Senior Grace Hughes remembers the exact moment where she was first recognized as a weekly headline artist. It came in her sophomore year, shortly after she moved to Kansas from Norman, Oklahoma, when her parents introduced her to the owner of Little Grill.

“My family and I were new to town and we came here to eat because they had heard it headlined music and I love music,” Hughes said. “The owner was playing and he asked me if I could come up and play. He asked my parents and they knew that I played guitar, so I played a song here and [Little Grill] asked me to play weekly.”

Hughes originally played on Tuesday nights prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, less people were going out during the week, so Hughes has now been moved to play on weekends.

The best part for Hughes is when customers are interacting with her while she is performing. 

“The best reception I’ve had was when I was playing and there were these little kids that were sitting at a table,” Hughes said. “I had just learned that ‘Moana’ song called ‘How Far I’ll Go’ and I started playing and they all came up and put their lollipops in the tip jar.”

Hughes is not the only headline artist at Little Grill. With that being said, Little Grill provides a sound system for the artists to use. 

“What I bring is… my cords that plug into my guitar and microphone,” Hughes said. “I bring my own microphone and my guitar, of course.”

The great music scene in Norman was what inspired Hughes to delve into music as a hobby. Hughes also has experience in theater, which helped deepen her love for music.

“I just think like… when I first moved to Norman, Oklahoma, where I’m from, there’s like a great music scene there,” Hughes said. “I started with theater and as soon as I started, I just kind of knew I loved it.”

As of right now, Hughes plans on pursuing music as a hobby instead of actually studying it. 

“I definitely want to continue music, but I don’t know if it’s what I want to study,” Hughes said. “I’m afraid if I study it I won’t like it as much.”

Ideally for the future, Hughes wants to join a band and write original songs.

“I would like to play in a band again and maybe start recording and writing original stuff,” Hughes said.

As a weekly headline artist at a popular restaurant in town, Hughes has been able to receive many new opportunities.

“The best opportunity that I got was when I played and someone came in here who I think worked at the Wareham Opera House,” Hughes said. “I got to play there downtown and that was really cool to be on a stage and stuff.”

Hughes wants to continue performing weekly at Little Grill because she gets joy out of doing what she loves the most.

“[I love] interacting with the people and doing what I love, and when people enjoy it I get the most joy out of it,” Hughes said.