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Brian McGovern plays an original song at Red Herring's open mic night. Photo by Abby Toms

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Red Herring Coffeehouse »
Address: 1209 W. Oregon Urbana, IL 61801
Phone: (217) 367-2340
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Located on West Oregon Street in Urbana, the Red Herring is a cozy restaurant focused on bringing vegetarian meal options to CU. But every Sunday night, the low-key restaurant transforms into a vibrant stage for budding artists.

The Red Herring’s open mic night draws performers of all backgrounds to share their talents in a relaxed and exciting atmosphere. In only its fifth week, the open mic night already has about ten performances weekly, and there is only room for the event to grow.

No one knows that this is true more than Stan McConnell, the host of the event. Involved with music himself, Stan is responsible with running the show. “I run the sound and also just encourage people to get involved with poetry, music, whatever they want.” McConnell’s laid-back attitude is exactly in line with the attitude he desires for the open mic night. “The atmosphere is relatively quiet for a music show and it’s really homey. Everyone is sipping on coffee and tea and there is good interaction between people on stage and the audience.”

Although the Red Herring does not serve food between 7:30 and 10:30 p.m. while the event is taking place, the restaurant and coffeehouse continues to serve both coffee and tea. Plus, “It is totally free to perform and totally free to get in,” said McConnell. However, “proceeds from the coffeehouse and any donations from performers go to keeping the Red Herring open.”

But of course, the open mic night would be nothing without performers, and the performances at the Red Herring are what set it apart. The acts are “mostly music and poetry and sometimes a little comedy,” said McConnell. “Sometimes the borders even blend together and people will be reading poems and will accent them with percussion or keyboards.” People of all musical and artistic levels are encouraged to come out and share their talents. “One thing to reiterate is that no one needs to be self conscious. People don’t come to impress others, they come because they know it’s a great place to interact and meet artists in the same community, and they want to convey something that they don’t normally do.”

A senior at the University, McConnell not only saw a void in CU for an outlet for performers, he also realized the need for a place for younger artists to showcase their talents. “What I’m trying to offer is a stage where a consistent crowd will be every week and that is ideal for underclassmen who may not have their act together yet,” he said. “That’s how you develop yourself as an artist; just come out and perform.” The encouragement and ease for young artists to perform at Red Herring’s open mic night is matched with the ease to actually sign up. Every Sunday there is a simple sign-up sheet for anyone interested in performing. The length each performer has on stage depends on how many people sign up, but a typical act is about twenty minutes long. “It’s just a really healthy event and will naturally attract artists and people that would like to be a part of it,” said McConnell. The Red Herring’s open-mic night has certainly attracted the artists and musicians of CU as the weeks continue to show an increase in both interested performers and people who come to watch in the relaxed atmosphere. An absence of pressure shapes the Sunday shows into an exiciting and laid-back place for people to release their artistic abilities.