By
Kayleigh Shoemaker
Middle Stew Reporter
MURFREESBORO,
Tenn. – Free live music, free coffee, free snacks – that’s a typical Thursday
night at Bonhoeffer’s, the Murfreesboro venue formed in order to showcase
Middle Tennessee State University talent and bring fellow students together.
The
Nov. 15 show was no exception. Nearly every seat was filled at The Church @
Cross Point at 610 Dill Lane, a site that is transformed into Bonhoeffer’s every
Thursday. The dimmed overhead lights, the flickering lights on each table, and
the specialty tea and coffee served, create a Bluebird Café-like atmosphere.
Kicking off the night was Nuclear Bubble Wrap, comprised of vocalist Jace
McClain, guitarist Kyle Thorn, bassist Brendan Sheairs, and drummer Eric Zhu.
They warmed up the crowd with original novelty songs with titles such as “In
Space No One Can Hear You Scream” and “Sharktopus.” The self-described
alternative rock band’s endearingly bizarre lyrics certainly gave the audience
a laugh.
Next
up was the pop-punk band Almost December. Jonathan Klinvex, Robbie Artress,
Matt Guider, and Danny Collins wowed the audience with their original songs
like “Memories Are Forever” and “Josephine.” They closed with an unexpected,
yet surprisingly fitting cover of Taylor Swift’s “Mean,” with some vocal
assistance from East Main’s Luke Caccetta.
Last
but not least was East Main, comprised of vocalist and guitarist Luke Caccetta,
lead guitarist Matt Carey, and bassist Brad Freeney. Through their blend of
Southern rock and blues-influenced original songs like “Scream” and “Only One
I’m Dreaming Of,” East Main managed to captivate the crowd and left them
begging for an encore. They satiated the audience’s appetite for more with a
cover of Bon Jovi’s hit, “You Give Love A Bad Name.”
Bonhoeffer’s
was created by The Church @ Cross Point about 10 years ago in an upstairs
portion of a log cabin on Greenland Avenue, across from MTSU’s Murphy Center.
According to the Bonhoeffer’s Facebook page, it was named for Dietrich
Bonhoeffer, a German preacher who died during World War II for resisting the
Nazis. Church members give their time and money to honor Jesus by serving
others, much like Dietrich Bonhoeffer did. It originally was a place for
students to hang out and study during the day. Later, a weekly concert was
added. Bonhoeffer’s organizer Rodney Edwards explained that the main goals of
each show are “to provide a venue for bands to become known, to provide a place
for college students to enjoy great music, and to bring glory to Jesus Christ
through serving others.”
As
Bonhoeffer’s grew, they relocated to the church’s facilities at Dill Lane,
which allowed them use of a more sophisticated sound system. MTSU students
began to volunteer their time to help run this equipment, many of whom were
members of Omega Delta Psi, MTSU’s recording industry fraternity. About two
years ago, ODP officially took over running the audio for every Bonhoeffer’s
show. Bonhoeffer’s has also partnered with Rock Springs Church and Nuance
Coffee & Tea, both of Smyrna.
“One day we hope that Bonhoeffer’s is a joint outreach of many different churches and student organizations," said Edwards, when asked about the future of Bonhoeffer’s. "Cross Point designed Bonhoeffer’s to be ‘given away.’ Cross Point is a very small church, and we love Bonhoeffer’s enough that we would never let our size hold it back from becoming all it can become.”
“One day we hope that Bonhoeffer’s is a joint outreach of many different churches and student organizations," said Edwards, when asked about the future of Bonhoeffer’s. "Cross Point designed Bonhoeffer’s to be ‘given away.’ Cross Point is a very small church, and we love Bonhoeffer’s enough that we would never let our size hold it back from becoming all it can become.”
On
Dec. 6, Bonhoeffer’s will present a special Christmas show beginning at 8 p.m.
This will be the last show before the end of the fall semester.
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