By Erianne Lewis | Staff Writer
The Acoustic Café was reinstated as a Sundown Session on Saturday, where students gathered to partake in an open mic night-style event on the stage in the Student Union Building (SUB). Union Board decided to bring back this event, which first debuted in 2012.
Students from across Baylor’s campus came to showcase a variety of talents, including stand-up comedy, singing and more.
Sugarland junior Nicole Ma said she stumbled across the event after reading about it in Baylor’s weekly newsletter, What’s New BU, where she often follows what is happening with Sundown Sessions.
“I saw it and I wanted to perform because I did spoken word back in high school, and it’s been like a hot minute since I’ve done it,” Ma said. “It was really, really fun and I think it’s such a unique experience because it kind of brings back that community that we haven’t been able to have as much during the pandemic.”
Ma said she felt like Acoustic Café had a coffee shop vibe where she was in a warm environment with different people supporting one another.
Austin junior Samantha Overhauser, Union Board team member said they brought back the Acoustic Café to allow students to express themselves creatively.
“Back in 2012 when Union Board started, Acoustic Café was actually one of our first events,” Overhauser said. “We were just looking for things to do for Sundown Sessions this semester and we were like, ‘Let’s bring Acoustic Café back, we think it’ll be lots of fun.’ We know there are lots of creatives on Baylor’s campus that would like to share their talents, so we thought it would be fun to bring it back.”
Greely, Colo. sophomore Caden Betancourt said he was invited by his friend, who recommended the event to him.
“I’ve always wanted to do standup; it’s been about 11 years in the making. It’s exciting to be able to have an outlet to be able to do something like that,” Betancourt said.
Before he performs, Betancourt said he spends a lot of time going through his bits.
“I come up with the bits separately and I try to find my outline after that. The outline helps me memorize the bits,” Betancourt said.
Overhauser said students were able to sign up for the event by emailing Union Board ahead of time to inform them of what they wanted to perform.
“People were emailing Sarah Patterson, who is our graduate advisor for Union Board, and they would just email her and tell her about what they were doing and then she created a little setlist,” Overhauser said.
Ma said her favorite part of the event was the energy in the room during the performances.
“I like the vibes,” Ma said. “I think it’s so cool to see different people perform. The ambiance is super great and super chill, it’s just a really great space to be in.”
Overhauser said the Union Board has an end-of-the-school-year event planned for April 24. More information about upcoming events can be found on their website or social media pages.
“Next Saturday, we are doing sort of an opposite of Día, we are calling it Noche. It’s supposed to be like an end of semester shebang,” Overhauser said. “People should definitely come out, it’s going to be tons fun.”
