Elon University’s Belk Library became a small concert venue Sept. 20 as it hosted its first-ever “Tiny Shelf Concert,” inspired by NPR’s famous Tiny Desk Concert series. The event featured a performance by the Shirley Tempos, an all-female a cappella group, who performed among the library's shelves — making it a unique place for live music.
The idea for the event came from the Outreach and Marketing Librarian Alison Van Norman, who said she was inspired by a former colleague at North Carolina A&T State University.
“They had done something similar years ago, and it was a big hit with students,” she said. “We have so many amazing student music groups here on campus that this could be sort of a recurring event we do with some regularity, either once a semester or some sort of series.”
The Shirley Tempos, performing for the first time this semester, opened with Madonna's "Like a Prayer," followed by Conan Gray's "Killing Me" and concluded with Florence and the Machine's "Moderation." They used the event as both a learning opportunity and a way to showcase their new members. The group's treasurer, sophomore Skylar Jensen, said the event was both a learning opportunity and a way to showcase new members.
"It was really exciting," Jensen said. “It was kind of like we were using it as a learning experience, and also just kind of honored to be the first people to do it."
For freshman Madison Bonn, a new Shirley Tempos member, the experience was both fun and rewarding.
“I’ve always loved singing and I knew I wanted to sing in college, but I'm not doing that as my major or anything, so I wanted to get involved and I thought a cappella would be a great way to do that,” Bonn said. “I'm really happy with my choice, it's really fun.”
One of the students in attendance was freshman Nick Sanders. As a member of the a cappella group Smooth Progressions, Sanders said he attended the event to support Shirley Tempos.
“Shirley Tempos and Smooth Progressions kind of have a brother-sister thing going on," Sanders said. "They are our sister a capella group so we like to go out and support them.”
Another attendee, sophomore Aeiris Faloni, said they were interested in seeing more performances at the library.
"I think it would be cool to also see non-a capella groups,” Faloni said. “We have a lot of bands on campus, I think it would be cool to see the bands perform.”
Shirley Tempos member and freshman Macie Hobe said she hopes the Tiny Shelf Concert will inspire others to pursue singing. Hobe said the sense of community she gets from being in the group.
"We're all a big friend group, and the support you get out of this and the amount of growth is awesome,” Hobe said. “Getting to perform in a community space that anyone can come in gives it a new feel, instead of just the quiet hours, and getting to provide a sound to the space is really nice."
Hobes hopes that this concert will encourage others to consider experiencing the world of a cappella.
“I want this to be an inspiration to people who want to sing in college and not do it as a major and to come see further a cappella shows because they’re awesome,” Hobe said.
Shirley Tempos is set to perform again at Rockapella on Sept. 28 during Elon’s Family Weekend and at Acapocalypse, a benefit concert in Whitley Auditorium on Oct. 5 with proceeds going to Elon Academy.