When College sophomore Dan Craig crooned the chorus of "Let's Get it On" by Marvin Gaye on Nov. 3, the crowd whooped and hollered.
Craig, also a guitarist, was the fourth act of Up on Stage, a bi-monthly open-mic event that lets bands, student a capella groups, other singing groups and poets perform.
"I'm always looking for other musicians" to play with, Craig said. Up on Stage held its first-ever event at Harnwell College House, after organizers saw a void in campus creative life.
Engineering junior Matt Russak and Nick Gonedes, a Wharton Accounting professor, joined forces last year to form Penn Collective -- a group that fosters performance and collaboration on campus through events like Up On Stage.
Forty students, including Angela Zambrano, attended Saturday's performance in the Rathskellar basement of Harnwell College House.
"It's a good opportunity for people to play," said Zambrano, a College junior.
And College sophomore Mehreen Zaman came to hear her friend Craig.
"Dan's always great," she said. "It's nice to see so much talent."
In fact, the informal setting allowed the curious to come and go as they pleased. Cafe Prima provided free coffee.
But the musicians themselves were too busy concentrating on their music to mingle.
One band covered the Dave Matthews Band, while others played their original works.
David Chang, a Wharton sophomore and the first act of the night, said, "There isn't really a place for musicians to play." He called the Harnwell basement "a good place to chill."
"The whole idea is to have open-mic and then a free-for-all," Gonedes said. Interested groups e-mail Russak for a slot on the schedule or just walk in off the street.
Russak explained, "A lot of the musicians [on campus] don't know each other. We hope to bring every musician together. We want to create a solid network."
Russak said he hopes to acquire a database of musicians on campus.
Alex Chen, an Engineering junior who performed with his band, Per Noise, added,"I really like to hear other musicians. I'm really into meeting other people. It's kind of like a community."
The next two shows will be on Nov. 17 and Dec. 8.
This story appeared exclusively at dailypennsylvanian.com.
