During the weeknights on a typical college campus, you might expect to find the streets empty and abandoned as students flee to their chosen nooks to study for tomorrow’s trying exams. Spurred by the scent of caffeine, many of these college hopefuls are drawn to the local coffee shop like moths to a flame. However, here at Baylor University, we do things a little differently.
On any given night, you will find the students of Baylor chilling in the backyard of the local coffee shop, Common Grounds, and jamming to music of every genre. Whether it’s local Baylor superstars or music legends in their own right, it’s almost guaranteed that the Common Grounds stage will be buzzing with some kind of performance to drink in, along with your five cups of coffee. In my opinion, this is one of the many things that makes Common Grounds so special. There’s no doubt that you would experience an enjoyable show on any open mic night; however, nothing beats the rush you receive from a proper Common Grounds backyard concert.
I recently attended a backyard concert with Ben Rector as the headliner and Judah and the Lion as the opening act. The concert exceeded any expectations I could have possessed. Both bands expressed a distinct yet unique sound that mixed with the incredibly electric atmosphere to create the best concert I have attended in the history of my existence. It was a concert unlike any other in more ways than one.
Both bands were creative in their sound; however, neither band sounded the same. I found this extremely interesting compared to other concerts I have attended. Usually, the opening act possesses a similar sound to the headlining act, which ultimately adds to the overall genre and vibe of the concert. While this strategy appears successful, I have occasionally found myself at concerts feeling bored and exhausted due to listening to the same genre of music for such a long period of time. I’m aware that most people attend a concert with the intention of listening to a particular genre for 3 hours; however, for people who enjoy musical diversity, like myself, this seems like a monotony overload.
The concert at Common Grounds broke this status quo by providing two bands with completely different personalities and sounds to rock the stage. Every song the bands played felt like a breath of fresh air against our overworked and extremely stressed beings. The lyrics of these sweet songs seemed to carry all of our troubles away until there was nothing left to do but let the good times roll.
This carefree atmosphere made the concert that much more intimate in size and more precious in experience. While half of this atmosphere came from the vibes of the bands, the other half came from the utterly eclectic yet immensely adorable scene that is Common Grounds. Unlike Starbucks, Common Grounds isn’t fancy. It’s not a posh cafe filled with matching wallpaper and state of the art equipment. It’s simply a rickety, old house filled with furniture of every shape and style with lots and lots of character. The backyard is scattered with rusty benches, stools, and car fenders to sit on and watch the world go by.
As we stood and listened to Ben Rector and Judah and the Lion encompass this place with the twangs of guitar strings, it became evident that we were part of something much bigger than a concert. We were part of a community. We were one big happy family reveling in our common love of music. Unlike the packed stadiums filled with screaming fans, the backyard was filled with love, friendship, and the very thing every college kid searches for: hope. In the backyard, as the moon peaked through the clouds and the leaves of autumn twirled in the wind, we discovered what it was like to feel alive and at home in our whole new world.
It is here in this backyard, as the deep lyrics of bands dance through the trees, that everything starts to make sense. As I stood in this place of contentment and swayed with the words of truth, I began to realize that this was life. This was my moment. My moments are not measured in the successes of my exams or in the time I spend studying. While these are important aspects of college, they are not the moments I will remember. I’m going to remember the nights we danced until dawn. The nights we felt weightless and infinite. The nights that were made perfect by their simple imperfections. I’m going to remember nights like this one, where we relished in the gift of life, the love of a good friend, and the sweetness of deep talks in coffee shops.