Musicians performed at the Arctic Audio Showcase on Saturday, March 23, with partial proceeds to benefit Newtown Parks & Recreation. The show was held at The Garage, 53A Church Hill Road and featured artists Coatie Pop, Diamond Day, Lone Husky, Skeptrix, Fauskey Fox, and ATO.

This marks the second Arctic Audio Showcase event after its debut last December. The draw of the showcase lies in its fearlessness to feature artists of widely different genres. From loud and in-your-face rap and scenegore to energetic hardstyle and trance to dreamy and ethereal pop, the Arctic Audio Showcase blends these genres into one big event; all maintaining that magnetic energy and connection with the crowd.

Event organizer Evan Craybas says that is one of the main draws of The Garage as a venue.

“It’s nice because artists are able to interact more with the people that they’re playing for and their fans,” Craybas said. “Diamond Day even made a point to say that there’s no rises or anything, and it’s nice because you can just walk out into the crowd of people and sing with them.”

Craybas had worked hard to create that homey atmosphere. To that end, he went to Savers and Goodwills “all over the place” to collect old things and give the venue its own unique identity.

“I didn’t want to make it the Teen Center, but make it The Garage. That’s the persona I want this place to have when it comes to live music,” Craybas said.

The Garage was decked out with vibrant red lamps, hanging flower lights, and tapestries. Each artist performed under saturated red lights only a few feet away from the audience. Artists such as Courtney Watkins of pop duo Coatie Pop and Cooper McLaughlin of solo alternative act Lone Husky took advantage of the intimate venue and went into the audience to sing and dance. Some like RnB artist Fauskey Fox, rap group ATO, and the aforementioned Lone Husky, would help the audience form mosh pits and run straight into them.

Other artists such as disc jockey Skeptrix and Montreal-based duo Diamond Day stuck to performing at the stage, but still hooked the crowd in different ways. Skeptrix got everyone jumping by blasting hard hitting hardstyle and trance songs, while Diamond Day charmed everyone with soft, soothing vocals and dreamy, electronic production.

Craybas was determined to get everything right about this second Arctic Audio Showcase. He says that The Garage, which doubles as the Teen Center, used to hold a lot of performances.

“If you look up the Teen Center on YouTube, there’s like 17-year-old YouTube videos; videos of the 90s here. There was like a punk scene,” Craybas said. “[But] it died out. It literally died out … I don’t know. I was like, ‘screw it. Let’s try to revive it a little bit here and make it a venue for people.’”

Craybas was inspired to bring back The Garage after watching McLaughlin put on a show in his front yard last May. He knew McLaughlin back in high school, but had no idea he made music and went to his show. McLaughlin went on to set up another show at The Garage with the help of Parks & Recreation Director Amy Mangold, after which Craybas offered to help out with sound equipment. When Craybas realized he had a friend who did a bunch of audio stuff, that was the moment everything clicked. From there, he and his friends were determined to help get The Garage back to holding music events again.

“When you’re with the right people, anything’s possible. I know that sounds cheesy and generic, but it’s true,” Craybas said. “You get the right people who are dedicated to something and are passionate about it, then it will happen.”

Fresh off the success of its second showcase, Arctic Audio Showcase will have another event at The Garage on Saturday, April 6. Featured artists include Torppsbride, Eric Raven, Goonmetal, TwoFourteen, Lone Husky, and DUI. Doors will open at 5 pm, and tickets will be $12.

For any questions, reach out to Evan Craybas at evan.craybas@gmail.com or 203-460-0682.

Reporter Jenna Visca can be reached at jenna@thebee.com.