Yuto Watanabe
Acoustic Jukebox Restores Intimacy to Student Performance
Listening to music should be an intimate experience, but on a campus as large as Stanford’s, that often proves difficult. Danny Smith ’13 sought to fix this last spring, when he began the weekly music series Acoustic Jukebox as an independent project in the lounge of Enchanted Broccoli Forest (EBF), where he has lived for the past two years. Ever since, on Mondays at EBF, Jukebox has provided a haven for student musicians desiring a more intimate performance venue.
“Sometimes when you are playing really personal stuff, you don’t want to put yourself out there unless you know it’s going to be heard. I wanted to make a place that was respectful and intimate,” Smith said.
From the first event with only ten attendees, Acoustic Jukebox has grown into a vibrant weekly space. Last week 50 students arrived to share a piece of Jukebox’s warmth, sitting on couches and in armchairs as they listened to performances by earth sciences graduate student Matt Winnick and Chris Tang ’14, who played a collection of originals and covers. The scheduled acoustic set ended with everyone singing along to Tang’s crowd-pleasing version of Pink Floyd’s “Wish You Were Here.”
