King’s Students Dazzle at Open Mic

As students pile into the upstairs bar of the Miller, the warm sound of a capella, Scottish folk singing greets them, and the night gets underway. The King’s Record hosted their first open mic of the year on the 6th October, with musicians and music fans alike getting involved.

Hannah Crawford opens at the Miller.

The performances of the evening were noticeably eclectic, with artists from all aspects of King’s life going through their sets. It ranged from self-penned pieces to personal renditions of familiar music.

Alex Hammond, the president of King’s Record, told me a bit about what the society is about:

“Our main aim is to put on events where people can meet each other and perform. There’s a lot of jazz music and a lot of classical music at King’s but no opportunities for acoustic singer-songwriters and regular pop music – it’s about filling the hole that’s left when you consider musicians that aren’t classically trained to some degree, and removing the pressure that comes with those performances”.

Will Oy, the society’s treasurer, mentioned its aims:

“We want to create the best environment possible where everyone can come down for free. It’s about making it more inclusive and creating a real social scene that surrounds music at King’s. Previously, there were a lot of musicians and singers interested in performing, but no particular event that people could come down to.”

King’s Record has been involved in collaborations with other societies, earlier this year they held a showcase with the Hot Chocolate Society to celebrate an EP launch and to use its funds to raise money for the homeless charity, Crisis.  “We raised close to £250”, Alex tells me. “We’re aiming to do a lot more of that this year and make it as open as possible for people to collaborate. If you’re a music fan come down. That’s it. You don’t have to be a musician, you just have to be a music fan”.

King’s Record is hosting a collaboration mixer on Tuesday 11 October. Do be sure to come down to meet other music-lovers!