By Bonnie Berger
Reporter
Baylor students get vocal throughout Waco tonight with various performances both on and off campus.
Ranging from soulful to sassy, tonight’s melodious conglomerates offer a fresh alternative to sitcom reruns.
Student Productions kicks off an exciting semester of on-campus events with Acoustic Café in the Bill Daniel Student Center from 8-10 p.m today.
A student favorite, this free bi-semester event showcases artists Hannah Read, Brett Allen and Ben Horseman, Laura Webb, and Max Helmerich. Attendees will receive complimentary coffee and desserts.
Just one selection from the impressive lineup, juniors Allen and Horseman have played off and on for seven years, alternating between a variety of older cover songs mixed with Allen’s own work.
“Our style ranges from jazz and blues sometimes to covers on the radio,” Horseman said.
The duo will perform a sampling of Allen’s newest songs at the gathering.
For those seeking an evening of light-hearted folksy melodies, Common Grounds delivers. Lindsay McCaul, featuring Brin Beaver and Amy Boykin of Uproar Records will perform at 8 p.m. in the Common Grounds Backyard. The cover charge is $7.
McCaul, a Christian pop singer/songwriter from Chicago performed at the popular coffee house with Christian artists Shane and Shane last December, wowing the audience with her crisp, powerful voice.
Beaver, a junior from Emory, and Plano freshman Boykin will accompany McCaul, creating a dynamic evening of vocal girl power. The two played at Common Grounds Friday in Uproar Records New Artist Showcase along with David Dulcie and the Ragtag Army, and KJ Doug Great, treating onlookers with their foot-tapping melodies.
Boykin describes her music as “jazzy and poppy,” possessing a “tap-your-foot type sound,” that compliments Beaver’s emotive energy.
If caffeine and eclectic ambience do not suit, 40 Thieves Hookah Lounge located on Fourth Street in downtown Waco welcomes students with a “Back 2 School” event at 10 p.m. today with a $5 cover charge.
The season’s first in a series of weekly live music nights, the event presents the instrumental melodies of Fort Worth junior Sarai Ingram in a relaxed environment for smoking shisha and playing pool.
A pianist of nine years, Ingram accompanies instrumental melodies from the likes of hellogoodbye, Kate Nash and Adele with her voice, in addition to writing her own musical content.
Enthused for her upcoming performance, she eagerly anticipates performing a new cover of Adele’s “Hometown Glory,” a mellow tune infused with volume, soul and “[Ingram’s] own little twist on it.”
As opportunities for socializing and soaking up sonorous beats abound, tonight’s events offer a way to beat those back-to-school blues.