Written by Erin Lobner. Media by Courtney Murphy.
Mysterious, loud, elusive, unique, creative: these are a few words that can be used to describe the Blackroom Cafe here on campus. But, wait, what even is the Blackroom? Right now some of you are saying, “Pfft, everyone knows what the Blackroom is,” and the rest of you are thinking, “I have no idea what the Blackroom is, and at this point I’m too afraid to ask.” Don’t believe it? Check out the video our DM student took last week.
The Blackroom describes itself on Facebook as “a showcase for musicians, a place to try out new songs, play creative covers, and introduce inventive ideas.” You’ve probably seen their posters around campus or heard music coming from the strange shed by Holtwick.
Well, if you step inside the shed on Tuesday nights, you’ll usually find a great campus band playing or an open mic night showcasing various talented GC students. When she went to an open mic night, Tristin Campbell recalls hearing a student perform a spoken word piece on identity. She says that the student’s topic–being neither black or white–was controversial, but that’s what she liked about it. “It was good to hear something controversial in that setting; that’s the kind of thing that makes you think,” Campbell says.
One of the other great things about the Blackroom is students get the chance to showcase their original music. Recently, Mandy Pennington and her band played some of their newly-recorded songs during a show with The Great Indoors. Performances like this are great opportunities for musicians to celebrate each other’s’ accomplishments and for bands to demonstrate the skills they’ve picked up at GC, along with their natural talent, of course.
So, with all these great shows going on, how can anyone possibly not know about the Blackroom? There might not be an answer. But if you watched the video, you know there are some people who had no idea what the shed is used for (“I don’t know, probably storage, right?”). Just for the record, it’s totally fine if you’ve never gone to the Blackroom–you could probably make it through your whole college experience without going… But you might miss out on some good stuff.
The Blackroom is one of the most open and expressive places on campus. The building literally shakes with all the creative energy coursing inside it. Another perk is that it’s run mostly by students, and many of them put their heart into the events. It’s a good place to grab a cup of coffee and relax with friends while listening to new and inspiring tunes.
So, here’s the plug: check out the Blackroom. Skip that late Tuesday night class (no, probably don’t do that), and take a moment to appreciate a unique part of our campus. And if you meet someone who doesn’t know what the Blackroom is, bring them with you. Who knows, you might even have fun.
