Melissa Nunez
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KCPR, Cal Poly’s student-run radio station, is presenting its third Open Mic Event at the Christopher Cohan Performing Arts Center (PAC) on April 17 alongside PAC Outreach.
“I work at the PAC backstage and was speaking with the PAC’s outreach representative, Melody Klemin,” KCPR event director and business administration junior Parker Glenn said. “She’s a local musician and she had the idea for an open mic. I had the idea to do more student-oriented events in the PAC, so we brought that together.”
KCPR plans on making it a quarterly event, KCPR promotions director and graphic communication junior Haley Brown said.
The previous Open Mic events have had approximately 100-120 people in the audience, with approximately 20-22 performers each time.
“We book up at least a week in advance to the show,” Glenn said. “So it seems like people really enjoy it.”
KCPR’s event differs from other open mics, he said.
“It’s bigger than playing a coffee shop, but it’s not frightening like playing on stage, so I think that’s what people enjoy the most about it,” Glenn said.
The setup of the event contributes to its overall atmosphere.
“We set up a bunch of tables just like a coffee shop,” Brown said. “There’s couches and we try to make it a very unintimidating space. Super laid-back.”
Working with PAC Outreach, KCPR aims to bring a stronger student presence to the venue.
“The PAC is, in fact, a state-of-the-art venue that should be more frequently attended by students,” Glenn said. “I think that students and performers have been enjoying our Open Mic specifically because we offer quality, but a really comfortable venue.”
Frequent types of performances include poetry, spoken word, comedy, acoustic guitar players, original songs and song covers.
“I’m always impressed with the quality that comes to Open Mic,” Glenn said. “I sometimes think, ‘Oh, there’s just going to be some people who are playing in their dorm room for fun and come out,’ but no, the people that come out are seriously talented.”
Brown encourages students from various artistic backgrounds to attend.
“We want it to be a space where all different students of different talents share what they are passionate about,” she said.
After the event, students are allowed to mingle.
At the end of the past two open mics, performers and others jammed together outside of the venue, Glenn said.
“That was so cool to see both times, because they would have never met otherwise,” he said.
Along with putting on the event, KCPR is doing a live broadcast through its station. KCPR dic jockeys will be on site commentating and talking in between sets over the air.
“It gives students the opportunity to showcase what they like to do,” KCPR DJ and theatre junior Nick Cocores said. “It’s an event out of the ordinary that typically you don’t see on campus too often.”
This open mic event kicks off KCPR’s Pledge Week, its annual fundraiser.
Students can sign up to perform through the event’s page on Facebook. Doors open at 7:30 pm and performances are from 8-10 p.m. Admission is free and there will be free food and coffee.