The Corner presents students with countless options as to how to spend any given night out with friends. From trivia nights to live bands, the bars and restaurants constantly compete with one another to attract potential customers.
Among the competition, Crozet Pizza believes it has found the next big attraction to draw in students and locals alike: the Charlottesville Music Collective Acoustic Jam, a weekly performance hosted by student band Kendall Street Company.
A few student musicians conceived the idea for the Charlottesville Music Collective as an open forum for local musicians one night as they passed around an acoustic guitar, performing their songs for each other.
Crozet’s general manager, Jordan Brunk, said he became interested in creating a regular acoustic music event that could be held indoors during the winter months. He later approached the students of Kendall Street Company about headlining the event, as they had performed multiple shows at the venue in the past. True to the band’s initial idea, any local musician is welcome to join the performance.
The band said they hoped to differentiate this event from their other shows by creating a looser, more laid-back environment. Opening up the stage to interested local musicians allowed them to create this atmosphere.
Kendall Street Company drummer Ryan Wood, a fourth-year Engineering student, said the band wanted to “have interesting jams where musicians get to play with new and interesting people.”
“You come up with really cool jams when you play with different musicians,” Wood said. “It’s a new sound. Everyone has their own way of jamming.”
Kendall Street Company saxophonist Andrew Drehoff, a third-year Education student, also commented on how good it is to just jam.
“Anytime you add or take something away, the fabric of the sound changes,” Drehoff said.
Kendall Street Company regularly performs alternative jam music in and around The Corner. Brunk, a former bartender at Michael’s Bistro, said he was accustomed to seeing students and locals flock to the Corner in search of live music like that performed by Kendall Street Company.
“It was very influential for me to have live music on the Corner,” Brunk said. “DJs may be in touch with what music is popular, but a live band is more in touch with the people.”
Having a DJ at the bar is essential Friday and Saturday nights, Brunk said. It would be difficult to justify reserving physical space for a live band, as available space is particularly scarce those nights.
Tuesday nights, however, when the crowd is a smaller, live music is a welcome addition to Crozet’s atmosphere.
“It’s a different crowd on a Tuesday night than a Friday or Saturday night,” Drehoff said. “It’s more for the music appreciators.”
Crozet Pizza is unique among Corner music venues because it offers an extensive outdoor setting where guests are free to wander the open space or sit at one of many picnic tables. As the temperature falls, however, eager concert-goers are forced to instead confine their activities indoors.
However, Brunk said he believes this shift indoors has its advantages as well.
“It provides an intimate venue to see an artist you like,” he said. “[Bands form a] relationship with the crowd.”
The band also said they believe the regular event will contribute to the connection they form with the crowd.
“You get to have regulars come out and watch,” Drehoff said.
Both Brunk and the band said they would like this event to continue throughout the year and eventually move back outdoors.
“When it gets nicer, there will be much more room for people to jam in a louder setting,” Wood said. “I hope we can get different people there … to have a creative jam session every time that people will enjoy listening to.”
Kendall Street Company holds the Charlottesville Music Collective Acoustic Jam every other Tuesday night at 10:30 p.m. The band encourages any musicians interested in playing — from drummers to wind instrumentalists — to bring their instrument and join in.
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