On Oct. 30, the ArtsAltoona Center hosted the “Bands in the Basement” Halloween show. It featured two student bands, Sweet Desire and Abstentious, along with other local bands; Lloyd, Sunset Over Mars, Skyline Drive  and Ma’am. Many students and adults attended the event wearing their Halloween costumes and for a night of music and fun. 

Member of the band Skyline Drive, Christian Douglas, works at ArtsAltoona as a promoter and was the one who organized the event. 

“There aren’t really any music venues in Altoona, I got a job there and saw an opportunity to cultivate some type of scene,” Douglas said. 

Douglas hosts monthly shows at ArtsAltoona. He uses the money to fund the organization and the rest of the proceeds go to the bands. 

“I think it was a success overall. I enjoyed them all, Ma’am at the end was amazing though,” Douglas said. 

With the presence of the other acts watching from the crowd, there was also a large turn-up of students attending the event. 

“I found out about the show on Instagram. I had a great experience and the people were chill, and the music was good. My favorite act of the night was probably Sweet Desire because they just started releasing original songs, and they are catchy. Their classic rock rock genre is also something I really enjoyed,” Nate Rabenstein said. 

Students from other school districts such as: Bellwood, Hollidaysburg, Central and more were among many to participate in the festivities. 

“I dressed up as a bloody cop and my favorite costume was a guy in a wolf mask. My favorite act of the night was probably Lloyd. The lead singer was dressed up like Frankenstein, and his movements throughout their performance played the part well,” Anjali Bawa said. 

Bawa also found out about the show from a flyer on Instagram as well as her friend. 

“My overall experience was amazing. and it was one of the best ones I’ve had. The bands were awesome, and so were the people that were there. It was just a crazy time filled with your favorite people. I always recommend my friends and others to go; I know that if I have a blast there then so will they.  Just a way to put down your daily life and experience something new and exhilarating,” Bawa said 

Not everyone found out about the show on Instagram as Junior Evan Revel found out about it on the morning announcements, MLTV. 

“My overall experience was great. Also being surrounded by a lot of great people at the show made it even better. I would love to see Sweet Desire again in concert because of their amazing performance on stage. I would definitely recommend this kind of show to a friend because it’s a lot of fun and the music is really good. I wouldn’t want anyone to miss out on an event like that,” Revel said.