A month ago, when I interviewed siblings Anastasia and Max Haunt, co-leads of the band The Haunt, we talked about the world they create through their music. This past Wednesday night, that world took shape onstage at Denver’s Marquis Theater—first through the songs they chose, then through the production and individual performances that brought those songs to life. Dark-edged and emotionally charged, the show had the kind of energy that made the room feel shared. When The Haunt took the stage just after 9:00 p.m., they didn’t merely start a set; they claimed the room. From the first crashing chord, their studio polish translated into visceral, raw energy, transforming the space into a sanctuary of distorted melodies and driving rhythms.
The Haunt’s sound draws much of its force from the chemistry between its two co-leads. The band moves between heavy alternative rock, punk, and electronic textures, with Anastasia’s vocals providing the emotional core and Max’s guitar supplying bite and momentum. Onstage, their interplay gave the songs both shape and urgency. The near-telepathic synchronization I noticed during our interview was even clearer in performance, making Anastasia and Max seem less like separate leads than two halves of the same musical instinct.
The siblings’ chemistry powered an ambitious 21-song set, delivered with Joey Castro on drums and Cameron Knopp on bass. The compact but exceedingly high-energy performance ran one hour and 10 minutes and drew heavily from the band’s forthcoming album, Ghost, due October 30. Nine Ghost tracks appeared in the set. Four of the album’s six singles released so far were included, giving the audience an advance listen to five unreleased songs.
That emphasis on Ghost did not come at the expense of the band’s earlier material. Six songs came from their 2025 full-length debut New Addiction, two from the 2022 EP Do Not Resuscitate, and one from the 2023 EP Dead On Arrival. Three additional singles, released in 2019, 2022, and 2025, rounded out a set that linked the band’s past work to its next release.
The complete setlist appears in performance order in the photo gallery below, but the song selection alone cannot capture the force of the show. Across material both new and old, The Haunt maintained the same immediate intensity—a consistency driven not only by the musicians’ performances, but also by the production surrounding them. That combination was evident from the opening moments. The musicians’ committed performances and the production’s technical ambition reinforced each other rather than competing for attention, allowing the show to reach full force immediately and remain there.
Within that tightly integrated production, a relentless light show surged from the first note to the last, creating a blinding atmosphere that was as exhilarating as it was overpowering. The sweeping, panoramic display provided a constant visceral backdrop, punctuating nearly every note with a brilliance that felt as loud as the amplifiers and magnifying the movement of the musicians onstage.
At the center of all that motion, Castro on drums and Knopp on bass gave the show its kinetic foundation. They played with such energy and intensity that even the rhythm section seemed to be in motion every second, driving the performance forward and giving it an extra jolt of life. Beyond their technical precision, they brought a manic, electric quality to the set, punctuating their grooves with animation that felt genuinely spontaneous.
Against that driving foundation, Anastasia commanded the stage with a magnetic presence that drew the audience in. Her vocals anchored the night, moving effortlessly from ethereal whispers to soaring belts that cut through the heaviest instrumentation. Just as striking was her physical performance: she moved with deliberate intensity, using the entire stage to convey the desperation and triumph in the lyrics and making the crowd feel the music as deeply as they heard it.
Max answered that emotional force with a complementary presence of his own, grounding the performance in guitar work that balanced technical precision and soul. His riffs formed the set’s backbone, shifting between jagged aggression and lush melodic clarity. His vocals deepened the interplay: whether delivering gritty leads against Anastasia’s clarity or joining her in tight, haunting harmonies, he helped bind the individual performances into a unified sound.
Together, the distinct strengths of the band members converged into a cohesive sound that carried them through every shift in mood and intensity—and set up the tension and release that defined the show’s final stretch.
As the night progressed, the band leaned into the duality of its sound, pivoting seamlessly between haunting, atmospheric lulls and explosive walls of sound. That interplay of restraint and eruption revealed The Haunt as more than a project built on sibling harmony: this was a band operating with collective precision. By the time the final feedback faded into the rafters, the dark-edged, emotionally charged world Anastasia and Max had described a month earlier had become something tangible—and shared—inside the Marquis Theater.
A brief postscript belongs to the people who helped make the night memorable beyond the performance itself.
A huge shoutout to the energetic crowd at the Marquis on Wednesday night. Even the season’s first taste of bad weather—temperatures in the 40s and a steady, cold rain—didn’t keep Haunt fans away. One woman told me she and a friend had driven four hours from Wyoming to bring their daughters to the show. With work and school the next day, they planned to drive home that same night. That’s real dedication. Kudos to everyone who braved the weather and packed the house.
The night also ran more smoothly thanks to The Haunt’s tour manager, Cody Booth, who made my job easier by ensuring my media credentials were ready for early entry to the band’s VIP Experience. You rock, my friend—thanks again.
Story and photos by Rick Witt www.rickwittphotography.com
