Mugshots hosts 16th anniversary on Main Campus

Mugshots+provides+live+music+every+Thursday+night+at+8%3A30+p.m.+in+Kryzsko+Commons+next+to+Zane%E2%80%99s.+Starbucks+offers+15%25+off+of+orders+when+going+to+Mugshots+is+mentioned.+Come+to+hang+out%2C+study%2C+do+homework%2C+hang+out+with+friends+or+just+sit+and+enjoy+performers.

Heidi Hanson

Mugshots provides live music every Thursday night at 8:30 p.m. in Kryzsko Commons next to Zane’s. Starbucks offers 15% off of orders when going to Mugshots is mentioned. Come to hang out, study, do homework, hang out with friends or just sit and enjoy performers.

Heidi Hanson, Features Editor

This past Thursday, Jan. 27, Winona State University’s on-campus coffeehouse, Mugshots, hosted its 16th anniversary celebration with “Doodle with Boodle.” Mugshots, previously housed on West Campus in Lourdes Hall, has provided free live entertainment nearly every Thursday at 8:30 p.m. since 2006.

The celebratory event “Doodle with Boodle” featured Winona-based artists, “Doug Boodle,” who recently celebrated their own anniversary of 20 years. Mugshots coordinators provided cupcakes and a safe and groovy atmosphere to study, chill, or hang out with friends to start off the semester.

Doug Boodle has performed for Mugshots many times in the past; their music has a very “coffee-house” feel to it: groovy, relaxing, entertaining and thoughtful. The jazzy tunes could be heard down the halls of Kryzsko Commons on Thursday, pulling in surrounding students and campus goers.

This 2021-22 school year has been the first year in which Mugshots has been held on Main Campus in Kryzsko Commons rather than in the Mugshots Café on West Campus. Sarah Olcott, associate director of housing and residence life and creator of Mugshots, expressed the difficulties in moving locations.

“We’ve been really trying to find our way this semester,” Olcott said. Being in Lourdes for 15 years provided a very homey, cozy, “coffee-house” feel to the space, which they are still searching for in the new location.

Mayme Nelson, a communications, arts and literature teaching major with ethnic studies, communications and TESL minors, is the event coordinator for Mugshots and has been working for Mugshots since her freshman year. Nelson echoed Olcott’s feelings regarding the transition.

“There’s a lot of potential with this space that we just haven’t gotten to yet,” Nelson said.

Isaac Yanta, talent coordinator for Mugshots since last year, expressed some of the positives to the transition from West to Main Campus.

“I’m pretty happy with the new space in regards to sound and the atmosphere,” Yanta said. “I think it works well for music.”

On Thursday, Jan. 27, 2022, Mugshots hosted their 16th birthday celebration in Kryzsko Commons. Mugshots was held at Lourdes in west campus for the past 15 years; the transition to Kryzko Com- mons has shown to be difficult. Mugshots coordinators are trying to get back the “coffee-house” feel that was present in Lourdes in Kryzsko. Sarah Olcott, the creator of Mugshots, misses the bustling community that was Mugshots in west campus. Getting the word out about Mugshots and getting regulars to start coming every Thursday is a huge priority for Olcott and the Mugshots coordinators.
On Thursday, Jan. 27, 2022, Mugshots hosted their 16th birthday celebration in Kryzsko Commons. Mugshots was held at Lourdes in west campus for the past 15 years; the transition to Kryzsko Commons has shown to be difficult. Mugshots coordinators are trying to get back the “coffee-house” feel that was present in Lourdes in Kryzsko. Sarah Olcott, the creator of Mugshots, misses the bustling community that was Mugshots in west campus. Getting the word out about Mugshots and getting regulars to start coming every Thursday is a huge priority for Olcott and the Mugshots coordinators (Heidi Hanson).

Also being in charge of sound means Yanta has a huge part in not only which bands are playing every week, but how they sound as well. Yanta explained that the accessibility of Kryzsko Commons is great compared to the trip required to get to West Campus.

Sixteen years ago, Mugshots started as an alcohol alternative program in the Housing and Residence Life program.

“We wanted something fun for students to just come and relax, hang with friends, bring a laptop, do some homework, in a really casual atmosphere,” Olcott stated. “We also wanted to give student musicians a chance to play.”

Singer-songwriters and other musicians have had the chance to perform at Mugshots as a way to get some of their “first paid gigs,” Olcott said.

Yanta, being a performer for Mugshots in previous years, conveyed the importance of Mugshots to new musicians, including his own band, the “Sugar Lads.” Mugshots provides a more casual atmosphere for musicians to start out and provides the people who come to Mugshots the opportunity to see talented people begin or continue to hone their craft.

“There’s definitely a weight off the shoulders when I was playing at Mugshots because I was like, ‘Okay, everyone knows what this is,’” Yanta said. “And that takes a lot of the pressure off and opens up that ability to be creative.”

Since the transition to Kryzsko, Mugshots has not had the same turnout as it did in Lourdes. The previous bustling and artistic community of Mugshots on West Campus provided a safe space for students to come to every Thursday and for the most part, they did. Mugshots creator, Olcott, conveyed her concern for the turn out every Thursday.

“I wish more students would come out and try it and just be able to enjoy the live music,” Olcott said. She explained the previous turnout at the beginning of the year at West Campus would be around 100 students and a regular crowd of about 40 to 50 students would show up every Thursday night after that.

“That kind of number felt really good,” Olcott said.

Nelson mirrored Olcott’s statement, stating that with the higher accessibility of Main Campus, Mugshots coordinators were surprised to not see a higher turnout every week.

“I was expecting a lot more people,” Nelson stated. “We’ve always wanted to get more Main Campus people to come and on west campus, people were always hardcore fans.”

Olcott, Yanta and Nelson all stated that getting regulars to start coming every week is their highest priority for Mugshots. This is not only because of the comfortable community full of commonality and the connections students are able to make when coming every week, but also because of the live music being offered this year.

“Our music this year has been top notch,” Olcott stated. “It hurts my heart that only around 20 students come out, because the performers we have are amazing.”

From 8:30 to 9 p.m. on Thursday nights, Starbucks offers 15% off your order with the mention of going to Mugshots. Not only are fees to run Mugshots already included in tuition, Mugshots is a great opportunity to study, do homework, hang out with friends or take a well-deserved break in a healthy and comfortable atmosphere.

“We are putting together some really cool shows,” Yanta said. “So it’d be awesome to have as many people there to enjoy it as possible.”

If you like live music, or simply like music in general, coming down on Thursday nights and spreading the word can get Mugshots back to its bustling and coffee-house-like community of music lovers and the like.

“I wish more people would come,” Nelson said. “because I know that everyone would really enjoy it.”