Fresh new talent jazzes up local java joint

Author: Tamara Hilmes

The windows of Carol's Hungry Mind CafÈ were foggier than usual last Friday night. Inside the local coffee shop, there was more to hear than the usual hum of chatty coffee drinkers and the periodic squeal of the espresso machine. Down in the basement below, the rising stars of Middlebury were wowing the crowd with their singing and songwriting talents. The event was an Open Mic Night for musicians ages 23 and under.

Open Mic Night, which began in 2006 as an event geared toward older musicians in the community, was expanded last fall to accommodate local teenagers. On the first Friday of each month, the coffee shop opens its doors and its stage to teens who perform live in front of family, friends and community members.

"Around the time that school started, we asked John, the manager, to start an Open Mic Night for younger people," said Raye Keyser, a ninth grader at Middlebury Union High School. Keyser and her friend Anna Gerretson, an eighth grader from Rutland, performed together as a group named "Mitosis."

"We've performed here about three or four times since it started in the fall," said Gerretson. "It's been great to get together with friends and share our music with everybody."

"Mitosis," a name that was chosen after Keyser had studied the term in her high school biology class, performed two different songs which included vocals and acoustic guitars by the two girls. Gerretson had only begun playing guitar a year ago, and Keyser just picked up the instrument for the first time over the summer.

"I used to play cello in orchestra," Keyser explained, "but guitar is way better."

A few of Keyser's classmates also performed on Carol's stage, which was fully equipped with lighting, amps and microphones for the young performers. Dewey Dunnington, a senior at Middlebury Union High School, performed two songs that he had written himself. One of his songs was entitled "The Sunrise" and the other, "Blue Sky."

Dunnington was no rookie to the Carols' scene-this was his sixth or seventh gig at Open Mic Night.

"We had a stretch of really nice weather that just inspired me to write a couple of songs," said Dunnington about the inspiration for his most recent performance. Along with writing his own music and lyrics, Dunnington played acoustic guitar and whistled during his folk-inspired performance.

"I really enjoy playing my music for people," said Dunnington. Community members of all ages, from babies in their carriers to senior citizens, filled the chairs and sofas lined up in the basement of Carol's. This past Friday's event was such a success that people were even standing in the back to listen to Middlebury's newest talent.

"I had no idea that so many people would show up," said Michele Fay, who is on the Open Mic board and ran Friday's event. "It is so great that so many adults came. It was such a great audience for the kids."

Thanks to its continued success and its sponsor, WMUD, a local radio station, Open Mic Night will continue to be held for Middlebury teens every first Friday of each month at Carol's.

"I cannot wait to perform at more Open Mic Nights," said Gerretsen. "We actually get to perform when we come here, but a lot of places only want adults because they do not think that teens are really serious about playing."

Gerretsen and Keyser plan on proving these critics wrong, as they have already begun to lay down tracks for their first album.

"We have 19 songs total, and we have already recorded a couple," Gerretsen explained. "We know it will not be sold, but at least we will have our music out there, and our friends and family can enjoy it."