The lights were dim, the room was (over)crowded and there were halloween decorations everywhere. You could feel the excitement buzzing in the air as soon as you walked in. Above all, it’s safe to say that last night’s coffeehouse was a success.

The night was full of exciting acts: everything from the famous St. Mark’s and Hockaday improv team to a melodic aria by Megan Ortman. Sandwiched in between were countless acts of unbelievable talent. Karla Salinas, the Fine Arts Board chair, said the “whole experience was incredible.”

Tori Gudmundsson, a Junior at Hockaday, performed for the first time at coffeehouse, singing “She Will be Loved” by Maroon 5. “I think my performance went really well last night. At first, I was very nervous, but then I saw the warm, supportive faces of the crowd, and I instantly felt better,” Gudmundsson said. She was joined by Sophomore Grace Olson on the guitar.

Elinor Sachs, also a Junior at Hockaday, closed out the show with her rendition of “I Can’t Make You Love Me” by Bon Iver. She was joined by St. Mark’s Senior Tim Skapek on the piano. “I love Bon Iver and [Tim] had a really good piano cover of that song. It was really fun,” Sachs said.

According to the Facebook invite for the event, over 115 people went to the coffeehouse. “I think there was a lot of hype around the event and the fine arts board [worked] hard creating the magic. I knew it was successful, when security told me there was a fire marshal concern because of the number of people there,” Salinas said.

Click here to download all photos from the slideshow above.