Wilf’s hosts first ever Open Mic Idol

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Photo by Darien Funk

On a typical Monday evening, students will go to Wilfโ€™s to display their talents at Open Mic Night. This Monday, however, Wilfโ€™s hosted the first-ever Open Mic Idol.

Each of the 10 acts had the opportunity to prove their talents and perform a set for a crowd of eager students and industry professionals.

Although the idea of Open Mic Idol had been discussed before, it was never put into fruition unti Laurier student Dylan Kavalsky pitched it to the Open Mic Night team.

Photo by Darien Funk

โ€œHeโ€™s the one who pitched it to us actually, so he brought us the idea and we sort of finessed it and talked to the Studentsโ€™ Union and got them on board,โ€ said host Jack Ford Stevens.

At an average Open Mic Night, students are able to sign up for a time slot to perform, but this night operated slightly differently โ€” participants were required to submit audition tapes before they were selected to perform.

โ€œOnce we started receiving submissions, it was going through all the submissions โ€” which was over forty โ€” watching those videos, and just sending the vote to each other,โ€ Stevens said.

โ€œBasically, if the vote wasnโ€™t unanimous, we didnโ€™t let them in. So all the people who we did let into the night were yeses across the board.โ€

The panel of judges included Matt Sobhy, CEO and producer of X Events, vocal instructor Vanessa De Freitas, country music artist Matt Martin, and Mitchell McCloy, owner of Canadian Daydream.

Throughout the night, the judges were able to give useful critiques and suggestions to the performers, as well as positive feedback based on predetermined categories.

โ€œAbout half of [the performers] are regulars, and the other half are people who have shown up maybe once or twice throughout the two years that Iโ€™ve been hosting it,โ€ Stevens said.

The ten acts that were selected were comprised of both solo and group acts.

โ€œI think Iโ€™m mostly looking forward to seeing what these people and these groups can do … Iโ€™m really excited to see what theyโ€™ve prepared for this and what theyโ€™re going to show off,โ€ Stevens said before the show.

Every act was exceptionally talented but by the end of the night, the judges had decided on their finalists.

Photo by Darien Funk

The first finalist announced was Claire Mason, who performed two original songs titled โ€œSleepless Nightsโ€ and โ€œRewind.โ€

The next finalist announced was Cameron Bauer, who performed what he called a โ€œMoonlight/Hallelujahโ€ medley.

The last finalists announced were a group consisting of Emily Gilbart, Cass Van Heuvelen, Sam

Johnston and Emma Hutchinson. They performed a mashup of โ€œPaint it Black,โ€ โ€œBlack Magic Womanโ€ and โ€œBack to Black.โ€

Every finalist was invited to perform one more song before the judges made their final decision.

Ultimately, the title of Open Mic Night Idol was awarded to Bauer, who blew the crowd away with a performance of โ€œFly Me to the Moon,โ€ while singing, playing piano, and even adding in a cappella.

The grand prize included a $100 gift card to Wilfโ€™s, a $100 gift card to Ticketmaster and a portable suitcase record player.

Bauer was also awarded with the opportunity to represent Laurier at Studentโ€™s Got Talent in March, priority sign up at Open Mic Night for the rest of the school year and a personal gig affiliated with X Events.

Although this was only the first Open Mic Idol, talks of hosting more in the future have already begun, Stevens said.

โ€œFor the performers, I think itโ€™s just a chance for them to showcase how talented they are and get their own music out there, and just bring awareness to how amazing they are … Itโ€™s also just another opportunity to perform, and there arenโ€™t very many out there for Laurier other than Open Mic Night, so itโ€™s just fun.โ€


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