There was once a tradition in Shippensburg in which every Wednesday The Thought Lot would host an Open Mic night for the Shippensburg community members to showcase their talent. Over time, Open Mic slowly disappeared, but this Thursday it returned.

“We’re excited they’re doing Open Mic again. We like to support them whenever we can,” Acoustic Juice performer Tammy Karstetter said.

The event was sponsored by Ace Music & Valentine Guitar Services, whose shop is in The Thought Lot. While the Open Mic welcomed music, poetry and comedy, the night was dominated with all musical acts.

Host Evan Crider opened with an acoustic take on “When You Were Young” by The Killers. His voice sounded like it belonged in a movie soundtrack. Once he was done playing, he handed over the stage to the remaining acts of the night.

First up was local band War & Peace, which made a presence at the Open Mic despite the busy college schedules of its members. Drum player Brandon Morgan had fidgety fingers in elementary school. However, he really got his start when Rock Band came out in 2006 and he got his own drum set.

Adam Nawa then switched things up with just an instrumental performance. Though his songs lacked vocals, they were aided with background noises from his blues driver pedal, which spoke volumes.

“This one’s the one, where you know, you lose someone and you play that depressing blues song. That’s this one,” Nawa said before breaking into a slow, mellow rhythm.

Barb Esherman and Shippensburg University history professor Katy Clay rocked their duet with wool sweaters and folksy “Little House on the Prairie” charm. The women are normally part of a trio, so this was their first performance as two.

Esherman and Clay played an old traditional song titled “Tenderly Calling.” For this number, Esherman pulled out the ukulele while Clay played the acoustic guitar.

After performing with her wing woman, Clay played one last song on her own.

“I had 10 lessons this summer, and I have one song,” Clay said in reference to her accordion expertise.

SU student Dino Garcia is a familiar face at open mics in the area. He first began his musician path when he was 10, but stopped taking guitar lessons since his teacher was not very good. Once Garcia became a teen, he decided to try his hand at guitar again and self-taught himself through listening to Van Halen.

Garcia’s music style is greatly influenced by Van Halen through his powerful energy and yells. He performed a near identical replica of “A Walk Through Hell” by Say Anything.

Karstetter and her husband Randy performed with Randy on the guitar and Karstetter on vocals. They transported the audience to the ’60s with Fleetwood Mac’s song “Gold Dust Woman.”

Finally, a visiting musician performed. He said his wife was a traveling therapist and he was trying to get in as much music playing as he could before they moved on. The musician sang a song about gardening.

The night was filled with a variety of genres, with everything from blues to alternative. In addition, each act had a three song limit, so their performance teased audience members and made them yearn for more. The Thought Lot plans to continue hosting Open Mic night once a month. 

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