The finale of a series of open stage nights organised by ESN and SG Erasmus took place in the Erasmus Pavilion on Monday night. All the seats in the Pavilion had been pushed back and a stage was set up, to create a complete atmosphere. About sixty-odd students bought a cold beer or a glass of white wine at the bar and enjoyed a night filled with acoustic covers of famous artists and good vibes!

The nameless four-man student band led by Erik Huijsman kicked off the night by covering the famous “I Don’t Need No Doctor” by John Mayer and John Scofield, sending out positive rock vibes into the audience. Beer or no beer in their hands, students gradually loosened up and danced to the guitar solo at the end of the everlasting song.

Students cheered and clapped enthusiastically as the guitarist plucked the final string to bring the fascinating solo to a close. “We do not have a name yet, but now that the audience was so enthusiastic, we are going to seriously consider coming up with a one”, Huijsman told EM.

Dutch songs by Tom Vrolijk

Open Stage Night paviljoen Tom Vrolijk
Tom Vrolijk

Tom Vrolijk, the only solo artist of the night, sang a few Dutch songs and announced the release of his first album in two weeks’ time. “This song is in Dutch, but you can sing along in English, Spanish or whatever language”, he said, as Tom encouraged the audience to come closer to the stage to build an even better atmosphere.

To close off his entertaining performance, Tom performed his own acoustic version of Brown Sugar by The Rolling Stones and got the audience to sing and clap along. Keeping this performance for the end of the night would have supported the phase “best for last” as it really brought the students closer together.

Lisa and Syarif on the guitar, formed the strongest duet of the night. With covers of Sam Smith’s “I’m Not The Only One”, and Justin Bieber’s “Love Yourself”, the female audience was left positively perplexed. A goosebumps-triggering acoustic version of Drake’s “One Dance”, silenced the entire audience in amazement. Pain and strain in Syarif’s fingers from playing the guitar too intensely brought an end to three wonderful songs. “Her voice is amazing, and the guitar and the perfect beat just made this performance brilliant”, Aiste, a student in the audience tells EM.

Open Stage Night paviljoen Lisa&Syarif
Lisa and Syarif

Covers

IBA student Jaap van Beek and exchange student Breanne Manore, stole the girls’ hearts and blew the roof off with their covers of Charlie Puth’s “One Call Away” and Michael Jackson’s “The Way You Make Me Feel”, respectively.

Open Stage Night paviljoen Stage

A great twist of guitar and vocal talents brought a wonderful close to the series of Open Stage Nights. For the talents, it would be nice to see a fully packed Pavilion next year.