By Earl Burton, Journalist, and Brent Michael, Photographer, Rock At Night
Live Review: The Haunt – Crowbar Ybor City, Tampa, Florida – October 30, 2025
Taking a victory lap around their home state, the Florida rockers The Haunt (hailing from Fort Lauderdale) decided to pull into Crowbar on Thursday night. To the thunderous support of the Crowbar faithful, The Haunt brought their extensive catalog and energetic stylings to present a scintillating rock show to the Ybor City (Tampa) area. The Haunt were not the only ones who brought the goods, as openers Chez and WFC (World’s First Cinema) delivered A+ sets that were well received by the Crowbar throng.
The Haunt Celebrates with Home State Fans
On this current tour, The Haunt – the brother/sister duo of Anastasia Grace Haunt and Maxamillion Haunt – have been playing tracks from their latest release New Addiction, demonstrating that they have been that proverbial ten-year “overnight sensation.” Since the band’s birth in 2015, The Haunt has been defined by Anastasia Grace’s lyrical content, which addresses many situations she has faced in her life (bullying, finding your voice), and her soaring vocals. The duo’s music has led the band to open for acts such as Palaye Royale and The Hu.
This is a headlining tour, however, and The Haunt demonstrated that they were ready for their close-up! From the opening of the show, Anastasia Grace transfixed the audience with her powerful vocals that rattled the rafters of Crowbar and her dervish-esque performing style that took her around the stage. For someone as young as her (22), Anastasia Grace commanded the stage like a twenty-year veteran of the game and had the Crowbar crowd in the palm of her hand.
Maxamillion was not going to be left out of the show, though. He would attack his guitar with a virtuosity that gave the band its power. He also would be the “voice” of the band, as Anastasia Grace put her entire efforts into performing (while dressed for a Halloween Eve show as a ringmaster). Between the two of them, they put on a powerful show that told the Crowbar crowd their time is now.
The new album got a great deal of attention from The Haunt, including the song that they performed with fellow rockers Escape the Fate, “Masochistic Lovers” (which received a great deal of attention from SiriusXM’s Octane channel), and the most recent release from New Addiction, “Claws.” But they still had time to delve into some of their catalog, including “Cigarettes & Feelings,” which has more than twenty-five million streams on Spotify. New Addiction may be the band’s first official full-length album (they have four EPs prior on their resume), but hopefully there is more from this band, and for many years to come.
Openers Chez, WFC, Provide Excellent Support
The Haunt chose well when they selected the bands to open for them on their tour.
Up first for the Thursday night crowd at Crowbar was Chez, an Australian vocalist who absolutely smashed it in her limited time on stage. The band’s namesake was very much the star of the show, bringing a presence to the stage that demanded your attention. The Crowbar audience was also delighted with the band, leading Chez to state to the crowd, “I’m properly chuffed,” before asking if the audience understood the Aussie colloquialism (we did!).
The band is also drawing significant support online. Although they do not have an official album release yet, they have a handful of tracks in the six-digit streams range, including a couple they rolled out on Thursday evening. “Self Sabotage” was particularly noteworthy, as was a partial cover of Britney Spears’ “Toxic,” which the band entirely made their own. I want to hear a whole album out of this band because once they do something like that, they are going to take off.
The middle band of the night was WFC, otherwise known as “World’s First Cinema,” and they presented an excellent change of pace for the evening. While The Haunt and Chez were hard rock outfits, WFC presented an outstanding musical array, including incorporating violin into the mix, and an entertaining track that befitted the pre-Halloween crowd, “Supernatural.” On the heels of their latest release, Something of Wonder, I get a Killers/Chainsmokers vibe out of the band, one that was definitely a welcome interlude between their tour mates.
I personally love going to small clubs to see up-and-coming bands, and I certainly hope these independent clubs can survive – not every show needs to be part of a Live Nation presentation. This last Thursday night at Crowbar with Chez, World’s First Cinema, and The Haunt was a perfect example of why these independent clubs need to be supported, providing excellent rock shows for appreciative fans and young bands looking to make a name for themselves.
PHOTO GALLERY
- Chatting with Aussie artist Chez - November 13, 2025
- Manchester’s Luna Marble Impressive with Eponymous Debut Album - November 13, 2025
- Return to Dust Continues Impressive Streak of Great Rock with ‘New Religion’ - November 12, 2025
