On Sept. 15, Iona College Campus Ministries held their first Coffee House of the year. The Coffee House is an event held on campus that creates a place for Iona students to show off their talents, and is the organization’s most popular event.

The Lapenta End Zone was bursting at the seams with guests filling every available seat. This time, Campus Ministries anticipated the crowds, and for the first time ever, provided a live screening of the event, aired for free to the Iona community on the porch of LaPenta. In addition, the entire event was available live online for interested viewers.

This Coffee House included acts from several singers, songwriters, and guitarists as well as comedic performances, a little harmonica, some stepping and a yo-yo pro.

In between acts, hosts Flo Maroney and Brian Sears introduced informational videos made by Iona Campus Ministries. As always, the Iona College Pipe-band kicked off the night with a special performance by Pipe Major Carl Donley. His exceptional performance was followed by an excited entrance by the show’s hosts, who kept the audience laughing.

After Donley was sophomore Ranisha Singh, who pleased the crowd with her cute and bubbly rendition of Lady Gaga’s “Speechless.” Following Singh was alto saxophone player Nicholas Grippo, who serenaded the audience with his rendition of the jazz hit, “Harlem Nocturne.”

Further performers included guitarist Sandy Hunter who performed a song by one of his favorite bands, The Fleet Foxes, as well as a powerful cover of Glee’s version of Lady Gaga’s “Pokerface” performed by juniors Alex Cammett and Jaimie Grangio.

“Alex and Jaimie’s performance was the strongest of the night,” said sophomore Jennifer Pietrofere, amazed at the talent both ladies displayed.

Cammett also performed alongside junior Ryan Oldendorf, who later took the stage on his own, and again by the side of Patrick Welch and Sears.

Sears shook off his nerves and, for the first time, performed an original song, so fresh off the notepad that it is still unnamed.

When asked his thoughts on his performance, Sears said, “I’m glad that I have an outlet such as the Coffee House where I can comfortably perform my original works without fear of a harsh audience, while still having the ability to host the event and have a great time doing it.”

Campus Ministries’ William May and Kathy Wiegand took the stage with a moving keyboard and wind instrumental rendition of “Defying Gravity” from the musical “Wicked.” Freshmen Andrew Casalino, Mike O’Brien and Greg Leon proved to have quite a fan base filling up the seats of the End Zone when they received a standing ovation after performing a cover of Sublime’s hit “Santeria.” Another freshman, Vinny Masciello, took the stage with a cover of Brand New’s “The Boy Who Blocked His Own Shot.”

Other unique performances of the night included Christopher Harris’ always entertaining hip-hop poetry, and comedic performances by Michael Rinere and Pat McLauglin. Among these performers were vocalists, Madeline Cimino, Alison Minyard and Lauren Zanfardino, with an acoustic performance of Eminem and Rihanna’s “Love the Way You Lie.”

Yet another crowd favorite was a performance by freshmen, Pierre Eliezer and Zach Devoe. Eliezer’s powerful lyrics accompanied by the sounds of Devoe’s smooth harmonica made for a truly enjoyable performance. Two of the show’s most original performances were the night’s final acts. These acts included a funky yo-yo routine performed by Stephen Rodrigues followed by the show’s finale, a powerful step routine performed by the ladies of Phi Gamma Chi. Both routines had the crowd leaving the End Zone in awe.

This semester’s Coffee House proved to be yet another successful event ran by Iona Campus Ministries. For next semester, Campus Ministries might want to look into a change of venue to accommodate the large amount of students interested in attending the event.