Wesley Coffee house- CLASS ASSIGNMENT

This article is an unpublished story that I wrote for my professor Dr. Bruce Garrison for his feature writing class in the fall of my junior year. The assignment was to write a "Color Story".


Teal walls and a hodgepodge of floor lamps backlit the dim make-shift stage. Four songwriters sat in a line with guitars, banjos and a piano with a large wooden cross in the back corner of the room.

Free coffee, tea and cookies lined the small tables on the perimeter of the room. The open door let in the evening breeze. People sat at gospel music sheet covered tables and mismatched chairs. The show was about to begin.

On Thursdays, the on-campus Wesley Methodist Center hosts a music night called the Wesley Coffee House. The campus ministry has featured students from the Frost School of Music. The event is free and there are also free refreshments. This coffee house night featured four student singer-songwriters, Natalie York, CJ Tywoniak, Ben Goldsmith and Tori Tullier. The students performed in a Nashville Round, meaning they all sang back up for each other’s original songs.

“This was my first time at the songwriter’s night,” said junior Sarah Thomas. “I liked it a lot. The great original songs reminded me of all the little bars and coffee shops back home in Nashville.”

Senior Frost School of Music student Tori Tullier looked ethereal in a white empire waist top and sang to a packed house “Waiting on a road that’s never met a footprint/and I’ll be there if you want a ride.”

“It was my first time performing at the Wesley Coffee House,” said Tullier. “I really enjoyed it because it was a smaller venue so it was more personal. I felt calm because I knew a lot of friends were in the audience.”

Friends caught up between songs and squished onto the circle of couches that was the impromptu front row. These were regulars and they know how to get the most out of the night.

“I always went last year,” said sophomore Dan Barnett. “I enjoy the music and atmosphere. It’s a good chance to play and meet other musicians.”

The music continued and the songwriters created a rapport with the crowd.

“Those homeless people really liked it so hope you guys do too,” joked senior Natalie York.

She was referring to a story about performing her “I Love You” song outside to no one but the local Miami homeless population.

The songs were received with great attention by the audience. The standing room only crowd was silent during the folksy renditions of the student’s original songs. Ben Goldsmith broke into a rendition of Tom Petty’s Free Falling, prompting the entire crowd to sing along, and Natalie York elicited laughs for her Flight of the Conchords inspired Sugar Lumps piece.

“I like the vibe, it’s down to earth,” said senior Maggie Debarberie. “You can talk or just listen, you can eat, do homework. You can come and go as you please.”

The music started at eight but people trickled in throughout the night. Some wore sweatpants and a University of Miami shirt while others were dressed up for a night on the town. Some people came with friends while others were by themselves leaning on the wall by the door absorbing the night. More students and locals came later on to watch the open mic portion of the Wesley coffee house.

“It’s great because it warms you up with their music,” said senior Amanda Miesnieks. “It [the coffee house] really encourages having people play your own music.”

The nervous students leave their guitar cases in the corners of the room and sign up on a single piece of notebook paper that’s tearing at the spiral edges.

After about an hour, the Nashville Round performance came to a conclusion and there was a short break. During the break everyone got up and some grabbed a M&M cookie while they socialized with the friends that were sitting on the other side of the room. The open mic performers started to get mentally prepared for their upcoming performance, nervously laughing with their friends. Some were regulars to the open mic while for others it was their first time.

“Here you get a chance to sit down lay back and soak in the talent of the Frost Music School,” said Barnett.

The coffee house was a great night for both the audience and the performers. The relaxing atmosphere was a great change to a usually hectic Thursday night.

“I would love to perform again,” said Tullier. “I'm so happy I was able to be a part of it. Miami isn't really known for being a songwriting town the way Nashville or Athens is, so it's nice to showcase the talent that we have in the school in a relaxed environment.”