UPC drew in a full house in the Starbucks lobby for its Open Mic Night in conjunction with the Beat Bama Food Drive Tuesday night.
More than 50 students gathered to hear guitarists, vocalist, spoken word and self-expression of all types from about 20 artists.
Tonight's Open Mic Night gave students the opportunity to turn in canned food items in support of the food drive benefiting the East Alabama Food Bank while simultaneously enjoying covers of artists like Sam Smith and Carrie Underwood sung by their peers.
The UPC hosts open mic nights every third Tuesday per month, averaging around three per semester.
"They're basically a chill event where people can come out and showcase their talent," said Catherine Scibetta, Director of Fine Arts for UPC. "I mean we have a range of everything from people who play guitar, spoken word, people who do comedy. It's just a place where people can express themselves to an accepting audience."
The open mic night is what Scibetta called a "free for all". Students can just walk up, sign in and go no matter the talent, or time or level of expertise like in the case of Tony Gomez, a senior in building science. Gomez said he started performing at the open mic nights his sophomore year when he first arrived to Auburn.
"I used to do this every time but this past year I kind of stopped," Gomez said. "I figured I would ignite that again. It's my first time being back in like a year. I like the setting, the kind of coffee house feel where not everyone has their eyes on you. They're sort of talking amongst themselves. It's kind of what draws me here toward the more acoustic setting, because that's what I play."
The event was just as much for the crowd as it is for the artists and an opportunity to give back to the community. Jordan Patton, a sophomore in Psychology said she is a regular at open mic nights.
"I like music and I didn't have anything else to do so I came to see what this is about," Patton said. "I wouldn't expect the typical open mic night to be as bright, but it's still nice. If I had the time I would definitely do this."
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