Thirteen years of Beatnik Café

In 1994, Colin Cheney ’96, son of visual arts faculty member Bryan Cheney, began a Milton tradition that has since become a student favorite. Three times a year, students gather in cozy and atmospheric Straus Library for an evening of student-run and student-performed entertainment that includes classic guitar, rap, rock, poetry, hip hop, improv comedy and acoustic music.

At its inception, “Beatnik” was held in the old student center snack bar, in the basement of Ware Hall, and embraced the mood and music of a real coffee house. Jono Forbes ’07 explains, “I think back when it began, Beatnik was much more like a coffee house open mic night where there were people talking and socializing on the side, getting something to drink, and then the performances were happening on the other side of the room. Now that it’s held in Straus, it’s a lot more performance-based.” A member of the Magus/Mabus (literary magazine) board, Jono has had a hand in hosting Beatnik along with other Magus board members this year. In addition to helping plan, set-up and host, Jono is among the performers, soloing classical guitar.

“I love that [Beatnik] is completely student run,” he says. “The performers are almost entirely Milton students, but on occasion there are friends of, or connections of, or graduates in the area will come by, which is really cool too.” While the Magus board officially hosts the event, Jono explains that it’s much more about the students performing in it.

“We normally hold three Beatniks a year, but this year we’re having four. It’s something kind of unprecedented—the Magus board of ’07 hosted the first three Beatniks of the year and the new board of ’08 will host this fourth right before school ends. We’ll see how they handle it,” Jono smiles. “What will also be great about having the last Beatnik in June is that a lot of students who are doing performances for their senior projects will perform their projects at Beatnik too. It will be another venue for the performances so that more students get a chance to see them.”

How many students take advantage of enjoying their classmates’ talent at Beatnik Café? “We pack Straus every time,” Jono says. “Maybe 200 students? As many as can fit into every corner of Straus. There are people up on the balcony with their legs hanging down, all spread out all over the floor. It’s packed in there. Another thing I love is that the crowd becomes the performers and vice-versa. Someone who was performing in the last Beatnik mentioned how nervous he was to go up, and I said, ‘Relax, you’re just part of the crowd, and then you get up and start playing, and then you’re still part of the crowd.’ The whole vibe is really chill. That’s definitely the word—chill.”

This year’s final Beatnik Café will take place on Friday, June 1 in Straus Library.

Photo courtesy of Jono Forbes (Class I).

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