By Myles Dunlop
This year’s first coffee house was one of the school’s best attended in recent history, and with the increasing popularity of the coffee houses more and more students have an opportunity to showcase their talent for the community.
Student band The Jazz Buds were a big hit amongst attendees. The group’s drummer, junior Max Rubenstein, has performed numerous times at coffee houses and said “it gave me more confidence to perform” and that “performing has a certain thrill.” Rubenstein said he felt more comfortable to perform with the practice and experience of having an audience.
Senior Milo Romaguera, a musician who has played at the coffee houses since his ninth-grade year, said that “I had always had stage fright,” but that “the coffee house helped me build up courage to play in front of a crowd.”
The coffee houses have not only helped the performers but have also helped the community come together in support of their peers. Students, faculty, and parents are able to witness amazing talent, foster confidence in the performers to showcase their talents in front of a crowd, and to help people with little experience. Erika Nally, an eleventh grader who has attended almost every coffee house, said that “being at the coffee house means supporting my friends and people who are performing, but also just appreciating the things that they can do.”
The coffee house is “a time to witness a crazy cool act, but also supporting them as they do it,” Nally said. Some musicians who perform at the coffee houses are actually pursuing music as a career path. Even though music is a competitive industry, Max and Milo are positive that they want to pursue music as a professional career. The coffee house “offers a great place for artists to express our emotions and allow them to be heard,” Rubenstein said.