This summer, Lone Pine Tavern has put a refreshing new twist on campus entertainment with the beginning of its summer music series. Since her hiring in May, Dartmouth's new assistant director of student activities, Amy Newcomb, has been working to revitalize the campus's only regular venue for student performers.
"I cherish the occasions when I can play at Lone Pine," said Mats Lemberger '06, who plays Appalachian mountain music. "During my time at Dartmouth, that little tavern has been a great learning environment for me."
With its summer music series, Lone Pine is looking to build on its reputation as an alternative student venue with a unique musical lineup. The music series has two goals: to continue giving students the opportunity to perform and to try to provide musical variety within the series.
The series is bringing in various guest artists, from Erin Harpe, who specializes in delta blues, to Lo Fine, an indie rock group. Other upcoming performers include ambient folk artist Dennis Crommett and contemporary folk artist Lisa Simpson. Newcomb is also coordinating performances between student acts and outside artists.
This weekend Lemberger will be opening for Meg Johnson, who specializes in American and bluegrass music. Opening for professional artists has proven to be a great learning opportunity for students while helping them build their musical resumes.
"I think I have grown in many ways on the stage there," Lemberger said. "Having the chance to open for up-and-coming musicians this summer sounds pretty cool. I can't wait for my set this weekend before the Meg Johnson Band."
However, fellow performer Stephen Cesaro noted the downside of playing to an indifferent audience. "I like playing at Lone Pine because it gives me an outlet for the solo music I write that I could never play at a frat party," Cesaro said. "Sadly, most of the people there go for the food and couldn't care less whether I was playing a future hit or a tune on a banjo." Fortunately, the music series has room for suggestions and improvement.
Newcomb noted that the new music series is a unique opportunity for students to bring guest artists to campus. Students can take their suggestions to Programming Board.
"We have the money to book shows but we're looking for students to make it happen," Newcomb said. "This is a great opportunity for anyone interested in going into the music industry. It would be a great learning experience to book a group and bring them to campus."
Although there is still room for improvement, the Lone Pine scene has progressed a great deal in recent months. Before the series, students could only perform in two-hour sets, which were time slots burgeoning bands struggled to fill.
As a solution, every Thursday from 8 p.m. to 12 a.m., Lone Pine now features an open mic night hosted by a student performer. This way, students can perform one song or a whole set, depending on how much material they have.
It also provides a way for students to become comfortable with the Lone Pine scene.
Newcomb was enthusiastic about the possibilities. "We're trying to have a big push for people to come play at open mic," she said. "We need people to come and play and feel like they have a space to play in, without feeling that it has to be a certain type of music."
Newcomb was quick to add that the Lone Pine scene is not limited to musicians, either, but is welcome to comedy and performance groups as well.
Lone Pine has also increased its publicity efforts to gain recognition for its shows. At the beginning of the term it sent flyers to students' Hinman boxes with the student performers and the guest artists listed. Lone Pine also has a website with an up-to date schedule of who is performing when and also features guest artists and links to their pages where there are biographies, music samples and pictures.
Hopefully, students will begin to perform at open mic, help look for new guest artists and frequent Lone Pine as much for the good music as for the food. Newcomb realizes there is still a long way to go before the music series catches on, but her optimism is encouraging.
"We haven't hit that point where people say 'Oh, it's Saturday night and there's music at Lone Pine,'" she said, "but we're trying."
