Coffee House Event on Campus
By WILLIAM INOUE, ALEXA MOREL, and MEGHAN TATE ZEE
At Exeter, winter term is treated like Voldemort at Hogwarts—everyone knows it exists, but almost no one dares to bring it up. Most students recognize it as a time when work piles on, daylight becomes precious, and H-block math classes drain your energy. Amid this winter slump, a cozy, inviting coffeehouse event on Saturday, Feb. 1, brightened students’ days.
Matt Jackson, a live music artist, came to the Academy to perform a low-key concert for Exonians. He has opened for lionized bands like Train, The Wallflowers, and Goo Goo Dolls. Students described his performing style as vibrant, vulnerable, and heartfelt. With his talented voice and delicious pastries at the event, this was a wonderful time for Exonians to relax and enjoy the cozy winter.
Kelly McGahie, the Assistant Director of Student Activities, planned the Coffee House. When asked about the organization process, she stated, “Matt Jackson played on October 19th, in the same spot, and the feedback that I got from that night was that he was great. Since it was a family weekend and a small number of people saw him, we wanted to have a bigger audience for the coffee house concert.”
McGahie later said, “I think he’s a great performer and good with the audience. What I noticed was that the students were much more interested in the chai tea. There were kids that were hanging out there each time I went down, but he certainly didn’t gather the crowd that I was hoping that he would. I think that says more about Exonians and what they wanted to do this weekend than his skill set.”
Lower Alex Lim explained why only a few people may have shown up, saying, “I don’t think a lot of people knew what it was because the term ‘coffee house’ is not very specific. If people knew that it was live music, they would have enjoyed it more. ”
“The audience was kind of lame. The guy was a really good singer, and he played well and brought the energy, but the audience just wasn’t reciprocating it.” Lim stated, “It was just Asha Masoudi and I dancing, and everyone else was just sitting there and not even listening to the music.”
Lower Dani Méndez gave an opposing perspective, stating, “I loved how the event transformed the energy of a space we see so much. EPAC Commons went from the place we hang out during Uni Free to a coffee house. Everyone had good vibes, especially Matt Jackson.”
Lower Simon Taylor commented, “I thought the ambiance was amazing, the lighting was chill, the music was at the perfect volume, and the performer was great at singing — which made the whole thing so much better.”
Lower Catherine Chen added, “It was a great improvement from other formal events, like dances, because you could just sit down and chill with friends and enjoy good music. It was a great vibe.”
“I definitely think there should have been more people in attendance. I would have liked this as a more advertised event and in a larger space,” Taylor stated. “I think more events like this in the future would be very helpful for building our community; it brings everyone together.”
Lim added, “I hope that more events like these are organized at Exeter. I enjoy live music and the concept of being able to go somewhere and sit down and enjoy the entertainment. However, I also think that these types of things are not promoted in a way that makes me want to continue going to them. It’s extremely underhyped and awkward.”
As winter term is approaching its finale, we are both excited and happy about the events we had and the events we are going to have. We have had many events such as the Coffee House, despite the low turnout rate, that was a great hit. Casino Night is approaching soon, and we are all ecstatic to hopefully see a higher turnout rate.