Suffolk University’s Performing Arts Office welcomed the new month by hosting their monthly open mic night Nov. 2 to kick off “Newvember.” 

The PAO announced “Newvember” on their Instagram, defining it as, “Two weeks of arts programming to get you out of your post-midterm funk.” 

During “Newvember,” PAO is featuring multiple on-campus art events students can attend for the first two weeks of November. PAO also offers students discounted tickets to some off-campus art events. 

Teal Pratt, the first performer of the night, plans on performing at future open mic events. 

Pratt started the night with a fantastic performance of “Fun” by Olivia Barton.

“I heard it live unreleased and I fell in love with that song. It’s one of my favorites,” Pratt said. 

Kay Gillespie followed Pratt with an amazing cover of Chappell Roan’s “Pink Pony Club.” Gillespie was inspired to perform the song because she recently discovered it, and has been playing it on repeat.

Hadley Vaillancourt used the event to debut an original song, and shared her inspiration on stage with the audience. 

“This is a song about how the phrase falling in love sort of involves violence… falling is not a good thing to do,” said Vaillancourt.

Emily Corrao and Emily Zeigerson got up on stage and performed a cute ukulele duet of Elvis Presley’s “Can’t Help Falling In Love.” Their vocals harmonized beautifully and their song choice was perfect for their singing abilities. 

Lucas Benedict performed an original song as well. Benedict named the song “Is It Over,” stating the inspiration was from a poem he had written about a past breakup.  

Eilleen Kelly and Robert Rushing performed a beautiful cover of “From the Start” by Laufey. Rushing showed off his talent for bass guitar while Kelly took to the keys and demonstrated her singing abilities. 

Rushing conveyed his multifaceted talent by singing the chorus of the song along with Kelly. 

Other performances of the night featured beautiful covers of popular songs and stand-up comedy from Toby Lage. 

Lage’s set included quips about how hard going out on Halloween is. During his set, Lage shared his own fascinating Halloween horror stories. 

“Going out on Halloween is a commitment from Hell,” Lage remarked.

During the open mic, the PAO encouraged students to sign up for auditions for the upcoming spring musical “Newsies.” The PAO will be posting more information about auditions on their Instagram page. 

More information about the “Newvember” events can be found on the PAO’s Instagram page. Students can sign up for events and reserve tickets using the linktree in their bio. 

Events include free student tickets to the ICA, discounted tickets to “Frozen,” First-Generation Talent Night and, a fabric painting workshop and a Gallery Talk hosted by SWELL. 

Other Suffolk events featured in “Newvember” are dance workshops hosted by W!cked and Pasión Latina, Karaoke hosted by Ramblers Chamber Choir and UDOT and a “LaLa Land” watch party hosted by Tip Tap Toe and Ram Cam.

The PAO encourages students to use their music practice room located in the lobby of Sawyer. QR codes to reserve the music practice room are located around Sawyer, in the PAO office and certain dorm buildings.