Happy Birthday to the King’s Open Mic Nights!

It has been ten years to the term since King’s opened its doors for the very first Open Mic Night (OMN) and, from the outset, they have been a popular termly event for pupils, staff, parents, and OVs. Here we look at the evolution of the OMNs over the past decade:

King’s Director of Music, Simon Taranczuk (Hon OV) recalls, “King’s has always had an excellent reputation for music. When I arrived at the school, I was looking at ways to broaden the range of music on offer, so set up The King’s Swingers, the School’s jazz band, in September 2014, which many OVs will remember, then Open Mic Nights followed the next term. I wanted them to be very informal and different from any other musical event at school; the Michael Baker Boathouse was the perfect venue for a pub-like atmosphere. Guitar teacher Andy Crocker was pivotal in the success of OMNs as I really didn’t know what I was doing! “Dr Croc” worked the stage and I worked the sound desk and Open Mic Nights were born. Next, I set up a Soundcloud account to keep a record of the hundreds of songs from these events, which you can listen to HERE.”

From the outset, the music was, for the most part, organised entirely by the pupils. In some cases, this involved several rehearsals in the week leading up to the gig. In others, it was a case of ‘wing it on the night’! In the early days there were songs with a backing track or accompanied by the piano. In recent years, however, things have evolved to get a session band together for many songs. There have even been several iterations of pupil bands including Instinct, Blue Rompers, and Geepers Creepers.

In 2017 Theatre Manager, Paul Haynes (Hon OV), joined King’s. With his expertise and prior experience working with live audio, OMNs took a further step forward. New staging was also purchased along with a larger PA system! Singing teacher, Sarah Stone, got more involved in recent years, helping to put together several boy and girl vocal groups.

COVID did not stop OMNs from taking place. In June 2020 whilst the school was closed, pupils turned to recording in their own homes. A live broadcast of the compilation video took place on Facebook and included OV Chris Tarrant (Ch 60-64) introducing one of the songs!

Three of the Summer Term events have taken place in the School Gardens using the Fountain steps as the stage; wonderful occasions with the audience spread out on the lawn with the setting sun.

Over the course of the past ten years, most genres of music have featured at OMNs from The Beatles, The Who, Rolling Stones, Eric Clapton, James Brown, Erasure, Kate Bush, Take That, Guns ‘n’ Roses, Red Hot Chilli Peppers, Dire Straits, Sam Smith, Adele, Celeste, own compositions, and so many more.

Many thanks to the OVs that have shared their memories of Open Mic Nights:

Sam Clines (Os 09-16) was one of the first performers and organised one of the events for his Gold Arts Award. He shared, “My memories of the Open Mic Nights are some of the very best from my time at King’s. The music department gave me a lot of support in my Sixth Form years. The year after leaving King’s I won the Open Mic UK final from 10, 000 entries.

“After my school years, I went to study music at BIMM University in Brighton, studying songwriting and music and production and later opened up my very own music studio facility in the heart of Brighton called South Lanes Studios. I’ve also gone on to work closely with companies such as Sony Music, Extreme Music, and Warner Chappell UK, who all provide music for TV, film and adverts, achieving placements on major BBC, ITV and E4 TV shows, Netflix film trailers and much more! I’m also a Lecturer in Songwriting & Live Performance at Waterbear College of Music, a multi-instrumentalist/session player, vocalist/topline writer – I don’t think I’ll ever have just one job in the industry and this is very common. If anyone has any questions about getting involved in the commercial music industry, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with me through the King’s Music Department – I’m always happy to help where I can!”

Eleanor Weaver (Ch 08-15) also performed at the first OMN: “I vividly remember the atmosphere and excitement at the first one, and the amazing talent on display at King’s. Music was such a defining part of my experience at King’s and the friendships I made through the Music Department have lasted well beyond my school years! I still play the piano daily, and now, working in the military, I travel frequently and have found that every mess I stay in has a piano. Thanks to the musical foundation King’s gave me, my skills are always appreciated wherever I go. Thank you again for fostering such a supportive and inspiring musical environment.”

Ruth Furber (Ch 10-17) was a regular participant and added, “I loved the open mics – they helped me grow my confidence as a performer in such a supportive setting and they were also so much fun! I have so many great memories of us frantically rehearsing something before soundcheck. Music making has stayed part of my life in some way ever since, from studying music at university and performing in shows around southwest London. The most recent of these required me to sing and play piano at the same time so thanks Mr T! Since September I have been studying part-time in musical theatre at ArtsEd, so hoping to be back on the stage again soon.”

Andrew Gee (W 13-20), of Geepers Creepers fame, says, “They [Open Mic Nights] were a great opportunity to step up and be responsible for putting together our own musical bands, arrangements and ideas with more freedom than the other school events. The first time I was involved with one was with Matt and Shannon playing in a small jazz group, and from there I was able to take more of a leadership role and put together my own jazz group to play at an open mic night as I got older. They’re a great opportunity for students to get involved in who want to play solo or in smaller groups in a slightly more chilled and informal setting.”

Dani Brennan (Br 12-19) writes, “Open mic Nights were a great opportunity for a young version of me who was always itching to perform to test the waters and learn not only through performing myself, but from watching my peers. There was always a real sense of community, which I’ve discovered through being a professional musician is what music making is all about. Alongside my performing career, I’m a peripatetic singing teacher at a local boys grammar school. It reminds me a lot of all the time spent in the music block at King’s, how much my time there has basically got me to this point in my career.”

Jessica Crichard (Cl 15-20), said, “My time at King’s was very much defined not just by academics but by the extra opportunities provided. I have such fond memories of performing in all the different concerts the music department put on over the years; they were a pivotal and much needed part of my school life as a release from the usual everyday academic pressures. I had never sung for people on my own before, only ever as part of a choir or a group. The much-appreciated time and patience from the music staff meant I was able to be accompanied on piano and performed “Turning Tables” – Adele, I remember the nerves and adrenaline very clearly, something I wasn’t expecting was how different everything would sound once you are given a microphone. I loved it so much I think I managed to perform in almost every night hosted after that!”

Finally, Shannon Asplen (Ch 10-17) recalls the first ever open mic: “There hadn’t been anything like it before, so no one was sure what to expect. Turns out, it became the highlight of each term for me. Some of my favourite performance memories come from those open mic concerts, be it duets with friends or even performing a 5-piece vocal ensemble of Leonard Cohen’s Hallelujah with string ensemble included. Not every performance was necessarily the most rehearsed (some were even put together on the day) but they were incredibly enjoyable, and those memories have stayed with me. I gained a scholarship to study music at the Royal College of Music as a saxophone player and now work as a full time musician on piano, vocals, reed and violin. I run a Rock Music programme at a US summer camp and have recently been offered a full-time role as Head of Music at a school in New Jersey.”

Happy 10th birthday OMNs. Here’s to the next 10!