The Open Mic, a new weekly segment co-hosted by Seniors Max Beyer and Wade Underwood, brings to the station a taste of live music each Wednesday night. So far the duo has hosted an array of Gustavus student and faculty acts, including Cam Nelson, The Hiccups, G Sharp, Peter and the Magic Tone and Justin’s Jazzy Jams.

Beyer’s initial interest in KGSM began at the Homecoming window painting festivities and then escalated with news of the new Beck Hall studio.

“It’s incredible that this is on campus. The quality of the studio and the equipment is  unreal,” Beyer said.

“It really is a huge improvement,” Underwood said, a returning KGSM DJ, who co-hosted a talk show with Ben Kolis two years ago. “The old studio was fine, but now we have more mics and newer software.”

Beyer and Underwood utilized the studio to its full potential, inviting Gustavus musicians in each week to share their talent with the community.

“We realized the huge pool of Gustavus talent,” Beyer said, “so why not just have it be a weekly thing?”

With a goal of promoting and supporting musicians and all sorts of performing arts through the medium of radio, The Open Mic welcomes all varieties of music and art.

“We don’t really bring in a specific genre. We have had everything from polka to classical to an acoustic duo and even an a cappella group. The more different the better,” Beyer said.

The Open Mic also dabbles in readings of children’s books, as well as poetry. And with this spring’s anticipated release of Firethorne, Beyer and Underwood look forward to hosting published writers who are interested in reading their work.

“People tell me I have an MPR voice,” Underwood said, who usually directs the dialogue with musical guests.

“Wade is the question guy. I’m more of the technical guy,” Beyer said.

A typical Open Mic show consists of an hour of banter, song requests and ‘joke-offs’ while the band sets up. The musician then performs and is interviewed for the second half of the show.

“We have been able to get a pretty high quality sound,” Beyer said.

The Open Mic gives each guest a recording of their performance and is actively searching for more artists of all ages.

“I want to bleed into the faculty ground,” Beyer said. “I know there are a lot of talented musical faculty here.”

The Open Mic recently hosted Justin Tollefson, who Gusties may know from the Marketplace checkout lines. He played the drums in the ensemble, Justin’s Jazzy Jams.

The Open Mic is currently looking for Gusties interested in performing on the broadcast and, as always, encourages listeners to tune in.

“The appeal of an open mic is that you don’t know what is going to happen. There is always that unpredictability on sound and performance,” Underwood said. “It provides a genuine and unique listening experience.”

The Open Mic streams live every Wednesday evening from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. Anyone interested in performing can contact Max Beyer or Wade Underwood.