Brewpoint strikes a chord with student musicians
Many cafes are well known for their mellow, welcoming vibe as community centerpieces. People flock to these cafes to relax with friends or get work done while enjoying a cup of coffee. They are often spaces overflowing with creativity and ideas. Brewpoint Craft Oak Park is one such space.
Brewpoint Craft Oak Park is one of four Brewpoint locations in the Chicago area with the others being in Elmhurst. The first was established in 2014 by Melissa Villanueva and her husband Angelo Sepulveda. The original location is called Brewpoint Founder’s Cafe.
One of the cafes in Elmhurst opened up opportunities for high school musicians in Elmhurst to perform. They have decided to do the same for their Oak Park location.
Brewpoint Craft Oak Park’s community and social media manager, Alyssa O’Neal, has collaborated with one of OPRF’s music teachers, Brendon Culloton, to allow OPRF student musicians to perform at Brewpoint Craft Oak Park on Friday and Saturday evenings. Brewpoint hopes to connect with students and parents in the OPRF community and help student musicians gain recognition, O’Neal said.
“The more you (perform), the better you get, (and) the more your confidence in performing will increase,” said Culloton. He said sharing something that one has created can be a powerful experience.
Students have already begun to take advantage of this opportunity. Tate Sherman, Thomas Smith, and Ben Cohen of the OPRF Jazz Ensemble performed at Brewpoint on Sept. 25. The “environment was very relaxed,” said Sherman. “The crowd was fairly quiet but still showed appreciation for the music.”
Sherman also said that there was little direct interaction with the audience, as they were mostly playing background music. If he were to do it again, Sherman said he would have planned more songs and more rehearsal time.
Senior and songwriter Vivian Murphy said that she would like to get the experience of “doing something entirely on your own. The performances I’ve done have all been managed by a teacher…so I feel like if that (Brewpoint performance) happens, it would be a really cool experience to perform my own stuff.” Murphy plans to perform at Brewpoint at some point during the school year.
Jack Dwyer, a senior, said he “really (likes) the community of a live performance.“ Dwyer and his rap group, False Publication, have already performed at many locations within the Oak Park area including Val’s Halla Records and Friendly Tap. The group hopes to gain more experience and recognition within the community after they perform at Brewpoint.
When performing at Brewpoint, students must play original music. The music is allowed to be of any genre, so long as it is not explicit. Payments are negotiable (i.e. gift cards). All students and faculty can get 10% off on any Brewpoint purchase as long as they show their physical ID.
For any further questions about Brewpoint and performance opportunities, contact Alyssa O’Neal at [email protected]