The University of Waterloo Grad House is usually open to members only, however, on Tuesday nights, it opens its doors to music lovers and players alike. Host Robbie Hancock starts the evening off with his own tape loop infused guitar, piano and vocals and invites people to sign their name on a chalkboard if they want to perform. This relatively new weekly event emerged from a songwriting competition earlier this year, also run by Robbie (http://rjentertainment.ca/) – after the competition finished there was a desire to continue the creative exchange and another public forum for sharing music was born.
This week I was joined by fellow jamseekers, Trish & Pete, so we added our trio to the list of performers. Even the general manager of the establishment, Rose, came out to join in the end of evening jam, which brought all the musicians to the stage. Host Robbie doubled as sound man and accompanist – lyric sheets available if you feel moved to sing but didn’t bring an instrument.
The pub and restaurant is housed in the historic Schweitzer Farm House, a quaint building leased by the Graduate Students Association, surrounded by large, modern university structures. In addition to pub snacks and light meals, tasty local microbrews are served (Grand River Brewing, Cambridge and Flying Monkeys, Barrie).
If you are in the Waterloo area, come help keep the momentum going.
[Open Mic with Robbie Hancock, University of Waterloo Grad House, every Tuesday 8 – 11]