Krispy Kreme is one Winston-Salem institution that needs no advertising. No college student needs convincing that those hot, squishy, light-as-air glazed confections are anything short of heavenly. Whether you're a cruller loyalist, a lemon-crème-filled advocate or just like your plain glazed doughnut straight up, people love Krispy Kreme.

And what's better than a doughnut and a cup of coffee? Live music as you enjoy your absurdly sugary treat.

The Krispy Kreme at 380 Knollwood St., Suite M, has organized a local College Nights promotion featuring live local musical acts and free doughnuts with a college ID.

April 20 was the first of three performances, which are on Saturday nights 9-11 p.m.

"We know it's a stressful time of year (at colleges)," Steven Bumgarner, Krispy Kreme director of marketing, said. "We wanted to branch out a little, get folks out, give them a little break."

Last Saturday Peter May took the makeshift stage at the Knollwood store, playing a roughly two-hour set of "smooth delta blues" for a small but enthusiastic group. May, a Winston-Salem staple, regaled those gathered with a collection of spare, raw vintage blues tunes. Muddy Waters' "I Feel Like Goin' Home" filled the retro doughnut shop with the doleful metallic scrape of May's languid, melancholy strumming. The hot light reflecting off his chrome resonator guitar, May jolted listeners back with Barbecue Bob's "Yo-yo Blues," an up-tempo, syncopated bluesy romp.

"I really liked what he had to play," senior blues fan Justin Drumming said.

May has been playing the blues around town for about 20 years, sometimes appearing at festivals around North Carolina. Besides his solo act, May also performs in an electric band and an acoustic blues trio including a harmonica and upright bass.

"I just think it's really cool music," May said of the blues he loves. "It's really honest music, about living here on Earth." His resonator guitar, a design hailing from the 1930s, these days retailing for around , features an aluminum speaker cone inside as a primitive sort of amplifier. His main resonator in the shop, May played his imitation.

More of May's sound can be heard on his album, Black Coffee Blues. Upcoming performers at the store include Joe Robinson with jazz and blues on April 27 and D. Henry Fenton offering acoustic pop and folk on May 4.

Krispy Kreme's College Nights are one way the corporation is hoping to showcase their new store concept as well as bring the community's student population together. "There's not a lot of opportunities for Wake Forest, Winston-Salem State, Salem College and School of the Arts students to mix," Bumgarner said.

"We hope to get a mix of students interacting." Bumgarner booked the acts with the help of Winston-Salem Events, a group which produces other local music programs.

The Knollwood store, which opened in November, is replete with retro posters, funky décor and comfortable, open seating and features new coffee designs as well as merchandise. "We're hoping to warm up the retail experience, so customers stay awhile and enjoy themselves," Bumgarner said.

Sites like the Knollwood test store will be opening in Chicago and Atlanta.

The store also features the "Hot Doughnut Machine," new Krispy Kreme technology unveiled last September.

The Hot Doughnut Machine compresses the traditional doughnut-making conveyor apparatus by using partially prepared doughnuts from other locations, like the Stratford Road store, and simply heating them and glazing them in less space. The taste is virtually the same.

As company Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer Scott Livengood said, "Hot doughnuts are the essence of the Krispy Kreme brand and our company is committed to strategically pursuing opportunities to extend the hot doughnut experience to our customers."