By Daisette Verdin, Oct. 10, 2023
The Haven opened its doors again Saturday, Sept. 30 for an open mic night showcasing many aspiring local talents in Pomona.
Cal Poly Pomona students and local artists gathered at the music venue located in the Pomona Arts Colony district, signing up for a spot to perform.
Setting the tone for the night, music industry studies student Hailey Newman performed an acoustic version of “Heart-Shaped Box” by Nirvana with the help of a guitarist she just met the same night. Newman said it was a last minute performance, but that it is all part of the collaborating process that happens at open mic nights.
Newman currently works at The Haven shadowing the soundboard and has been singing for 10 years. Inspired by Disney princesses growing up, she joined musical theater in middle school and competitive jazz choir in high school. Stepping on a brightly lit stage, performing came naturally for her.
“It’s always been something that I wanted to perform,” Newman said. “I see other people do that song all the time, and I feel like it has such a nice low range but then you can also take it up. I like exploring my low range.”
Newman, whose artist name is Star, dropped her first and only single called “The Red Door” in June. Newman opened about the symbolism of the song, which refers to the color of the front door of her childhood home.
“I moved around a lot, so I don’t think I’ve ever lived in a house for more than like four years,” Newman said. “But my first house I lived in for eight years.”
Her teacher recorded the “Red Door” in the back of a high school classroom, while other students did classwork. She, with no shame, belted to the words of her own song.
“It was just a love letter to my old neighborhood and my roots in Sacramento,” Newman said.
Moving forward in her career, Newman aspires to be in the studio learning more about audio engineering.
The room began to fill up with a bigger crowd attention on the stage. Front and center was music industry studies student Sasha Saenz, who goes by the artist name HersheyBoy, opening her set with an original song called “Love ‘N Mercy,” a song she performed at the CPP music department’s Songwriter Showcase last semester.
“I guess I was nervous, but then once I start playing, I’m just really focused,” Saenz said. “I’m really good at zoning out people, and it’s not until I’m done I’m like, ‘oh my God — terrifying.’”
Saenz described her song as an unintentionally written piece about self-love that resulted from writing the lyrics. The songwriter draws most of her musical inspiration from hip-hop and R&B with soul, and she is now working with a producer to bring a mixture of acoustics and beats.
“We’re in the process of trying to release music,” Saenz said. “A lot of hard grinding and working.”
With her first time performing at The Haven now under her belt, Saenz will be back Nov. 3 to perform the same original single and a new piece called “Rendezvous.”
“Everyone is very cool regardless of your background,” Saenz said. “This is definitely a place you want to go to network with people.”
To get the crowd’s energy up and moving, 16-year-old Anaheim hip-hop rapper Ghleam performed for the first time to kick-start his artist journey.
He and his cousin work together alongside other artists in a rap group called Six Seven, creating music inspired by other famous LA rappers and R&B artists. Ghleam performed three original songs, one being a diss track to his haters called “Everybody K.”
“It started off as a joke for fun,” Ghleam said. “I sat down with a bunch of music apps on my mom’s laptop, and I just started recording on my own.”
Open mic nights are welcome to all artists and musicians willing to perform as well as showcase the creativity of the local arts and music scene.
Feature image courtesy of Daisette Verdin
