Coffee House: An Evening Full of Joy

By Sean Scott ‘25 (Editor-in-chief)

On February 21, 2025, Student Council hosted its annual Coffee House, which is a Friday night talent show and open mic night. The Phoenix Room was transformed into a bustling venue full of the 100 people gathered in anticipation of a wonderful evening. With memorable performances with complementary donuts, cookies, and hot chocolate, this year’s Coffee House was certainly one for the ages.

Beginning around 7 pm, the event featured 17 captivating acts, including solo musical performances, spoken word, and group musical performances. Solo acts included a piano and vocal rendition of Taylor Swift’s “Champagne Problems” by Tika Nasta ‘27, who also sang “Never Enough,” from The Greatest Showman.  Gabrielle Davidow ‘28 played guitar and sang “That’s So True,” by Gracie Abrams, and Cyrus Reese ‘26 gave the premiere of his original song called “Adirondack Nights.” There were a couple solo classical pieces, as well. Andrew Yu ‘25 played “Le Tombeau de Couperin, I: Prelude,” by Ravel, and Violet Kenny ‘27 played a Chopin nocturne. The audience also heard the creative works of three poets: Daphne Yorks ‘26, Maya Brothers ‘26, and Cai Dunne ‘28. Daphne’s poem was called “Stranger.” Maya shared two, one called “A Traveler's Guide to Dream” and an untitled poem, and Cai’s was called “Everything You Don’t Remember About Growing Up.” The remainder of the acts were group musical performances. Phoebe Bonin ‘26 and Elijah Teel ‘26 performed “Heaven,” by the Talking Heads, and Olwyn Palumbos ‘26 and Cyrus performed “Pollen,” an original song written by the two of them. Olwyn and Jules Barrial ‘26 did “Betty” by Taylor Swift, and Jules and Elijah sang a clean version of “Red Wine Supernova,” by Chappell Roan. Andrew and Rory Soosar ‘25 played piano and cello respectively for “Valse Sentimentale,” by Tchaikovsky. Seniors Olive and Stella Ruggiero performing under the name Wonder Twins played and sang “Sailing,” by the Happy Fits, and “Birds of a Feather,” by Billie Eilish, and the three of us together performed “Blue Bayou,” by Linda Ronstadt.

The atmosphere of Coffee House was like nothing else at Friends’ Central. The stage was bathed in soft purple light, rows of chairs arcing gracefully across the room. The crowd was engaged and electric, clapping thunderously after each performance. One could feel the energy in the air, and it was abundantly clear that this was one special night. Thank you and congratulations to all the performers for making this Coffee House one to remember. Thank you to the tech crew for skillfully managing all the set changes and being truly instrumental to the event’s success, and thank you to all the friends and family who showed out that night to support the arts!

Design made by Sean Scott ‘25 using Canva