Monks Coffee Shop was filled to the brim with ACU students and Abilene locals Saturday, ready for a free concert by The Light Parade, composed of ACU alumni Alex Howard and Kara Dubose, joined for the show by Panther City Band and Blinded By Bears.

A crowd of people gathered outside of the Monks’ storefront, grabbing some fresh air as people worked their way in and out of the busy coffee shop.

According to Joshua McQueen, booking manager of Monks and management marketing major from Abilene, more than 150 people attended the event.

“I thought it went great. We had a ton of people show up,” McQueen said. “Worrying that the fire marshall will come is always a good problem to have.”

McQueen had been trying to get The Light Parade to open for one of the larger events later in the semester. When scheduling conflicts didn’t allow that to happen he decided to book them as the headliners for the January show.

“I felt like the show was a lot of fun, a great big, sweaty mess,” Howard said. “Throw in tons of people, add a few technical issues and mix in nervous energy, and it makes a really fun and exciting night.”

Howard noted that playing at Monks always will be different than playing a show in any other town.

“Playing an Abilene show is definitely different because instead of creating a connection with a stranger in an audience, you’re performing to a connection that already exists,” he said.

To market the show, McQueen gave raffle tickets to anyone who would use their mobile device to “check-in” at Monks on Facebook. Raffle winners received Monks t-shirts, mugs, coffee and a yet-to-be-released CD by The Civil Wars.

McQueen said this will be the first of many great musical performances this spring season at Monks.

“We are really excited about some big acts coming in,” McQueen said. “We have both Andrew Belle and The Civil Wars, who were No. 1 on iTunes this week, coming in March. We plan to fill the season with shows that vary in price and genre.”

In addition to these shows, Monks will be hosting weekly events.

“We have open mic nights, a Monks staple, on Thursday nights and a new local musician performing a free show on Friday nights,” McQueen said.

Those interested in performing on one of these Friday nights can contact McQueen at bookingmonks@gmail.com with their name and links to their music.

“We really want Monks to become a home for quality music and still be a place that local musicians can come to perform and grow,” McQueen said.