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For those who have come to expect a regular concert of lunchtime music in the Eagle’s Nest, next Thursday will be a sad day indeed.
Denny Carr ’11, popularly known as the “Eagle’s Nest Piano Guy,” will give his final performance at the McElroy Commons eatery, starting at noon on May 5. And from Facebook RSVPs, it’s one of the hottest tickets in town: More than 1,000 students say they will attend.
“This has definitely been my best memory at BC. I never expected this to become what it turned into,” reflected Carr. “But I think a true performer knows when to step away, and I know that it’s that time.”
BC’s unassuming celebrity became a sensation his freshman year when he developed a devoted fan base in the Eagle’s Nest. Rarely using sheet music, he would play requests from memory and enjoy the spontaneous sing-a-longs that erupted when he played songs like Sara Bareilles’ “Love Song” or Billy Joel’s “Only the Good Die Young.”
Since then, Carr has been featured in countless campus events and fundraisers, become the subject of numerous media articles, gone viral on YouTube, and established a steady following on Facebook and Twitter.
And it all started with “100 Years”, a song by the rock group Five for Fighting that will, incidentally, be one of his final songs at the Eagle’s Nest piano.
“Over the past four years, it has been an honor and a privilege to play for people at BC. The response has been beyond anything I imagined when I sat down at the piano that first time,” said Carr.
It was an unused piano in the corner of the Eagle’s Nest that caught Carr’s attention his freshman year. Growing up, he was classically trained as a pianist and seeing the abandoned instrument recalled for him the words of his father: “The worst music comes from a silent piano.”
“And every time I walked by it, I could only think of that,” said Carr, a Merrimack, NH, native and graduate of Bishop Guertin High School.“Now, I look back and think about how my time here at BC would have been so dramatically different if I didn’t sit down that first day and start playing. What if people hated it? I took a leap of faith and it paid off. It’s a lesson I will always take with me.”
Carr will not be far away next year, having enrolled in the master’s program in higher education at the Lynch School of Education and accepted a job to program and manage campus events. Although a theology and philosophy major with a minor in ancient civilizations, Carr says he sees his future in school administration.
“This was my first year working on Nights in the Heights and I really did fall in love with programming. I’m thrilled to be able to work with Nights in the Heights next year as a graduate student,” said Carr.
Carr said it is easier to walk away now from the Eagle’s Nest piano because so many other underclassmen have also started playing.
“I think I noticed a change in myself over the years. As a freshman I looked at other players as competition. Now I want to see as many as possible get involved and play whenever they can. It’s a great way for musicians to meet each other or to meet other students on campus,” said Carr.
For his final song, Carr has selected, very fittingly, Elton John’s “Your Song”:
And you can tell everybody this is your song
It may be quite simple, but now that it’s done
I hope you don’t mind, I hope you don’t mind that I put down in words
How wonderful life is while you’re in the world.
“I just want the BC community to know how incredibly grateful I am,” said Carr. “Coming to BC was the best decision I could have made and nothing made me happier than being able to play music.”
For more on the last “Piano Guy” performance, visit his Facebook page. To see Denny Carr play, visit his YouTube page.