Sir Benedict’s Tavern, also known as Sir Ben’s, off of Superior Street creates this feeling of authenticity and antiqueness. Wooden and brick walls furbished with old photographs, landscape paintings and an umpteen amount of brewing signs and beer slogans line the room. A menu written in chalk on a blackboard informed the customers to seat themselves.
It is 8:30 p.m. on a Tuesday. Tuesdays means Open Mic Night at Sir Ben’s. Musicians volunteer to perform their music. Open Mic Night is an event free and open to people of all ages. The audience for the program is slight, but all have come to enjoy a drink or two with some complimentary live music.
There is a stage. It’s a mere two-steps high and in the middle of the tavern. People sit both behind and two feet in front of the stage. It is also right across from the bar, which was exactly where the majority of the audience is posted.
Rick McLean, a recent University of Minnesota Duluth graduate, prepped this stage.
“Open Mic Night is a time for musicians to test their music,” McLean said. “There are no high expectations.”
McLean has worked at Sir Ben’s for about 5 months and tonight it was his night to host Open Mic Night. Hosting this particular night involved him having to go back to his house for cables,test the microphones, move around tables and chairs for clearance and continually check the sound. McLean hosts once a month.
Musicians can sign up by calling Sir Benedict's Tavern, whose number can be found by clicking the music schedule link on the homepage, the day of to perform for the 9 p.m. slot. According to McLean, it’s a laid back event; it doesn’t have the same pressure as a venue that costs money.
When the clock struck 9, a woman with chin-length strawberry blonde hair walks up the two steps to the stage, a guitar shaped bag in one hand and a beer in the other. She sets down her drink and pulls out her acoustic instrument as McLean finishes prepping the stage.
The woman takes a few final sips of her drink, sets it down, and sings“hello hello hello” into the microphone. She introduces herself as Sheila Wonders and the next half hour is filled with bluesy, folky and acoustic songs that she has written. Her raspy, feminine, ZZ ward sounding voice and Jack Johnson style is one that calms the soul.
Several people nodded and tapped their feet along to the music. As Wonders finished each song, a round of applause erupted from the small crowd.
Though she is originally from Detroit, Sheila Wonders considers herself a Duluth musician. Wonders has been singing for as long as she can remember. She was a member of her church’s choir and choir courses from a very young age and has always valued music and the arts.
She writes all of her own songs based on either personal experiences or people she knows.
“They’re all true stories,” Wonders says of her music. She finds inspiration from the truth. “If I don’t believe in it, then no one else will.”
Music, to Wonders, is all about reaching out to people. “If I can make a few people happy, then it’s worthwhile,” Wonders said.
Wonders does admit she would not object to being paid for her talent in the future. She is ready to take a break from performing for locals to work on completing her first album.