On Wednesday, Feb. 1, “Foothills Visual and Textual Journal” and Sigma Tau Delta sponsored an open mic night at  DU’s student-run coffee shop, Beans. The small café was packed with an anticipatory crowd sipping coffee and wine, either waiting to approach the mic or to sit back and be entertained. There were about 15 performances, consisting of covers, original songs, guitar, ukulele, comedy and poetry. It was a pleasant escape from an otherwise cold and dreary night.     

“Foothills” was established in 1946 by the University’s English department. Its purpose is to provide students with an opportunity to publish their creative works. The organization accepts music, writing, art and photography. They are beginning to experiment with video, as well. Each spring, a journal is released with the highlights of the year’s submissions.    

The open mic nights are yet another way that “Foothills” encourages students to embrace their creativity and share their talents and voices with their peers. They give artists the opportunity to gain confidence in their abilities and to be inspired by the genius of others.

Although it is difficult to narrow down, a few shining moments during the night were senior Alex Buis’s stunning guitar playing and bluesy voice, senior Anna Walsh’s captivating poetry about beasts and forests and love’s impermanence and our Clarion Entertainment Editor, junior Ryan Ninesling, reading his hilarious and delightful poems, one of which he dubbed an  “apocalyptic angst poem.”

“Foothills” is continuing to do great work for the creative community at DU by providing comfortable and productive environments to share and observe innovation.

If you would like to participate, or if you are in need of inspiration, stop by Beans for the next open mic night on Wednesday, Feb. 22.