On November 28th, the Trinitarian Congregational Church (TCC) of Wayland held a performance coffeehouse. Music was played as people sat with their families, friends, and colleagues, enjoying baked goods as well as coffee and other beverages. Some of the musicians at the event were Wayland high school students.

“The purpose of the coffee house is that the church wants to open it’s doors to local musicians and local people and give them a place to come together,” said Kim Antonell, who is involved in the youth program at TCC.

Acts from the high school included bands We Are Zombie!, Project Lowell, KK Slider, and Folk Division. These groups offered a variety of music for the audience including jazz, folk, rock, and alternative. At the previous coffeehouse, held on November 14, the groups that performed included a MIT a cappella group and the teen worship band from the church.

“[There was a] great vibe at the show. It felt like everyone was interested and invested in the music, both in the audience and onstage.” said Ben Wolfarth, a student at WHS who played in bands Project Lowell as well as Folk Division.

“It was kind of quiet and formal,” said fellow musician and Wayland senior Ben Schattenburg. “It wasn’t excessively crowded, but people turned out.” According to Doug Sacra, a member of TCC, 125 people attended the event out of a possible 200

What was the inspiration? “I lived in Cambridge for about 20 years and often attended coffeehouses to hear music on the weekend. This type of music [is mostly found] in the cities. I would like to have more of it in Wayland,” said Sacra, who brought the idea to the church.

Admission, food, and drinks were free of charge. The church took donations to benefit Heifer International, a charity which provides food and other services to improve the lives of people all over the world.

More coffeehouses will be held once every month from January until May and they will resume in September. The next scheduled events are January 23rd, February 27th, March 27th, May 1st, and May 22nd.