This Saturday, myself and a number of other young people put on the first ever “Haunted Coffee House” at Delbarton, mostly thanks to two extraordinary students: John Paciga (‘18) and Max Alexy (‘19). The Haunted Coffee House turned out to be an amazing time, and the performers were not limited to the regular Delbarton arts crowd; various musicians from other schools came to put on fantastic acts as well. A majority of the attendees showed their spirit and dressed up in their Halloween costumes which only provided another layer of enjoyment. The night began with the Rock Band showcasing a few different songs they had been practicing over the school year and got the crowd ready for the night to come. Jaden Buckner dressed up as Jimi Hendrix and Max Alexy jammed on the bass as Slender man, an internet horror figure that fits Max’s height description.

Then, some other acts such as a duet and two piano recitals by twelve-year-old Brandon Low and Villa Walsh student Claudia Hajjar led up to the solo act by Jaden Buckner. Jaden proved his versatility by playing his acoustic guitar and piano in the same act. After him was Rory Quinn, Ryan Domalewski and me, Owen Spina. Rory led with his acoustic guitar and I followed with my bass while Ryan held down the drums. This performance was the first for us three but it surely is not going to be the last. Next was a famed Coffee House game called “Name that Tune!” where people try to guess what song John Paciga is playing on the keyboard and if they guess correctly, they are awarded with a Coffee House t-shirt. I was lucky enough to get my very own free Coffee House t-shirt and was pleased to see other people participate as well.

The last stretch of the night was filled with two more duets featuring Charlotte Macmurray of Morristown High School, John Paciga, Olivia O’Sullivan of Kent Place School and Derek Lattman. These pairs sang beautifully and set the stage for John Paciga’s solo act at the end of the night. John did what he does best and did not cease to amaze all of us. Paciga led off with two songs from his newest album The Other Side of Town. Next, our resident piano man played two songs that have never before been heard. John mentioned before he played the final song that he had started to write it last Monday and finished it on Wednesday. All that can be said is that the next album is looking to be as spectacular, if not better than the last one. In summation, the night was a collaborative effort that had a tremendous turn out and could not have happened without the great people who were there, playing and singing their hearts out.