Students enrolled in the University of Mississippi’s first-ever songwriting course serenaded a crowd of dozens for their final class assignment at Proud Larry’s on Monday, April 27. The restaurant’s stage spotlighted the performers as they shared some of their class-written songs accompanied by guitar music and multi-colored illumination.
The UM Department of English tapped Max Hipp, an instructor in English who has taught at the university for more than 20 years, to teach ENG 305: Advanced Creative Writing Workshop, which was tailored toward songwriting for spring 2026.
Hipp is a musician and songwriter, making his instruction of the course a product of his own skill and experience.
“The English department asked me if I wanted to do it because I’ve been a songwriter and a performer regionally, and in Oxford, for a long time,” Hipp said. “I’m also a writer in addition to that, and I’ve been teaching for a long time, so it all just came together for the things that I am interested in.”
While designing his course calendar before this semester, Hipp booked the Monday, April 27, slot at Proud Larry’s with the expectation that some of his students would want to perform their new music live. Seven students opted to share their work; the other students in the course prepared presentations of their songwriting portfolios to be shared with the class.
Olivia Kidd, a senior English major, kicked the evening off with a pair of songs — one a fictional, murder-inspired fantasy and another titled “Sailboats,” which was an ode to her father, who traveled five hours from Gulfport, Miss., to surprise his daughter for her performance.
Unbeknownst to Stephen Kidd, his daughter had a surprise of her own.
“I had heard the murder ballad, but I hadn’t heard the ‘Sailboats’ song,” Stephen Kidd said. “I was crying in public. … I was texting everybody I knew; I was like, ‘I can’t believe that, it was awesome.’ And this was Olivia’s last semester, so it was an awesome opportunity for her to get to go out on a high note.”
The show opener later reappeared to help provide background vocals for a humorous song called “Suitcase” by Archer MC, whose real name is Arkasha McGinness.
“My vibe as an artist is to make bad songs and perform them really badly, and, hopefully, people sing them out of pity,” McGinness, a senior film production major, said.
Sing, they did. Archer MC’s set of songs had the Proud Larry’s audience of family, friends and UM faculty clapping and singing along.
Within the crowd was JD Martin, a friend of McGinness. Martin’s support inevitably introduced him to the songwriter showcase.
“I was actually really impressed by the quality of all the singers. … Pretty much everyone had a really good, high level of talent,” Martin, a senior integrated marketing communications major, said. “I think any programs that encourage that kind of stuff is awesome.
Other performers included: Allie Alldread, Shayna Barnes, Abby Frances, Jack Speed, Maya Taylor and a surprise performance by Hipp to share a song he wrote — “So Hot in High School.”
Alldread, the show’s closer with more than 3,000 monthly listeners on Spotify, was the one who introduced Hipp to the stage for the special encore after he and Speed joined her on stage to provide backup guitar and bass, respectively.
Throughout the evening, each of the student performers praised the course and Hipp for the personal and professional growth they experienced.
“The idea was that (it) should be a collaborative thing, where we’re — everyone’s — bringing in work, and we’re working on it. It’s a class, but it’s also like a band, right?” Hipp said. “I’ve worked with a lot of bands; I understand how that goes. … It brings in people who want to write a song, and they haven’t written one before. And if you’re in a group, then people who have written it before can also have ideas, too.”
The concept of the course’s roster being a band contributes to the workshop element of the assignments.
“We’re sharing these ideas. It’s not just mine, it’s not just telling them what to do. … You let it happen organically, and if you work on things in the room, you are often surprised by the results,” Hipp said. “I was basically creating a space for them to make things.”
For the students, this space created vulnerability and, as a result, camaraderie among the students. Though only a portion of the class performed on Monday night, the crowd included every student in the class.
Ashleigh Johnson, a junior integrated marketing communications major, did not feel like it was time to perform the songs she had workshopped in class yet, so she went with the course’s presentation option for the final assignment. But even as a recent transfer student at UM, she could attest to the community that her section of ENG 305 provided to her and her creative process.
“I’m jealous of every single one of them,” Johnson said. “I’m so blessed to have such an amazing class and professor because everybody’s so supportive, and everybody wants to see you win in this class.”
Hipp said it is unclear if the songwriting edition of this course will return in the fall, if ever, but he remains optimistic.
After the show, Hipp shared that he hopes his students do not just have a toolkit for writing songs but also a bond of unity.
“I think this class was aimed at making things, in general, (and) creating things, in general, and also this collaborative spirit because we can make things together,” Hipp said.
