By Claire Patch ’23
BHS senior Dylan McCay recently shared his musical talents at Delphine’s Kitchen in Beverly, in partnership with a BHS DECA project. Collaborating with the staff at Delphine’s Kitchen, Brooke Davies and Natalie Reynolds (seniors) created their DECA project. Davies and Reynolds reached out to the BHS community in search of people to perform at Delphine’s. McCay took the job of being the first to perform. People piled in with the appeal of 10% off food and great music. The cafe was crowded with both high school students and parents to hear Dylan’s acoustic folk songs. The multitalented Dylan demonstrated his passion on the guitar, with either singing or a harmonica alongside it. His setlist featured hits from the Grateful Dead, Johnny Cash, Bob Dylan, and even an original song! It was an amazing performance and we are excited to see what else this DECA project will bring us.
Where did your love for music begin?
My love for music began as a child. Being consistently surrounded by music and instruments while growing up fueled my creativity and inspiration from a very young age. While I was young, my dad was in a music group with some of his friends, and more often than not, when I’d go to their gigs, I’d find my 6-year-old self entranced by the music.
What was it like to perform in front of everyone?
Playing for others is much more nerve-wracking than playing by yourself. There’s always an immense pressure to really hit the nail on the head for each song while the reality is that there will be imperfections in the music.
What made you choose the songs you chose?
Going into the night, I had no definitive order of which songs were going to be played. Once I would finish up with one song, it felt as if the one that I would play next would naturally come next. Certain characteristics of any given song often make traits of another song stand out when they’re juxtaposed. I had a list of songs I felt that I knew pretty well, and I let the order figure itself out.
How would you rate your experience with Delphine’s Kitchen?
I think Delphine’s is amazing. The food is incredible and the staff is some of the kindest around. I was made at home immediately and I’d certainly jump at the opportunity to play there again in the future.
