In the romantic light of the Cactus Cafe, an intimate audience gathered to spend their Wednesday night listening to poetry performances from UT students accompanied by smooth jazz from the Austin community.
Rhythm and Rhymes, a joint event hosted by the UT organizations Headliners and Creative Arts and Theatre, both under Campus Events and Entertainment, took place on Wednesday. Last semester, CAT hosted Muses and Mics, a poetry and open mic event, but this is the first event to combine live poetry and jazz.
Kai Arnn, psychology sophomore and publicity officer for CAT, said they spent finals week and winter break working on the advertising for the event. Along with fulfilling their officer duties, they performed their own original poetry.
“I have not performed any of my poetry before,” Arnn said. “I’ve been writing poetry since I could write but (it) became a medium that I used a lot in middle school and high school and then I circled back to it in college.”
Kaz Elenes, international relations junior and logistics officer for CAT, also performed original poetry for the first time.
“I’ve been writing (poetry) for a very long time,” Elenes said. “It’s something that I tend to be secretive about … but I wanted to sort of break outside my comfort zone.”
In addition to acts from UT students, the night featured the Riverside Jazz Collective, a high school jazz band. Mckenna Sefcik, Headliners publicity officer, said the organization found the band playing at Zilker Park and invited them to perform at the show, Riverside’s first-ever gig.
“I’m excited to see the poetry of fellow students as well as the jazz acts,” Elenes said before the show. “I don’t know a whole (ton) about the local Austin music scene or the music scene here at UT, and I would love to learn more.”
The Riverside Jazz Collective wasn’t the only group that kicked off their career at Rhythm and Rhymes. Texas Songbirds, a student organization, performed to their second live audience, singing group pieces along with mesmerizing solos and duets.
Emily Wager, textiles and apparel senior and CAT member, said the Cactus Cafe provided the perfect setting for the event.
“I always like the vibe of the Cactus Cafe,” Wager said. “It’s a perfect place to have a jazz and poetry event because the small atmosphere … (is) just perfect.”
