In the cozy coffee shop UPerk, the tables were all pushed towards the back of the room. The chairs, each supposed to match a table, were all dragged around and mismatched as the students occupying them turned to talk to their friends. People carrying guitars and other various sound equipment moved in and out of the neighboring room, dubbed the “green room” for the night.
This was the set up for Music Industry Club’s open mic night, an event where all UT students could enjoy live music, whether they’re an audience member or performer.
The overlapping chatter and laughter from the individual conversations drowns out the background music, which wavers as MIC members figure out the sound system.
It was just after 6 p.m. when MIC President Caroline McDearman stepped up to the microphone, tapping on it once. A hush fell over the room as all eyes were on her, giving her a chance to announce that the performances were starting.
Twenty-two acts took to the stage in an event spanning roughly two and a half hours, with students performing solo, in duos or multiple times.
The night started with freshman Quinn Hobbs, who’s on an exploratory track and a MIC member.
“I did a song I wrote called ‘Sage,’” Hobbs said. “It’s about all of the people in the world who tell you to give into hopelessness. I just kind of had this feeling of the world. I just kind of wanted to give into an annihilistic view because it felt easier, but I realized that’s no way to live your life, so I wrote that song about that feeling and the people who try to benefit from that feeling.”
Hobbs was just one of many who shared original music. He releases music on Spotify under the handle The Last of the Dreamers and is also in a band called Cactus Queens.
“People just want a chance to share their music with people, and music is a very intimate and personal thing to a lot of people … It feels good to share that with a community of supportive people, and our audience has always been supportive, which I am grateful for. We have a lot of singer songwriters come through and share original music for the first time,” McDearman said.
As each person was performing, the audience was quiet, silently tapping their feet along with the beat. As soon as the song was over, they erupted in applause.
“I like really love MIC and being involved in the school and the community … I wanted to show off what I’ve been working on and hear some of the stuff other people have been working on,” Hobbs said.
By hosting these open mic events, MIC gives students the chance to get in front of a small crowd and get some reps in live performances.
“Honestly, giving college artists a space to perform and have that experience, and also just providing a place of community for our students in general, that third space, that was kind of the main purpose [of hosting open mic nights],” McDearman said.
These events are open to the entire UT community, not just MIC members. Emilio Espinoza, a biological sciences freshman, gave his first-ever live performance at the event after being encouraged by one of his friends who also performed.
“[I want to] get the confidence to start singing more too,” Espinoza said. “I was feeling nervous but now I’m feeling good — it was pretty fun. It’s all been kind of fun, I like singing but I don’t want to be self centered, so sitting with everyone, seeing everyone go up.”
One of his favorite parts of the event was seeing all of the different songs people chose to play. His song choice means a lot to him, and he said he thinks the songs everyone picked says something about the person they are.
“I played a song called ‘Early Sunsets Over Monroeville,’ [by] My Chemical Romance … the actual meaning is about zombies in a mall or something, but to me personally it means, like, a lot — even the meaning of that song can be a metaphor. It could be love turned undead, which really helped me scream out all those lyrics ’cause I relate to it personally,” Espinoza said.
The night features a variety of different genres, from alternative to country to singer-songwriter. Many performers were accompanied by a guitar, whether acoustic or electric. The community was strong as well – instruments and compliments were shared, and friends and strangers all supported one another.
“It doesn’t matter if you think you’re good or bad, it’s having that experience and that space to perform … it also gives our performers things to add to their resume, and it gives performers a place to network with each other across campus,” McDearman said.
McDearman said she hopes that as everyone who filled the coffee shop slowly filtered out, they left with something more than they had before.
“I hope that people leave feeling like their heart is full … I want people to feel they are proud of themselves for putting themselves out there,” McDearman said.
