On April 13, the school hosted an open mic, giving students an outlet to perform music, poetry and comedic bits. For highschoolers, there are very few venues for small bands or independent performers to show off their hard work, but having these events gives students a safe and welcoming place to do so. 

Senior Guyon Grant played a big role in organizing the event, and gave a little insight into why he set it up.

“South hasn’t done an open mic in a while and I love going to open mics, but I don’t feel like driving to KC, and there’s really none in Olathe,” Grant said “So, I’m trying to get more started here and this was just a great place to start.” 

Grant described some of the other open mics he has attended, and compared them to the one hosted by the school. 

“The other ones are a lot more put together. And most of them are in these weird stinky bars, so it was really nice to have the black box [theater],” Grant said. 

Hosting these events in a local, familiar environment opens doors for students who want to attend open mics, and allows them to feel comfortable performing. 

 “I think we need more of this because a lot of the self expression with art, it’s a lot of group based, and you don’t really get a chance to shine yourself. Even with theater or choir or anything like that, you don’t get to write your own material and put it out, and perform it,” Grant said. 

Sophomore Alex Howell, opened, performing in a band called ACE with two of his friends, and described how he felt about the night.

“I thought it was a super cool opportunity to let people show what they’re proud of, and what they’ve created,” Howell said. “I think that was Guyon’s intent, and I’d love to continue the event.” 

Howell ended with a message to readers.

“Go to open mic and do whatever because everyone’s going to love you whether you fail or not, because people just want to see what you do, because people like people.”

 Sophomore Easton Echols, another member of the ACE band, was grateful for the opportunity to perform.

“Once we actually got there it was really fun to get up there and perform for the first time in front of people that I already kind of knew, but also play the music I was practicing for a while and love,” Echols said.

Echols encourages people to share their talents the next opportunity they get.

“If you really got something you want to go perform, you’ve got to start somewhere, try it at open mic,” Echols said. “It’s just a place for people to come out, express themselves and do what they want to do.”

Regardless of why you go, it’s something local that anyone can experience and enjoy. 

“It’s just a lot of laughs, a lot of talent,” senior Alayna Ashworth said. “I performed ‘I Kissed a Girl’ by Katy Perry,” Ashworth said. “I was just having fun with my friends, not really worrying about being good or not.” 

Ashworth explained one reason as to why she sees open mics to be so valuable. 

“I saw a lot of good poets that night and there’s rarely any [opportunities] for them,” Ashworth said. “I feel like this could be a really good way for people to talk about their feelings, and open up about their lives.”