Folsom Street Coffee Co. offers live poetry
Every Wednesday night at 7:30 p.m., Folsom Street Coffee Co. offers more than just good coffee. Open mic night is offered by organizers from the New Scene and is aimed at exposing local writers and musicians.
Minutes before the music was scheduled to start, the atmosphere changed from a somber study area to a bustling room full of people waiting to be entertained. Folsom Street Coffee Co. live music regulars Mystic Highway, followed by Denver’s poet laureate, Chris Ranzick, started off the night.
Open mic night began this past summer with the help of Anthony Guilbert, organizer of the New Scene. New Scene started in 2000 in New York City and moved to Colorado and California in 2005.
Guilbert said the goal of New Scene is “to encourage interest in word art.”
So far, three poets have been recognized and published with the help of New Scene.
Open mic night at the coffee shop has already attracted many CU students.
“This is my first time here,” said sophomore Caroline Stewart, ecology and evolutionary biology major. “I didn’t know they were playing music, but it was a pleasant surprise.”
Stewart and many other students find the music good for studying to or for just taking a break and talking to friends.
“In addition to open mic night, every Friday and Saturday night we have live music and Monday night is the People’s Cafe,” said Folsom Street Coffee Co. owner and operator Chris Warner.
The People’s Cafe is an evening for the community to discuss any issue they choose.
On Sept. 27, Folsom Street Coffee Co. and New Scene are putting on the Folsom Street Slam, a slam-poetry contest with a cash prize of $50.
