Dimmed lights, flying sunglasses and a live acoustic rendition of Beyonce’s “Single Ladies” sure doesn't sound like the typical atmosphere at Acorn Coffee Shop. But on Thursday nights throughout the year, the cafe in downtown Elon gets both an aesthetic and acoustic makeover for Open Mic Night.
Created by Acorn employee Eddie Talley and manager Max Akhlaghi in the fall of 2011, Open Mic Nights provide students an opportunity to perform for their peers while bringing activity and an increased sense of community to the coffee shop.
Although only four of the 10 acts scheduled to perform showed up, the Open Mic Night Feb. 23 brought one of the largest crowds and some of the strongest performances of the year, according to Talley.
“The last one we had in the fall term, it was kind of slow because there was a lot of things going on during that time,” Talley said. “But the first one was very successful. And this one has been a good success. There are a lot of students at Elon that got talent. A very good group of kids.”
The first group to perform was “Brought to You By,” a newly formed five-man band represented at the event by sophomore members Andrew Kidd, Ethan Smith and Elliot Dodd. The group, whose cellist and harmony singer were unable to perform, jammed out to “Little Lion Man” by Mumford & Sons as the audience sang along. Later in the night, the band performed “Wagon Wheel” by Old Crow Medicine Show.
Members of “Brought to You By” said they credit Acorn for bringing them together as a band and inspiring them to perform for an audience.
“I started peddling around with the guitar and learning a couple songs, and we saw an (advertisement for) Open Mic Night and got together and said, ‘Hey, we can do this,’” Smith said.
Smith and Dodd, who are roommates, recruited Kidd to be their banjoist despite the fact that Kidd had never touched the instrument.
“We asked him for Elon’s Got Talent,” Smith said. “We were doing it with just the guitar and vocals, so we didn’t have that depth.”
The band, which has won two Open Mic Nights, said it hopes to also perform at Midnight Meals and, if given the opportunity, would love to perform actual gigs. For now, the bandmates said they appreciate the opportunity to share their music at Open Mic Nights.
“It’s really nice, because we mess around in our dorm room and learn stuff, and we get to share it,” Dodd said.
But it was the fourth act of the night that was favored most by the audience. Guitarist Sean Dolan and vocalist Michael Callahan began with a unique version of “Single Ladies,” transitioned into a more serious song written by Dolan and ended the set with an acoustic rendition of Sir Mix-a-Lot’s “Baby Got Back.”
Although this was their first time playing at Acorn, Dolan and Callahan have performed both individually and together at a variety of different venues. They began performing together in the fall, when they roomed together in Florence, Italy.
“I couldn’t go a whole semester without playing guitar, and I bought one (in Florence),” Dolan said. “(Callahan) and I started making covers of fun songs and played at a talent show. Once we got back here, we said if we can find an opportunity to play, we should keep it going.”
Similar to “Brought to You By,” Dolan and Callahan are looking into performing at Midnight Meals and hope to take advantage of other performance opportunities presented to them. But their busy schedules often prevent them from taking their music seriously.
“He and I are both really busy, so it’s more (likely we’ll perform) if we both have time,” Dolan said. “We both really enjoy doing it and we kept trying to get our stuff recorded, so once we get on that it will get a little bit more serious. We take it seriously when we can, but sometimes it’s hard because we are both so busy.”
The crowd sang along as Dolan and Callahan took the stage a final time to perform “Rolling in the Deep” by Adele, “Everything” by Michael Buble and another original song dedicated to the students in the audience who had been in Florence with Dolan and Callahan in the fall.
“Music is a great way to bring people together, and I think an Open Mic Night is a great facilitator of that,” Dolan said. “From a listener’s standpoint, it’s fun to see your friends do what they love to do.”
Dolan and Callahan took away the prize of 25 food dollars, a decision made by Talley and other staff members at Acorn. Talley said he will continue to host Open Mic Nights throughout the year because of the increased student interaction the nights provide.
“I enjoy the students, I love the students and that’s what keeps me coming to work here,” Talley said. “It’s for me to get to know them a little better. Get them to come to the coffee shop.”
And Dolan said he would encourage more students to sign up.
“I think the important thing about an open mic is that it’s completely open,” Dolan said. “It doesn’t matter how long you’ve been playing, or how good you are. You just go and get the experience.”