Abelina J. Nuñez
Arts Editor
The Songwriting Club hosted a Friday Night Open Mic at the Morgan Auditorium on March 24 that featured a variety of performances by students and staff.
The Songwriting Club is a new student organization that started this spring to bring students together to create music. They meet every Tuesday at 4 p.m. in the Music Library in Founders Hall 16.
“I thought it would be great to attach (Friday Night Open Mic) to the club so that it now has turned into a club event and not just something that I’m putting on by myself,” Nikolai Galvan, music department manager and advisor for the club, said. “I ended up having more people showing up the night of to perform rather than sign up, so I was very warmly surprised.”
Galvan said before he created the club, he wanted to use the auditorium more for the students and not just for special events, recitals, and concerts for classes. He pitched the idea to the Songwriting Club, and they liked it and created the event together.
Brianna Avila, junior biology major, performed with Jacob Ayala, junior educational studies major, as her guitarist at the Friday Open Mic.
Avila said once she learned about the event, she knew she had to perform, especially if she gets to sing on the auditorium stage. She said she always loved performing but had a new original song that she was itching to sing live for people and knew it was her chance to do that.
Avila performed a cover of “People Watching” by Conan Gray and her original song called “Bumpy Ride,” which she wrote with Ayala.
“My favorite part was performing and hearing every clap for our songs,” Avila said. “I enjoyed Nikolai’s performance because my 7-year-old cousin was there, and my cousin was singing along to his songs, and he had a great time.”
Avila has performed at nearby boba and coffee shops. She also publishes her own songs and can be found on streaming platforms like Spotify and Apple Music under Brianna. Her latest debut extended play is called “Lilac Daydreams.”
“I only performed because Brianna did,” Ayala said. “I am not a singer, so if she weren’t singing, I wouldn’t have anyone to perform with. I think it’s really cool that there was an opportunity, and I’m glad we jumped on it.”
Ayala said his favorite part of the event was also Galvan’s performance of his version of “Roar” by Katy Perry because of how entertaining it was, and the song was very different due to Galvan using an electric guitar.
Galvan also performed two original songs. The first was a 1980s-inspired synth rock song called “Retro Volt Arcade” about a boy who loves to live at the arcade and play video games. Galvan said he leaves the listeners to interpret the decision of why the boy wants to live at the arcade so badly.
The second performance was his song called “Pants.” He wrote it during the pandemic, and the song is about whether he should wear pants or not.
“One of my friends, Brianna, was performing, and I wanted to support her,” Dakota Bechtel, sophomore psychology major, said. “My favorite thing about the event was how fluid it felt. There was a long portion of the night where it was first come, first serve for performing spots, and I liked that a lot.”
Bechtel said that the event should occur again because it felt like there was a lot of student support and a safe space to express yourself.
Abelina J. Nuñez can be reached at abelina.nunez@laverne.edu.
Abelina J. Nuñez, senior journalism major, is a photography editor for Campus Times and staff photographer for La Verne Magazine. She previously served as LV Life editor, arts editor social media editor and staff writer. In Fall 2023, Nuñez was La Verne Magazine's editor-in-chief and was previously a staff writer as well. Her work can be found on Instagram @abelinajnunezphoto.
