The Whole Music Club welcomed performers of all skills and talents to a packed and welcoming student audience.

Since the Whole’s open mic night started on Zoom during the pandemic, the motivation behind the event has changed from simply engaging University of Minnesota students to being an outlet for novice artists to get a taste of what it’s like to perform.

For some performers, that taste is intoxicating; Nolan Litschewski, the planner of open mic night, said there are some students who return every month to perform in front of their peers.

Stowed in the basement of Coffman Union is the Whole Music Club: a space that brings the University community together through music. Worn blackboard walls and columns plastered with old flyers make the place feel more like a newly renovated maker space than a music venue.

Q Ho brought their handmade effects box setup to the event and was the only artist to unplug the microphone and captivate the crowd with just a guitar. They came to step outside their boundaries. “If I can handle playing in front of a crowd, I should be able to handle anything,” Ho said.

Jame Moua, a recent graduate, impressed the crowd with their use of a looper pedal to harmonize with themself. It was one of Moua’s New Year’s resolutions to attend at least one open mic night a week. Another resolution? Networking with artists. Moua came to the Whole to “try to connect with other people.”

Anirudh Ganesh had been looking for standup opportunities, and after their friend signed up to sing, they added themself to the list a day before the event. Ganesh then, quite impressively, wrote a full set about campus security the night before that came full-circle to a bit about mugging at spoon-point.

After the event’s over, artists will gather around, exchange information and chat about each other’s performances. Litschewski described it as like a writer’s round.

“Everyone’s just talking about the things that they loved about each other’s stuff,” Litschewski said. “[The performers] definitely, at this point, recognize each other.”

Part of open mic night’s draw is these connections between artists. As open mic night gets busier, people form more connections; that will eventually benefit them in their musical endeavors. Litschewski added that local recording studios have checked out the event before.

Just sitting in the crowd, there’s a sense of connection to the performers.

“Everyone’s sitting at a table and it’s a very intimate setting,” Litschewski said. This intimacy creates interactions between the audience and performer. During the most ​​unusual act of the night, a standup comedian had everyone pretend to laugh at the punch-line of a made-up joke so they could prove to their mom that open mic night had gone well.

What keeps artists coming back is the welcoming vibes. When performers finish their set, walking through the crowd back to their seat is a victory lap of compliments from those you’re trying to squeeze by. Even if you’re a new performer, “you never get the vibe that their performance is any different than the people who’ve done it every time,” Litschewski said.

“Open mic night is a lot of other students trying to find their way in the world,” Moua said. This connection between students is what makes Whole Music Club’s open mic night a uniquely supportive setting for performers and an engaging experience for the audience.

As for the future of the event, Litschewski said, “I want to see some juggling.”

Open mic night is a free event that will return April 19 with 7 p.m. doors and a 7:30 p.m. show, which is also streamed on the Whole Music Club’s YouTube channel.