USC poet wants local talent for new event
Mick Johnson is a regular at open mic nights in Columbia, so creating his own here at USC was almost a no-brainer, he said. The third-year English and film and media studies student was inspired by the “Mind Gravy” open mic night at Drip and teamed up with one of its organizers to bring the twice-monthly event to campus.
The New World Open Mic Night premieres tonight at 8 p.m., inviting students and locals to share their music, comedy, poetry and various talents.
The open mic will occur on the second and fourth Mondays of each month, giving plenty of students the opportunity to participate.Johnson said he hopes the event means more to students than just a place to perform.
“My favorite part about open mic nights is that it’s a tight-knit thing,” Johnson said. “Community like this can be pretty important here.”
The Louisville, Ky. native believes Columbia’s unique talent scene is reason enough to start an event like this.
“Columbia has a very unique flavor, I just don’t know what that flavor is,” Johnson said. “It’s like they gave us a Dum Dum pop and we got the mystery flavor.”
Johnson said he expects a large turnout for tomorrow and next open mic night, encouraging people to come early to sign up. He said he wants to limit the length of the performances to about five minutes so that everyone has a chance to perform.
A spoken word poet himself and the winner of last year’s Carolina Production’s poetry slam, Johnson said he will likely perform at the opening night.