Many students from all majors packed into Creative Coffee & Supply on Thursday night to attend the first-ever Open Mic Night, hosted by Pioneer Records.
The theme of the open mic night was the early 2000s, invoking nostalgia in the audience and the performers. Olivia Curti, Pioneer Records’ director of graphic design, was the MC for the night. She announced each performance, provided extra commentary and encouraged any and all performances.
A few participants had brought instruments and performed with them. Others chose the karaoke route.
The night started off with Akisse Morton performing the song “Jealous” by Labrinth. It was just her and a piano and organ backing track. Her singing was soulful and the performance was emotional. She also performed the 2AM song “Breath”.
Gavin Petrone decided to sing a surprise song for the audience which ended up being his own unique rendition of “So Sick of Love Songs” by Neo. It was a fun, giggle-filled performance.
He started up his performance with an unforgettable anecdote about high school.
Jake Boone was the star of the open mic. He started off the open mic playing two songs from his upcoming album. He also provided the audience with a large range of covers, from ‘80s and ‘90s alternative hits to even musical theater numbers. I thought his cover of “Lovesong” by the Cure was great, especially since, instead of performing the chords on his guitar, he sang along to the bass notes. The musical theater numbers from “Heather”s and “The Pirates of Penzance” added more variety to the open mic night.
The other popular singer of the night was Rylie Mahon. He sang “Wherever You Go” by The Calling. He has the vocal range of the original singer, and he did an excellent job of demonstrating this in front of the crowd.
He also sang “Somewhere I Used to Know” by Keane and “When You Were Young” by Adele, which started a trend of power ballads among attendees such as “When I Was Your Man” by Bruno Mars and “As the World Caves In” by Matt Maltese.
Zoey Ross and Maya Spicher performed the ‘80s classic “I Was Made For Lovin’ You” by Kiss. It was a playful performance, and the chorus was strong. It looked like they had the best time out of any of the attendees while performing their song.
Zoey Ross also wowed the crowd with her performances of “Winner Takes It All” by Abba and “Ave Maria” by Andrea Bocelli. “Winner Takes it All” allowed the audience to hear Zoey’s vocal range a little bit better. This performance was powerful and the extra vibrato in the notes in the chorus added more emotion to the song, which received extra applause from the audience. Ross’s performance of “Ave Maria” was easily one of the best of the night. The choice was completely unexpected, but Ross gave an amazing rendition of the song comparable to Andrea Bocelli.
There were definitely some pre-show jitters, but overall the performers did a great job at entertaining the crowd and themselves. The crowd was super supportive and applauded each performance.
The night ended with pop hits “Dance the Night” by Dua Lipa and “I’m Just Ken,” both being from the Barbie movie. Both songs made people dance and attendees even waved their phone flashlights for “I’m just Ken,” which was performed by MC Olivia Curti.
Pioneer Records has a few more fun events to offer Point Park University. On October 12, they will be hosting Karaoke Night, collaborating with Bison Exchange to provide a night of thrift shopping and music at Creative Coffee. The next day, the event titled Music Mash features the finalists of Pioneer Star Experience as they perform live in Village Park for attendees.
