Spoken Word Club has taken on a new name, Open Mic Club. It is now sponsored by Conner Bayer, history teacher at Athens Drive. Open Mic Club is a place where students can work together to create original, school-appropriate music. Any musician or anyone with an interest in music can come together and collaborate with each other. The club will meet during lunch on Wednesdays and after school Tuesdays in room 2816. Bayer is hoping to be able to help members improve their music.

“I can give them tips and advice, but it’s really just a place for them to come and enhance their music craft essentially,” said Bayer.

The club performed at the Literacy Showcase last year, allowing the students to share their work with the school. They are hoping to do more performances this school year. Bayer’s career in rap can help lead students in the club with their music and help with possible future careers.

“My goal is to have a place for rappers, poets, musicians, songwriters, beatmakers, basically everybody who wants to make like original type music to come and have a place where they can work on it, maybe they don’t have a place at home,” said Bayer.

Bayer is planning on creating a competition for students in the club with Golden Muziq, who is the same man that he records his own music with. The members of the club who want to enter will create an original song. After everyone submits their song, the person with the most votes will get a chance to record the song in a professional studio for free.

Returning to the club gives many students a free space to work on what they are interested in. Open Mic Club is welcoming new members. Tysean Broadwater, senior, is one of the students who helped to create the club.

“It’s cool seeing the music and rapping, and just seeing the talent on display,” said Broadwater.

Before the club was made, Broadwater and a small group of friends at Athens Drive would get together and rap, soon more kids joined and the club emerged. This will be his second year in the club and he is looking forward to how things will turn out.

“We usually would just rap outside, but then we decided to turn it into a club,” said Broadwater, “Pretty cool to see other people who like music like us, who just want to make it.”