and Peters prepare to graduate, they are leaving Coffee House in great hands. The two new co-hosts have many ideas for the future of Coffee House and are excited for the semester to come.
For those nervous to get themselves out there or to start performing, Coffee House is a great space to get out of your comfort zone in a friendly environment. People perform all types of music, comedy and poetry in a judgement-free atmosphere.
Coffee House welcomes all performers regardless of their major. There is no requirement to perform in order to attend. They encourage all MC students to come and watch their peers as they show their passion for the different kinds of arts.
“All you have to do is come!” Chavez said. “The more people the merrier.”
Students who are interested in attending or performing in Coffee House can check out their Instagram page, @mccoffeehouse for updates.