By Amy Reynolds
Correspondent
Although many students were already on their way home for fall break, four students performed their hearts out for a small audience at the Rathskeller on Friday, Oct. 14.
Dan Gibson, a sophomore business major, took the stage first. Although the crowd was relatively small at the beginning of his set, other students came to listen after he played the guitar and sang a few songs — both originals and covers such as “Someone Like You” by Adele and “Dancing in the Dark” by Bruce Springsteen.
Gibson, who described his music as “alternative,” said he is in a band called the Dundees, from Hazlet, N.J., and strongly encouraged the audience members to check out his band.
After Gibson had sung about ten songs, freshman English major Corrina Santos took the stage.
“I love singing, and I’ve been playing the guitar for about two years,” Santos said before beginning her set.
Santos first sang the popular song “Somewhere Only We Know” by Keane and claimed it was one of her favorite songs to perform.
Before playing the song she said, “One of my best friends put it on a CD, and that’s how I discovered it and fell in love with it.”
Santos continued to play a mixture of both covers and original songs. She even mixed two entirely different songs and made them her own. “I took two songs and put them together,” she said. “It was a lot of fun, actually.”
Although Santos has been performing for four years and even attended a performing arts high school, it was a random person who overheard her singing that suggested she play at the Rat.
The third performer, senior religious studies major Jake Ehrlich, also got a very pleasant reaction from the crowd.
By this point in the night, the Rat was nearly filled. “Now there’s so many people, and I’m happy about that,” Ehrlich said.
The first two songs he sang were originals, one of which was about his study abroad trip to Japan.
Ehrlich played a total of ten songs, including a cover from the early ’60s, a love song he wrote himself and “No Other One,” by Weezer, a song he said he had never covered before.
After playing a mixture of both original songs and covers, he ended with Daniel Johnson’s “Silly Love.”
“It’s the most inspirational song I know, so it’s good to end on,” Ehrlich said.
The last performer of the night, junior English major Gary Kehoe, had a very supportive crowd, including various friends to whom he gave shout-outs and even some members of his crew team.
Although none of his songs were originals, Kehoe got a positive response from his audience for the seven cover songs he played.
He played a Mumford & Sons song, “I’m Sorry,” and two songs by the Zac Brown Band, “Free” and “Knee Deep.”
All four performers seemed to share a deep passion for music and performing. As Santos said, “Making music is something I absolutely love to do.”
