Another Guitars Unplugged has come and gone
- posted: 18 Mar. 2008
- scrollarts@byui.edu
About 4,300 sold tickets, 17 bands and many guitars all added up to yet another Best of Guitars Unplugged. The show started at 8 p.m. Saturday night and took place in the Hart Auditorium. “It started at the very beginning of the semester,” said manager Kelly Pinkerton, a junior studying communication.
Putting together the show has been an almost three-month process consisting of practicing performers, auditions and technical work.
An array of musical performances took place both Thursday and Friday night and were voted upon and then chosen to be in Saturday’s “best of” show.
“Everything goes badly at first, like performers not being able to make sound check, or microphones not working or posters not getting out on time, but in the end it just all comes together,” Pinkerton said.
The fact that Guitars Unplugged is advertised as the “biggest event of the semester” can also bring nerves to the performers.
“I’m nervous, but for me it’s the moment that I get on stage that the party starts; when I’m up on stage I’ll be perfectly fine, but it’s so worth it — all the stress and the non-sleeping and the thinking you’re going to forget the lyrics,” said Keishianna McCarthy, who sang “Give me One Reason” by Tracy Chapman.
Before the florescent lights, cameras and crowd, performers shared songs of their own making or those of other artists such as Colbie Callait’s “Oxygen,” performed by Monday Night Leftovers and “Daughters” by John Mayer, sung by Jason Lucas.
Many of the acts were solo instead of being on stage with the support of a band.
“I’m actually used to singing by myself, but the bigger the crowd the more energy I get from them, and the easier it is for me to sing. I was not as nervous. I got into it,” said Jennifer Richardson, a freshman studying general studies, who sang “Breathless.”
After two hours of performances, Guitars Unplugged looked like a BYU-I tradition that will be around for a while.
“Everyone knows about it. Everyone plans on it every semester. Bands get together the semester before to prepare for the next one, so it’s definitely a big deal. I’ve gotten some pretty good comments this year about this one being the best one,” Pinkerton said. 
