Coffeehouse event sparks interest in Warner Robins campus activities—will more follow?
At 7 p.m. on April 19, the Walker Auditorium of Macon State College’s Warner Robins Campus was transformed into a coffee house, complete with refreshments and music.
The event, paid for by student activity fees, had no entry price for attendance. Each student was allowed to bring up to two non-student guests to the event. Once they arrived, students were treated to a variety of snacks and beverages including sodas, hot tea and coffee.
For the first ten minutes of the event, everyone was allowed to grab food, settle down and mingle as the opening acts set up.
The first singer was one of the winners of Macon State’s Got Talent, Alex Willis. Despite sound issues and a few interruptions, Willis shined on stage and even showed some humor. After Amy Carter, Student Life Program Coordinator, and the audience agreed that the microphone issues were taking away from Willis’ performance; he laughed it off and said, “Alright then, no microphone.”
After Willis finished with his three songs, it was Sammie Watson’s turn. Watson, a freshman at Macon State who has been performing “since [she] was 7 years old” took to the stage with grace and played keyboard while she sang. The audience was serenaded by Watson’s performances of songs by Vanessa Carlton, Norah Jones, and Adele.
Between acts, various prizes were awarded to students who walked down to receive them or, in the case of Kaileighandra Powell, were willing to sing for them. Powell won a coffee thermos for going to the front of the auditorium and singing a few lines from Carter’s favorite song, “No Scrubs” by TLC. Both opening student performances were refreshing and very well done in the face of the technical errors that plagued the evening.
By the time the star act began their show, the microphones and other electronic devices were put away and Gin House got to rely solely on their vocal talents to woo the audience. Gin House is an eclectic two-man group consisting of members Brandon Clark and Paul Lynch. Their music is self-described on the band’s website as a blend of “semiparts country, folk, pop and soul.”
The duo from Atlanta did not only sing original songs, but also added a Johnny Cash song to their set list. The pair, who according to coffee thermos winner Powell looked like “Tyler Durden from Fight Club and Joe Jonas,” were very well received by the students in attendance. The band was even able to involve the students by encouraging everyone to clap along with one of their songs.
Overall, the experience carried the inherent vibe of a Macon State event. The lingering thought on everyone’s mind at the end of the evening was whether or not more events of a similar nature will start taking place on the Warner Robins campus.
At the end of the event, students were given surveys in an attempt to allow them to influence future events on the Warner Robins campus. Students who mainly attend classes in Warner Robins also want to be included in student life events, and many of them hope to see an improvement in the resources available to programs presented off of the Macon campus.
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Filed Under: Features