A student walks into a coffee shop in the evening, expecting to get some work done in a quiet and caffeinated environment. Instead, that student is greeted with the shrill vibrations of acoustic guitar and the voice of a nationally-touring artist.
Thanks to the Student Government Association Program Board’ Coffeehouse concert series , such concerts and events have become a monthly occurrence at Butler University.
Casey Crescenzo, singer and founder of indie rock band The Dear Hunter, delivered a solo acoustic performance at the on-campus Starbucks last Wednesday night.
The performance attracted many students, despite the artist’s “up-and-coming” status.
“I thought it was a pretty good turnout for someone that not a lot of people have heard of,” junior Coffeehouse co-chair Kiefer Berry said. “I thought he actually did very well with what we had out. It ended up sounding really good, and it was a pretty good show.”
Crescenzo said he was humbly pleased performing at Butler. This was his first visit to campus, and he said that he was initially disillusioned when pulling up to campus and parking in front of a fraternity house, stating that he had always related colleges and fraternities to what he had seen in movies.
After a warm welcome by Coffeehouse students and the audience that attended his show, his perceptions were immediately changed.
“I always get the feeling that I don’t deserve how nice people treat me, so it was just awesome, and everyone’s been really nice,” Crescenzo said. “I could never afford to go to college, and I was not smart enough to go to college, and then I get paid to come and just do the dumb thing that I know how to do in a college, so I feel lucky.”
For some students, this performance was a pleasant first exposure to Crescenzo.
Senior Christen Schwarz came to Starbucks on Wednesday to study.
Much to her surprise, she discovered a new artist, whom she described possessing a vocal style “kind of like Mumford & Sons.”
“I walked in and I was like, ‘Oh no, what am I going to do now?” she said. “But it was pretty cool to come in and see it.”
Junior Coffeehouse co-chair Elissa Chapin said acquiring such an artist really isn’t so tedious.
“It’s really not as hard as it seems,” said Chapin. “I go onto Facebook, look at their information, find their booking agent and send them a professional email.”
Given Coffeehouse’s past repertoire of notable indie performers, Chapin believes that the next few Coffeehouse shows will not disappoint.
“Sometimes we get artists that are local, but we’ve worked with Walk The Moon before and after they were signed,” said Chapin. “We’ve worked with Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr. and The Cab, just to name a few.”
The next Coffeehouse performances are on Oct. 25, Nov.12 and Dec. 6. Artist and concert information will be revealed closer to the dates.
