MBM Open Mic Night

Written by Jessica Brown

November 17th, 2023

Anticipation for this years first open mic event, held on Thursday, November 9, 2023, started from the moment Eyrica, the manager of Breakthru Events, made the announcement in class. The open mic was held at Copper Branch, a small coffee shop with they had a menu with a variety of food and drinks for attendees to order. However, there was minimal seating, so a lot of people had to stand, but it was cozy and had a welcoming environment.The event showcased the talents of many students in the program, with fifteen different participants. The audience stayed engaged with the performers throughout the night, enjoying the musical abilities of fellow classmates and friends.

While everyone who performed was amazing, there were a few stand-out performances. Jayden Garner opened the night with three songs, setting the mood with his great vocals. Following Jayden, there were great performances put on by Yurvaj Kalsi, Simmone Maiah, Ty Szarko, Matthew Rafael, and many others, with a mix of covers and original songs. Throughout the night, there were a few minor technical difficulties that were handled very well and professionally by the performers, such as when the mic cut out during Mona Munzundu’s cover of Make You Feel My Love, and she continued to sing flawlessly without it. The very talented Mel closed the night with an original song and her beautiful voice.

I had the opportunity to talk to Mel about her closing performance and how it felt to go up with an original song, and here is what she had to say about it: “ending the open mic wasn’t expected. I was able to use my own song, Out of Time, to incorporate the fact I just got squeezed in at the last minute. It felt good to be able to have closed among such talent.”

Overall, it was a fun night for everyone, whether they sang or not. Music was the reason for getting together, and the performances made up the content, but the overall sense of community is what made this open mic so special.

Stay up to date with Breakthru Events through their Instagram @breakthruevents and email breakthru.events@gmail.com if you have any questions.

Trevor Kelly performing at the MBM Open Mic Night. Photo by Megan Murayama.