Last Thursday night marked the debut of WMSV 91.1’s acoustic performance series on the patio in front of the State Fountain Bakery. Sophomore graphic design major Amber Parrott performed an acoustic set of songs for students and passers-by at the radio station sponsored event.
WMSV 91.1, Mississippi State University’s radio station, presented the intimate concert as an alternative for live bands at bars. The acoustic music and small setting was ideal for students and faculty who walked by the bakery or on the sidewalk and decided to come take a listen to the music being played.
Parrott’s performance and friendly personality wowed friends and strangers alike. She played some original songs and a few covers, which included her takes on 10,000 Maniac’s “Because the Night” and a rendition of Coldplay’s recent single “Fix You.”
Parrott picks her songlist by deciding what feels right for the audience and what songs sound good when played on an acoustic guitar, she said.
“I play some original stuff,” Parrott said, “but when I play acoustic guitar, I like to play bluesy stuff and when I’m in my band, we like to play rock; it just depends on what crowd I am playing.”
Parrott, a relative newcomer to the acoustic guitar, said the performances she does in Starkville are a little different from when she was back home, but they still give her practice for playing at bigger locations.
“I’m from Indiana and up there, I’m used to playing in front of about 300 to 400 people and then down here, I play for this small crowd, so it’s a little weird,” Parrott said. “I do open mic nights at Dave’s Dark Horse Tavern, and I’m going to keep playing at Roxie’s, so hopefully I’ll continue to play at bigger venues like that.”
WMSV director Christa Vowell said Parrott was a perfect choice for their first show, and she expects it will encourage more musicians to come out and take the stage for a shot in the limelight.
“Amber is a new performer, and she’s been working on her guitar for just a little while,” Vowell said. “She’s really come a long way, and this is kind of like her first performance. And we hope to give a lot of people that opportunity.”
Vowell also said that there would be groups coming to play a few shows in the future, but it will stay acoustic because that was the whole point of starting the performances in the first place.
“We do have a couple of groups lined up for the next few weeks,” Vowell said. “They’re all going to be acoustic though, because there’s an amplification rule on campus, but it doesn’t really affect us though, because the whole idea of the shows was to do laid-back, acoustic performances.”
Vowell said that performances like Parrott’s bring a different variation to the usual entertainment college students are accustomed to, and hopes it will warrant a warm reception from the students who happen to pass by and become intrigued by what they hear.
“I hope students will be receptive to it,” Vowell said. “I think any kind of entertainment, especially free entertainment, is good when it comes to students. One of my hopes for these shows is that it will give local musicians practice and get some recognition with students as well. I would also like to see families come out and relax at the shows.”
WMSV will continue the performances as long as they can and hopes that it will become part of students’ routines every Thursday night, Vowell added.
“I think the plan now is to do it every Thursday night at the same time, because it’s a really relaxed atmosphere,” Vowell said.
“We’ll keep it that way until it gets too cold to stay outside, and then we’ll stop it until the spring. As long as it is nice outside, we want to get out there and do it because it doesn’t involve too much prep work; we bring a little stage over, and that’s about it. You can go into the bakery, come back and just hang out and listen to some great music.”