JSA starts Open mic effort downtown downtown

Junior State of America (JSA) Club hosted an Open Mic at Blue Rock Shoot Cafe on May 15 in an effort to bring more foot traffic to downtown Saratoga and boost business. During the Open Mic, students and adults alike sang and played the piano and the guitar.

“The goal of the open mic is to bring in a younger demographic of people into downtown Saratoga,” said junior Camille Bismonte, who hosted the Open Mic.

The Open Mic is a branch of Saratoga’s Got Talent, and beginning in January 2015, Bismonte and junior Oksana Trifonova became its hosts. Councilman Rishi Kumar handed the job over to them to make the Open Mic a more student-run event and attract a younger group of people to downtown Saratoga.

“Because more of the customers in downtown Saratoga tend to be elderly, the Open Mic serves as an event that adolescents will also be interested in,” Bismonte said.

The Open Mic also provides students who want to perform the chance to show off their talents in front of their peers.

“It’s really exciting because oftentimes we get people with talents we had no idea they have,” Bismonte said. “For example, we had no idea that [junior] Alex Guo could play the guitar, and when he performed, we were all shocked.”

Guo himself also enjoyed attending and performing at the Open Mic.

“I’ve performed musically many times, but the Open Mic was the first time I’ve done so since eighth grade,” Guo said. “It was casual and fun hanging out with friends.” 

During the last Open Mic, students from other schools also attended, which Bismonte attributed largely to social media.

“Once we had more people, it was easier to invite even more people,” Bismonte said. “It became a chain reaction, and more and more people showed up.”

Bistmone estimates that the turnout was around 25 people, and with that came more customers at Blue Rock Shoot.

“I was really touched regarding the turnout of people,” Bismonte said. “As more people came, the acts began to get better and better.  Every time [the Open Mic] ends, I look forward to the next one.”