Open Mic Night: Celebrating Music, Creativity and Collaboration
Two Ukes. Spotify Premium. Coldcuts. Daughters of Lot. This is just a sampling from open mic night’s band roster.
On Dec. 17, on W 185th St. between St. Nicholas Ave and Audubon Ave, in our very own Schottenstein Theater, talent came out of the woodwork. Genres ranged from classical music to punk rock to comedic covers to originals. The Music Club crafted a perfect musical escape from the stress of school, assignments and impending finals.
At around 8:10 p.m. students started piling in until the crowd was full. Hayley Goldberg (SCW ‘27), the Music Club’s head of PR, greeted incomers at the door with pizza and programs. But this isn’t where the event really started. The Music Club had their first board meeting in the summer. Since then, they have been working on sorting students into bands and getting them performance ready.
First, applications were sent out for people who wanted to perform. Then, the club had to figure out how to fit the event into under two hours, narrowing it down to 13 acts. The sequence of acts was not arbitrary. President of the Music Club Danny Kutin (YC ‘25) told The Commentator, “We tried to do a good mix of bands, solos and duets, and once we had our list we tried to come up with a specific order.” “We had an intentional vision with the way we started from the beginning to the end,” he added.
Kutin is also each bands’ manager, which is no small task. His job includes “checking in with bands, making sure that they are practicing, seeing what they are working on, working with individual members of groups to make sure everybody is on the same page...”
However, so much more than the bands themselves that goes into the final Open Mic Night event. Every detail was thought out to ensure the night went smoothly. This included labeling instruments, running soundchecks and videotaping the event.
It is extremely rewarding when all of these moving parts finally come together in a beautiful celebration of music and creativity. As Kutin said, “My favorite part about the event is seeing it all come together.”
Beren’s Vice President of the Music Club Brooke Kohl (SCW ‘26) felt similarly. Kohl told The Commentator, “My friends could finally see what I was working toward the nights that I disappeared for hours to go to band practice.”
There were 13 performances in total, including bands, duets and singles. However, there was an additional entertainer of the night, the emcee, Yechiel Amar (YC ‘26). “I’m very thankful to the music club for giving me the opportunity and I hope everyone was entertained,” Amar said.
Amar’s jokes were not the night’s exclusive source of humor. ADHB’s parody of Billy Joel’s, “Uptown Girl,” called “Midtown Girl,” with lyrics like “she’s been living in her Brookdale world” and “you know I can’t afford Tiberius,” was definitely received with a good amount of laughs.
Then there were performances with more seriousness. The band “After Rehearsal” with Yosef Bensimon (SSSB ‘27) and Hayley Goldberg on the violins, Brooke Kohl on the double bass and Elza Koslowe (SCW ‘27) on the piano, performed “Canon in D” by Johann Pachelbel beautifully. During the performance itself, the audience was completely silent, followed by a standing ovation.
Having a space where YU students can work on and showcase their musical talents is a driving purpose of the Music Club. For the performers, it provides a necessary outlet for collaboration and creativity. For the audience members, it provides a rare opportunity to see their friends and classmates in a totally new context, doing something they love and are passionate about. It’s a win-win.
As Kohl told the Commentator, “Some people told me that they weren’t able to make it and sounded genuinely disappointed, which served as an awesome reminder that Open Mic Night is fun for everyone, performers and audience members and board members.”
But it’s not just about having fun. The significance of Open Mic Night reaches beyond the two hours it lasts for. “Everybody listens to music whether you are doing work or you are just walking down the street,” Kutin explained. “It is such an important way of expressing ourselves and being creative … I think it is so important to have all of these [events] because a lot of people are focused all the time on what work we have to do and is this a productive assignment, and this is a really good way to have fun and express ourselves.”
Be sure to be on the lookout for the Music Club’s next event!
Photo Caption: The band “Norville” plays an original song
Photo Credit: Hayley Goldberg
