Family, Music, Culture, and Coffee

As Henry Wadsworth Longfellow once said, “Music is the universal language of mankind.” And trying to unite all people through music is exactly what Starbucks aimed to do (and succeeded in doing) on Friday, April 11th. On that night, Starbucks held its monthly open-mic night, where anyone and everyone was encouraged to come out to watch and/or perform for the locals who swarmed the front of the coffee shop. A lonely microphone stood in the middle of multiple fold-up tables and seats arranged in a half circle. As more people started to show up, lawn chairs popped up until eventually every seat had been filled. Although the annual Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival was going on miles away, the different performances of the night proved to be like a festival in itself, offering a variety of performances by different people that continued to get the crowd involved through clapping and singing along. June Roybal was just one of those to perform, and was not afraid to sing her heart out. Getting up to the microphone numerous times throughout the night, Roybal performed all kinds of genres of music with her guitar. Her acoustic strumming and singing of songs such as “True Colors” by Cyndi Lauper, a Stevie Nicks ballad, and the heart-wrenching “Someone Like You” by Adele quieted everybody watching which allowed for Roybal’s talent to truly radiate over everyone. “This one goes to all my 90s friends,” joked Thomas Robles before strumming out the infamous “Ripped My Pants” tune from the children’s show Spongebob Squarepants on his ukulele and encouraging people to sing along with him. Robles is a versatile performer, and like Roybal, took the microphone multiple times throughout the evening. He kept people truly entertained and entranced by performing items such as ukulele covers of “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” and “I’m Yours” by Jason Mraz, while also putting the ukulele down to grab the microphone and perform jazz classics at one point. Off the stage, Robles explained that the open-mic night is important to both him and the community as a whole because it shows “what Colton’s all about; family, music, and culture!” There were other performers throughout the night as well who showcased their talents to the crowd. Unfortunately, however, some musicians had to cancel due to traffic conditions, which ended the night a little earlier than expected. But also what was not expected was Marilena Rodriguez’s spontaneous a cappella version of “Love Song” by Sara Bareilles, which ended the night and left everyone in cheerful spirits. Though the night was cool, the talents were hot. The Starbucks, located on 1241 East Washington Street, hosts the open-mic night every second Friday of the month. All are welcomed.