Every year, at the end of May, after months of planning, LASA’s student concert will open its doors to the community. From Rolling Stone covers to original pieces, Coffeehouse has a diverse showcase of performances that lasts all night long. Between choosing a venue and creating a setlist, the live music event takes the coordination of many making this intricate event both daunting for performers and stressful for planners.
Each year, Coffeehouse is planned by LASA parents and students within the songwriting class taught by LASA teacher Corey Snyder. LASA senior Jasmine Tea has worked with the Coffeehouse since her junior year. This year, for her final year at Coffeehouse, Tea is returning as a host and performer despite no longer being a student of the songwriting class.
“It’s 75 percent, 80 percent of people who already have interest in performing and songwriting,” Tea said. “But I also think that there’s a lot of people that are open to try and to just want to perform and be part of Coffeehouse.”
The criteria for participating in Coffeehouse are very minuscule. Although the majority of performers are experienced in music or are part of the songwriting class, there is no audition requirement besides talent.
“The first option is in personal auditions, which are scheduled, and I feel like these are less popular, since it takes a lot of time outside of school,” Tea said. “And the second option is to submit a video, showcasing, while auditioning. And the majority of the people who apply do that.”
LASA junior Charles Boyle is another student in the songwriting class. Boyle works in publicity and auditions for the event, specifically with online video submissions for auditions. Boyle discussed how he views preparation for this year’s Coffeehouse as positive.
“It’s been good,” Boyle said. “The auditions have been a little bit slow this year, but for live, I think we’ve got a lot online and videos, so I think it’s been good.”
LASA senior Sarah Moser is also a part of the songwriting class and is in charge of social media as publicity chair. Moser focuses intensely on the technical aspects of Coffeehouse rather than performing.
“Sometimes it’s hard to make social media posts that get a lot of attention, and garner more followers and stuff, and spread the news, because, you know, we want to keep it interesting,” Moser said. “You want to hop on those trends to get as many people to know about Coffeehouse and inform them about Coffeehouse.”
However, once the day is set and doors are open, the stress for all involved is far from over. LASA senior Jack Davidson is preparing for his third Coffeehouse and has learned the feeling of performing on stage.
“I haven’t been stressing out like I did my first year, and my second year on the plate was probably a bigger undertaking than this year,” Davidson said. “I’ve got a more stripped-down performance this year, a simpler kind of thing. And so at this point, I’m really just having fun and am really excited to perform.”
This year, Davidson will perform a Rolling Stones cover of “You Can’t Always Get What You Want.” He explained his process for selecting the songs he will perform and discussed why he chose this specific song.
“I chose this song because I could incorporate a loss acquired into it,” Davidson said. “The message I’d like to give the whole school, you know, you can’t always get what you want in life. It hits well for an end-of-year kind of thing because it’s definitely a very conclusive song. I guess I’ll do that little British accent for the intro of the song.”
Over the years, Davidson has found preparation as a performer for Coffeehouse to be complicated with planning. Coordinating a band or practice can be difficult with Advanced Placement and final tests.
“You’re mostly worried about getting the different parts of the act to fit well together and make sure that everybody else is well prepared and that your equipment is ready,” Davidson said. “That’s what goes wrong for me most of the time is forgetting stuff at home. Or, you know. Not having enough rehearsal time.”
After months of planning, auditions, and scheduling, the final step is performing. For Davidson, no performance comes without its nerves.
“It’s always adrenaline,” Davidson said. “When you have that many people, it’s almost easier because you don’t see specific people. I always have sunglasses on, too.You never have to actually look at people, you know?”
However, not all performers wear sunglasses, and for Tea, hosting and performing for an audience she can see can be a heavy task. However, she believes that with experience, the nerves fade away.
“[It’s] so terrifying,” Tea said. “You can look down, there’s just a sea of people, especially when we were hosting. We look down, there are just so, so many people. But I feel like, since I’ve done it so many times, it’s gotten a lot easier because I’ve gotten more comfortable, but it’s still very, very scary.”
Moser and Boyle believe participating in songwriting has helped them grow, although they may have disliked it initially. LASA senior Jeffery Norman shares a similar sentiment.
“It’s been pretty enjoyable,” Norman said. “I hate it, but I love it. It’s pushed me out of my comfort zone a lot.”
After multiple years performing, Davidson has noticed a trend in his nerves regarding the size of the audience. Unexpectedly, for him, the more has been the merrier when it comes to managing his performance anxiety.
“You get a little adrenaline going through and cheeks flush up,” Davidson said. “But you can’t tell because it’s dark lighting. I definitely feel that every time, unless it’s a small crowd. When you have like 1300 people, it almost becomes easier than a 50-person group. It’s strange because it’s so many people that they kind of blur into being no people.”
However, each performer’s story is different. LASA junior Calvin Fedyszyn is performing in his first year and believes Coffeehouse is important because it allows artists to showcase their talent in a unique opportunity.
“I’ve been playing the drums for a long chunk of my life and still, people who I’ve known for years and years will hear that I play and will have had no idea,” Fedysyn said. “So, I think getting to play at Coffeehouse is a great opportunity to perform for others and put a positive spin on the tiresome end of the year.”
Davidson’s love for music began at a much younger age. His catalyst was listening to the piano at a church while attending a funeral.
“Ever since I heard that, I started playing piano in the cafeteria,” Davidson said. “I heard that and wanted to recreate it myself. So I would just skip my computer science class in my freshman year to learn piano. Ever since then, I’ve become a piano player. Now it’s just a thing I do all the time. All my time is spent either holding a guitar or sitting at a piano. Or like whistling. Whistling when I’m walking through the hallways. I always have some sort of musical thing to do.”
In a full circle moment, Davidson’s final Coffeehouse will be centered in the same place he first fell in love with music, a church. For him, this makes Coffeehouse one for the books.
“I’m excited to hear the LASA choir, and I’m excited for them to hear how I combine the choir and collaborate,” Davidson said. “The crowd is gonna feel the energy. The venue this year is really good. I’m excited for the sound quality improvements I’m anticipating because that church, they’ve got like a full live production set up there.”
After months of preparation, Moser agrees with Davidson on the unique energy this year’s Coffeehouse will bring. Ultimately, similarly to many performers, Moser is anticipating the concert.
“I think it’s gonna be a really fun atmosphere,” Moser said. “I’m looking forward to watching people perform. There’s gonna be a lot of great acts, and I’m really excited for it.”
After years of attending and participating, Tea sees Coffeehouse as a crucial tradition in LASA culture. Although she and many performers are leaving the stage for a final time this year, she believes many new, talented acts are coming in and the future for Coffeehouse is bright.
“I hope it still continues, and I hope people always audition and come together and make bands,” Tea said. “It’s not a dying tradition.”
