12 musical acts from Columbia College Chicago got the opportunity to perform at one of Chicago’s staple music venues, The Metro, for one of the college’s annual music competition, Biggest Mouth.

The acts at this year’s Biggest Mouth ranged from rock bands to acoustic solo artists, all the way to a mariachi band.

Student Programming Board President Jewel Baker spoke about the opportunity for students to perform at Biggest Mouth.

“This is a huge opportunity for the students,” Baker said. “Being able to perform at a historical venue in Chicago [such] as The Metro for free for them to perform, I think is just essentially huge for them.”

The grand prize for the winners is an opportunity to perform as an opener for Columbia’s annual festival, Manifest, as well as a monetary prize. Koyama Amos, a competitor and lead singer of Koyama and The Comics said it’s all about the experience.

“Whether we win or not, it’s about like making connections, meeting other artists and gaining a following because this is going to be the biggest audience we’ve performed for as a band,” Amos said.

The Metro, which is located at 3730 N. Clark St., has hosted iconic acts like Green Day, James Brown, Nirvana and many more.