John Brown University’s campus student-owned coffee shop, Ground Floor, was a pocket of musical talent on the night of Thursday, Dec. 4. The smell of freshly ground coffee, dim lights and the sound of local musicians filled the small space. Bodies gathered together to hear covers and originals from friends and peers. The makeshift stage was graced by: Phillip Bartz, Ean Brown, Charis Stegall, Alyssa Bader, Caleb Cooper, Gillian Carson, Aliza Becker, Ava Villarreal, Claire and Keith Jagger, Ainsley Lafferty, Jason Flores, Laney Heckman, Silas Schroeder, Harrison Coker and Ayden Childs. The event was put on by the Student Event Association and hosted by junior biology major and barista, Nash Wessels.
Before the microphones were turned on, a large crowd had already begun to pile around the tables and chairs of Ground Floor. The space became so full that eventually chairs had to be pulled from the North Slope townhouses. The coffee bar was open throughout the night, with intercultural studies freshman Nora Wessels serving as the barista. It was fit for the season; cozy Christmas lights and decorations adorned the inside of the coffee shop.
Wessels opened the night by giving special thanks to Dr. Kim Hadley and introducing the opening act for the night: Bartz and Brown on acoustic and electric guitar. The two were the filler performers during the night, playing during empty slots in the sign-up sheet, and giving newcomers time to sign up.
Before their first song, Bartz said, “Sign up if you want us to stop playing”. As there were only two names on the sign-up sheet, Wessels taped the QR code on his back to encourage those in the audience to take a chance and sign up. The two opened with three covers, including Morgan Wallen’s “Cover Me Up”, for which Brown gave a harmonica solo. After they had finished their initial set of songs, Bader and Stegall took their place, with Bader on guitar and Stegall on vocals for two songs, which included Phillip Phillips ' “Gone, Gone, Gone”.
Bader said, “We decided to do this 20 minutes ago”, as they had been looking through Bader’s folder of sheet music during set-up. He returned to the stage, but with Caleb Cooper by his side. The two sang and led the crowd through John Denver’s “Country Roads” and a mash-up of Taylor Swift’s “Blank Space” and Ben E. King’s “Stand by Me”.
After the segment of covers, artists Carson and Becker performed some of their originals. Two of Carson’s pieces, “Billy and Jean” and “The Names Forever Scorned,” were sea shanties in nature, and the final was an unnamed, new creation. Becker also performed a new, unnamed piece, as well as one titled “How Much More”, which was released on Spotify the prior Friday.
Carson shared a little bit of background behind her songs. About “Billy and Jean”, she said, “Billy and Jean is a song I wrote for a sweet Irish couple who are long-time friends of my parents. They are genuinely the type of people who make you feel like you have been part of the family forever upon first meeting them. Their home is surrounded by gardens, and the beauty of the place was just breathtaking. What inspired the line "table of love" was their huge round table with a lazy Suzan built into the middle, where they host and serve everyone. It has been affectionally nicknamed the table of love long before my time, but I wanted to give it a proper place in a pub-like tune.”
About “The Names Forever Scorned”, Carson said, “The names forever scorned was a song born from just a little conversation with my mom. I was sitting at the bar and mentioned I felt really creative and wanted to write a new song. I asked her for any topics and she mentioned that I should write a sea shanty, somewhat as a joke. I thought it sounded like a fun challenge and a way to get my creativity on a page, so "The Names Forever Scorned" was born. It's a fictional story born of a conversation with my mom!”
The rest of the night was unstructured, as the sign-up sheet had been played through. Bartz and Brown filled the empty spaces while several audience members prepared themselves. First, Villarreal showcased her jazzy voice with Laufey’s “I Wish You Love”, which was then followed by a Claire Jagger and special guest, JBU Chaplain Keith Jagger. The father-daughter duo performed “Edelweiss” from Disney’s “Sound of Music” and included the audience in a sing-along at the end.
Carson returned to the stage, accompanied by Brown, which was followed by a mishmash of groupings including: the Ground Floor crew, composed of Bartz, Lafferty and Flores, duo, Heckman and Schroeder and the dubbed “construction management crew”- Brown, Coker and Childs.
After the long list of performances, Wessels prayed over the crowd, and Bartz and Brown took the stage one final time to perform “All Night Revival” by Zach Bryan.
Photo Courtesy of Hope Brittenham
