By Maddi Ference
Staff Writer
Music consumed the Decker Social Space on Friday, Feb. 12, with the talents of the College’s very own. A small yet attentive audience filled the seats to watch as a student performed and confidently showed off his talents by both freestyle dancing and singing. His performance was followed by that of a student with only her guitar and phenomenal vocal abilities.
Singer Christopher Minick, a sophomore communication studies and marketing double major, started the event with a little help from his friends, who compared themselves to The Temptations. They swayed to the beat, performed backup vocals to Minick and livened up the crowd. Even after the entourage took their seats among the audience, Minick continued to wow with his solo performance for the remainder of the set.
During the middle of the set, Minick slowed down the tempo with Musiq Soulchild’s song, “Love.” He performed with such heart that the audience could not help but watch in awe and cheer when there was a break in the song.
“I feel like (‘Love’) showcases all I can do with my voice and it’s a song that is very well written that I wish I wrote myself because I am a songwriter as well,” Minick said.
After loud applause from the audience, Minick said, “My favorite thing about performing is that it is one of the times that I feel like I can really be myself. I let everything from my week and just everything in life go and sing.”
After Minick’s lively performance, the atmosphere in the room instantly relaxed when Hannah Beal, a junior communication studies major, came onto the stage and played acoustic songs on her guitar. The combination of her music and voice sounded perfect for a coffee shop setting and she calmed the audience with covers of various love songs.
Beal sang a rendition of Amy Winehouse’s “I Heard Love is Blind” that showcased her vocals in a different way. Normally, the song is performed by a raucous singer, like Winehouse, yet Beal sang with a calm and melodic voice that gave the song a totally different sound.
“(‘I Heard Love is Blind’) is my favorite song to play on guitar and I like singing it and performing it,” Beal said.
Other songs that she performed were “Magnets” by Disclosure and “I’ll Be Seeing You” by Billie Holiday.
“I just like having an outlet to play my songs,” Beal said. “I kind of do it as a hobby, but I really like sharing it with people.”
The College Union Board’s Student Soloist night was a successful event that showed off the many talents of students on campus. Students showed their true colors on stage through confident singing (and a little bit of dancing) in front of a supportive audience of their peers. The showcased songs ranged from upbeat hip-hop to acoustic ballads, but one common theme was shown through all performers — the College has talent.
