Jan. 28th marked the first Silver Stain show of the semester at a local coffee shop, High Grounds Coffee Roasters. This is their second time booking at the shop, as they held a concert last December. 

Located over on High Street, High Grounds Coffee Roasters is a homey feeling shop that embraces you with a strong roasted coffee scent right as you open the door. The inside is designed with a flavorful focus of wood all around that sets that comfy home sense even more. This atmosphere was ideal for the acoustic set and felt like a flashback of a classic coffee shop show. 

Silver Stain is a booking and promotion company coming from the Glassboro area that was able to book this venue. Not only do they book bands, but tours as well. The company is run by two Rowan seniors, Max Adams and Sammi Kantor. They are active in the community with ties to Rowan Alternative Music Club and their band, Shark Earrings. Even with being involved in many other operations, they are still invested in seeing where Silver Stain goes.

Kantor had been excited about the idea of growing the company.

“Hopefully it will expand like other venues and Philly, Boston, New Brunswick and book for people tours and stuff,” he said. “Just build connections, continue to grow”. 

The success of the first show at the High Grounds shows the company’s knack for putting talent together.

“It was awesome. We had a great turnout. Everyone had a lot of fun. The energy was high,” said Kantor.

That genius would strike again on that night with performers like Chris Baldarrago and Charlie Temple. The two solo artists went on to perform a mix of their material with some covers too. With each having their style for how they approached the performances. Employing help from their friends on some of the songs added a new layer to the already stripped-down music. 

The shows are a good opportunity for artists to show off and present something new to the table. Baldarrago had just his second live solo performance of his work. It was a pleasant experience for him. “It was really fun. I think since my friends were there it made it feel a lot less stressful. But even then I was still a bit jittery and forgetting parts. But I think overall people enjoyed it, so I’m happy.” 

What Rowan is more known for is the raw unfiltered basement venues that are found all around campus. The more stripped-down and acoustic sets are not usually found a lot. Baldarrago had also been more used to those basement shows as well. Finding the performance to be a bit odd, “It’s a little unfamiliar for me because I’m used to playing in basements all the time… It’s a little more accessible to my friends who don’t like being sweaty and being crowded with a bunch of people. So it’s a nice environment.”

After that, Baldarrago and Temple played their respective sets. Kantor and Adams went on to perform with their band Shark Earrings, a four-piece band from the Glassboro area. Unlike the two solo artists, Shark Earrings brought up the energy as much as they could. Still being stripped down to a fraction of a drum set and two acoustic guitars. They were able to get the crowd engaged and gripped. Some of the audience members sat down right in front of them, giving a feeling of being around a campfire with music. 

The last artist, Grace Gardner, couldn’t make it to the show. A last-second replacement of the crowd was put in and did not disappoint. Kiaura Rose, who is a regular in the music scene here, was able to perform a few songs with Baldarrago and Jordan Tyler Jensen on drums. A fun little surprise that ended up working out 

Seniors Ava and Liam are just two of the many satisfied audience members to have shown up. They are more new to the scene as this was their second show. Have already shown lots of interest in the community, “You meet people and you keep seeing them at future shows and just become friends with everyone which is cool.”

This was a great outing for Silver Stain with some great acts and performances. They show the great diversity that can be found in the community here. If the basement shows are a lot for someone, these more calming acoustic shows are worth the time to check out. Follow @Silverstainbooking on Instagram to stay posted on new shows. 

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