College students are always looking for the next coolest thing to do on Friday nights.  Some students prefer going out to clubs or partying while others like to catch live bands in local venues.

Students who enjoy the live music night-life were treated this past Friday night when Katherine Kirkpatrick and Shayliff played a show at The Pickle Barrel.

Katherine Kirkpatrick, from Church Point, Louisiana, kicked off the night playing an acoustic set to open for Shayliff.

Kirkpatrick’s playing and singing style resembled 90’s alternative artists such as Alanis Morissette and Jewel.

She played many of her original songs along with her own rendition of popular tunes such as “Let’s Get it On” by Marvin Gaye and “One of Us” by Joan Osborne.

After Kirkpatrick played her set, Shayliff took the stage.  To open the set, Shayliff played a rock-y rendition of popular country song, “Louisiana Saturday Night” and then the evening was off.

Shayliff played mostly their own material, although some covers were performed.  The playing style of Shayliff was a mixture of blues-driven rock, alternative and hard rock, drawing many comparisons to bands such as Kings of Leon and the Foo Fighters.

The crowd had a very positive reaction to the concert.  Courtney Brown talked about how much she liked the band.

“They do a lot,” said Brown.  “Their sound is really similar to Kings of Leon, which is one of my favorie bands.”

The band, led by singer and guitarist Shay Bailiff, hails from Shreveport, La and has been playing together for 2 years.  Although the band has played many shows in Monroe, including opening for The Fray last spring, Bailiff said this was the first time the band had ever played at The Pickle Barrel.

“We haven’t practiced in a while and it’s been a while since we played in Monroe, but it was good,” said Bailiff.

Shayliff rocked the crowd until the very last note.