Open Mic showcases talent for prospective students

Hundreds of Union students and Bulldog Days attendees packed out Barefoots Joe Friday night to see the first Open Mic of the year.

The lineup was filled with various vocal performances ranging from acoustic renditions of Beyoncé’s ‘Halo’ to all original Christian rap.

Abbey Peecher, sophomore vocal performance major, kicked off the night with an acoustic piano version of OutKast’s “Hey Ya!”

“It was really fun because the audience was so responsive,” Peecher said. “They all yelled ‘ice cold!’ when I sang the line ‘what’s cooler than being cool?’”

Students Sol Bee Park and Eugenia and Paula Nestico performed a Korean song for the first time in Open Mic history, which was met with great reactions from the audience.

Also introducing something new was freshman rapper Emrico. Emrico performed one of his original raps called “Ain’t Going Alone” after which he passed out bracelets sporting his name to the audience.

Elizabel Riggs, senior theater major, emceed the night introducing a new game called “Would UU Rather” in between acts. Riggs asked questions like “Would you rather go 100 years into the future or the past” and read the best answers submitted via Twitter following the next act.

“Emceeing was a blast. I really enjoyed getting to be a part of the evening in a silly way,” Riggs said. “I mean, come on, who doesn’t enjoy getting to know their fellow man through a rousing game of ‘Would You Rather?’”

The night concluded with a performance from a bluesy rock band featuring an electric guitar solo from Union alumnus, Shane Caver.

The next Open Mic night will be in the spring semester. In the meantime, Barefoots has a concert from Benjamin Harper scheduled for Friday Oct. 23.

About Abby Duke 13 Articles
Senior Public Relations major at Union University. I'm a member of Kappa Delta Sorority, the Blank Slate Improv team and have an unhealthy habit of acting like Amy Schumer is my sister.