Our First Open Mic/Coffee House

Written by: Maggie Nelson

Edited by: Alex Woods

Getting on stage in front of any amount of people is terrifying, especially people you have never met. “Next up is Maggie!” Those words echoed. I went full Eminem; arms heavy, knees weak palms sweaty; you get the picture. This was my first open mic night in four years since performing with my band, so I was a little rusty.

As I made my way up to the stage, I had one last thought: “I can run right now out that door and never look back.” But I didn’t. I started out my act with some humor and a few laughs to get the crowd warmed up in case things went south. I sang “Me and My Bobby McGee” by Janis Joplin. I decided to sing my piece acapella because that was how I’ve always practiced it. I practiced this song in the shower, in my car, even walking down the street on my way to class. I felt as though I needed to do it that way; my way. It is difficult for me to play guitar and sing at the same time, and having a background track brings back vivid karaoke memories. Janis’s song was an easy piece to do acapella as I could put my own spin on her iconic lyrics. She is one of my favorite artists and in my opinion, one of the best female artists of the 60s.

The acts that followed were soloists: Molly Kennedy, Maggie Doggett, Nora, and Samantha, who wowed with her incredible slam poetry. The duet band AWU left the crowd smiling and clapping, and Ben Leary finished the night off with a band playing his original songs and covers.

For a first timer, I was blown away by the level of talent at The Setlist’s first event. Being someone who hasn’t performed since the days of her middle school band, I was given a new outlook on music from this event. Listening to and appreciating other performances and feeling the emotions and hard work that they put in motivated me to dive back into a passion of mine that until now, I believed to be long forgotten.

Coming off the stage to a sea of smiling faces and applause reminded me why I do this and why music has been such a large part of my life. I sing because I want to convey my emotions through songs. Hearing the passion in a person’s voice and the work they put in to make it a piece of art will always be inspiring.

The amount of support given by every person in attendance on Saturday night was incredible. The amount of love in this group is the reason I joined The Setlist. The amount of nerves I had leading up to this event didn’t matter; they were all squashed the moment I got up on stage. Every smiling face, clap, and cheer from the audience and the members of The Setlist served as assurance to me. No matter what happened, I knew there was a team of people standing behind me. Success is an understatement when describing how The Setlist’s Open Mic/Coffee House went. “Astounding” is the perfect word to encompass the essence of this event and people who made it happen.

To The Setlist: thank you for letting me be a part of this amazing experience. The best is yet to come!