Although only a few weeks old, the open mic night at Glas, The Green Coffeehouse already has provided some memorable moments and pleasant surprises.
Organizers hope it’s just the start of filling a Tuesday night niche for the community.
The coffeehouse opened in the Cellcom building at 511 N. Main St. in October. It held its first open mic night Jan. 7.
“It is something to do on a Tuesday night that is community oriented,” Glas manager Tana Kilbourn said. “You get together with friends, have some coffee and listen to music.”
The Shawano location is Cellcom’s third Glas, which is the Gaelic word for green and reflects the company’s Irish heritage and commitment to being environmentally friendly. The local Cellcom retail store is in the same building.
Kilbourn said Glas locations in Sturgeon Bay and Sheboygan also have open mic nights.
“We really wanted to try it here and see how it went,” Kilbourn said.
So far, the results are mixed, with inconsistent attendance and fewer performers than expected.
“It has been hit and miss. I think a lot of people don’t know about it,” Kilbourn said. “It gets people the chance to play that are not necessarily in a band. You can still come up here and perform.”
Area resident Joel Kroenke, who has hosted dozens of house concerts at his Shawano home, volunteered to coordinate performers and hosts the weekly program.
Kroenke has brought in local artists, including Pat Schwenke and Cliff Elertson, to ensure there is at least one musician per week.
“Wherever possible, I try to get an anchor group on either end of the night,” Kroenke said.
The weekly event, open to anyone, has already brought some surprises.
“It was very quiet and all of a sudden there were seven or eight of them that started playing, coming out of nowhere,” Kilbourn said. “It was the coolest thing ever. I don’t know where they came from. There were probably seven people playing instruments and singing, and it was fantastic.”
On another night, a couple of young people showcased their musical talents.
“There was a young guy and his girlfriend that came in. I think they are high schoolers, and they just got up there like they have been doing this their whole lives and he played a guitar and she started singing,” Kilbourn said.
Open mic night is not limited to musicians.
“There have been a couple of people that have done spoken words, so there is variety,” Kroenke said.
The coffeehouse provides its own speaker system and has four microphones, so musicians can just bring in their instruments and start playing, he said.
Glas, serves high-quality coffee and espresso drinks, loose-leaf tea and all-natural smoothies, as well as sandwiches and bakery items.
The first Glas location opened in 2009 in Sturgeon Bay. The Sheboygan location opened in June 2013.
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