SONIC BOOM
ABOVE: DeWitt, the first woman completely in charge of sound at Donkey Coffee, gets technical with a microphone before a live act.
Allison DeWitt works behind the scenes as an audio engineer and an event booker to create atmosphere and a solid sound experience STORY BY OMRI CURNETTE // PHOTOS BY CONNOR KUREK
O
n a Thursday night last fall, the back room of Donkey Coffee and Espresso in Athens is set up for Open Stage. The lights are subtle and low and students are all around, studying and doing homework. As 8 p.m. nears, the room slowly fills with musicians. A woman in her 20s sets up the mic stands and then goes to the back behind the sound booth, calling the musicians’ names listed on her sheet. Between sets, she talks to each artist to make sure they’re comfortable and everything is adjusted to their liking. As musicians play, the full and relaxing sounds from the instruments emanate through the room. Everyone is quiet and attentive. Even after performers finish their sets, they stay back to watch and support their fellow musicians. It is a lovely and communal atmosphere, which can be largely attributed to the woman behind the
28 | WINTER/SPRING 2020
soundboard, Allison DeWitt. DeWitt started working as the sound engineer and the booking manager for Donkey Coffee in January 2017. A Toledo native and Athens resident of 10 years, she had been coming to Donkey as a performer for awhile. After talking to Troy Gregorino, the previous open mic booker, she became interested in the position. Chris Pyle, coowner of Donkey Coffee, hired her and now believes that open mic nights really came into their own under her guidance. “[She] found her feet pretty quickly and people really gravitated to her,” he says. “I think a lot of why people keep coming back is because of Allison.” DeWitt’s success is also notable for busting the profession’s gender norms. There are just not many women involved in the music industry, particularly from a production standpoint. In fact, a 2019 study
