Blackroom Cafe is Back!

-Lucas Harger

When the Blackroom Café opened last semester with the first performance by Steph Plant, no one was aware of what the response to the Blackroom Café would be. However, students shared the feeling that singer/songwriter acoustic artists had a lack of opportunity to perform on campus. The gaping hole of an acoustic outlet seemed in direct contradiction to the obvious plethora of acoustic artists around the Greenville area. It was soon apparent that the Blackroom Café might gain enough momentum to last for a semester. Needless to say, on opening night Steph Plant was a perfect paradoxical mixture of uplifting and heart wrenching lyrics and the performance was sure to bring people back the following Tuesday night.

From that week on, the Blackroom Cafe proceeded to feature artists from Greenville campus, such as Johannah Swank, Kelly Latimore, and Caitlin Macri, as well as a recoding singer/songwriter from Nashville, JJ Heller. The Blackroom Café continued to mold, take form, and turn slowly into a consistent intimate stage for artists.

The "Blackroom Café Live" album was put out as a result of the overwhelming positive feedback received from the student body that attended. This album includes three campus artists: Kelly Latimore, Johannah Swank and Steph Plant. The CD features five songs that were all performed live in the Blackroom Cafe. The album was sold for $5.00 and I heard nothing but positive feedback from everyone I had conversation with about the album.

As the new semester begins, the Blackroom Café is getting ready for another semester of great music. The idea of this venue is to provide a place where singer/songwriters have an opportunity to perform and grow while providing the opportunity for the audience to take part in shaping the acoustic folk atmosphere that is evident in the Blackroom Cafe.

Tuesday February 10th, at 9:00 PM, the campus folk band, Ellery Grange, will play and it is sure to be a great night. If you have any questions or comments about Blackroom Café or fall into the category of acoustic, folk, or singer/songwriter and would like to perform, email Lucas Harger at blackroomcafe@gmail.com.