Maxwell Theatre’s last open mic night turns into a family connection
By Lia Barnes | Staff Writer
Maxwell Theatre has started a recurring open mic event where you do not need to provide almost anything. Just ask beforehand, and they will have it set up for you. On March 2nd, I was able to attend and perform at Maxwell’s last open mic night of the semester, and it took a delightfully surprising turn in the end.
There were extremely talented performers that evening. From instruments, to singing, to poetry, everyone’s performances were well done and well received by the student audience. The first performer was one of the Maxwell Theatre staff members, Grant Allen, who sang two songs along with his guitar. From there, the audience was entertained by a pianist, two vocalists and a drummer, all who signed up to perform prior to. Rubio announced that the drummer messaged Maxwell to see if a drum set could be provided, and it was allowing another Maxwell staff member, Tyles Smiley, to showcase his percussion talents.
Student audience of the Maxwell open mic night, including Gabriel McKie (on the left, wearing a brown sweater) and Samantha Osuoha (on the left, wearing a blue sweater. (photo by Lia Barnes/the Bell Ringer)
Though the audience was small, everyone enjoyed watching their friends and classmates showcase their talents. One of the poets, Gabriel McKie, performed his original poem, “Muse”. “It was one I rehearsed before, so I knew I wouldn’t mess up”. Based on the agreeing snaps and uproar of applause from the audience, McKie’s delivery and eloquent use of words in his poem showed itself to be a crowd favorite. Some people in the audience seemed hesitant to be put on the spot; however, after seeing how quickly Gabriel McKie, Samantha Osuoha, and I went up to perform our poems, people seemed to feel more comfortable showcasing their diverse musical talents, including a drummer
I have done a few open mics hosted by AU organizations and Resident Assistants before. Nearly all those open mics required signing up beforehand. The Maxwell open mic night, however, gave students the opportunity to perform their talents without signing up as well as signing up beforehand. If you would like to sign up beforehand, send Maxwell Theatre a message of what you want to do and the materials you need on their Instagram page, aug_maxwelltheatre, and they will have it set up for you. I did not sign up beforehand, but it was no problem because the organizer, Coco Rubio, offered for students to get on the carpet stage without signing up.
Lia Barnes reciting her grandmother’s poem “Happy 4th of July, Y’all. (photo by Gabriel McKee/business major)
I took Rubio’s offer as an opportunity to perform a poem by my grandmother, Nancy Dupree. I chose her poem, “Happy 4th of July, Y’all” from her collection of poems called “Sweet Thunder”. It is a timeless poem with strong imagery that shows her talent of expressing her disappointment in America and its actions as a black woman living in the 70s. I also have never performed a poem on its own, but I remember listening to much of her poetry growing up from recordings my mother has. People enjoyed the poem, and after my performance, Rubio said he wanted to talk to me about my grandmother, which surprised me.
After all the performances were finished, to end the last open mic night of the semester, Rubio said he has heard of Dupree, specifically one of her songs, “James Brown”, and played it for the audience. Dupree was an influential figure in Rochester, NY as a Black Panther, actress, writer, musician, and teacher. During her days as an elementary music teacher, she would make original music with her students. She was eventually able to record them, and “James Brown” became one of her most popular songs. It has been sampled by Chance the Rapper in his song on his most recent album, “Burn Ya Block”. This was a special moment for me because she is not very well known, especially not outside of Rochester. It was quite emotional for me knowing my grandmother is being remembered by people outside of my family.
Because of the plays, operas, conservatories and several other events booked at Maxwell this semester, March 2nd was the last Maxwell open mic night of the spring 2026 semester. However, according to Rubio, there is hope for more open mic nights as soon as next semester.
Contact Lia Barnes at liabarnes@augusta.edu
At the top of the page, Grant Allen starts the last Maxwell open mic night of spring 2026 on the portico of Maxwell Theatre. Below, Tyler Smiley plays the drums over a praise break track at Maxwell Theatre. (photos by Lia Barnes/the Bell Ringer)
