The Lone Pine Tavern in the basement of the Collis Center is working its way into the College's social scene, hosting a wide variety of performers from both within and outside the College community.
Student Programs Coordinator Linda Kennedy, who books the acts for the Tavern, said the pub is able to host a wide variety of acts because of the large number of student artists looking for a venue to perform.
"You'll find really musical people here," she said. "There are tons of people who want to perform."
Students who have experienced the Tavern's performances from their seats or on stage, praised the Tavern's facilities, location and entertainment.
Ben Brainard '96, who plays solo acoustic guitar at the Tavern under the stage name Charles Allen, said he was looking for an outlet to perform after his previous group dissolved.
"After the demise of Vegetative Propagation, I still wanted to perform in front of people and the Lone Pine proved that opportunity," Brainard said. "As a musician, I felt that is was a good place to play."
Brainard said the pub is a positive addition to the campus for both the musical career and the social life of students because its atmosphere is conducive to social interaction.
Allison Ahearn '94, a member of the Programming Board's Tavern Committee who has performed at the pub, said the Tavern offers better stage space than Hoveys and fraternities.
"The space is better at the Tavern than it was at Hovey's," she said. "It is much more interactive now."
Ahearn said an improved sound system has made the Tavern an excellent performing space.
Any student that expresses an interest may perform, said Chris Donley '95, the special promotions chair of the Tavern Committee.
But the stage at the Lone Pine is not limited to College students. Two weeks ago Cynde Bierman '94 arranged for her brother Clint, a freshman at Middlebury College in Vermont and his friend Andrew Kaplan, from the University of Vermont, to perform at the Tavern, simply by signing up for the gig.
Bierman said her brother loved the atmosphere. "He had a really good time," she said. "He thought it was cool - both the size and the people."
Student performers are paid $25 per hour for a single performer and $50 per hour for groups with two or more people, Kennedy said.
The Tavern has a regular weekly schedule of performers as well as slots open to different acts each week.
Weekly events include poetry readings Wednesdays, the Barbary Coast rhythm section Thursdays and Fryer Dybees, a happy-hour for graduate students, Fridays.
