Students and community members crammed into the back room of The Huntington Ale House Saturday night for a battle of the bands benefit concert.

Attendees paid a $10 admission and all proceeds went to the Shriners Hospital for Children in Lexington, Kentucky.

Huntington High School seniors Riley Robertson and Jeremy McKelvey have both been patients of Shriners Hospital for Children and put the event together for their senior exit project.

Jeremy McKelvey has cerebral palsy and said he has been a patient at the hospital for nearly 15 years. McKelvey said the event was personal and being able to give back to hospital is gratifying.

“As soon as I started putting this project together,” McKelvey said, “I knew that this was it. It had to go to Shriners. I’m so thankful to everyone who has helped. We couldn’t do this without the bands and the turnout has been great.”

Another Huntington High School senior Paige Leonard said she has known Jeremy since she was a freshman. Leonard said she doesn’t typically go listen to live music, but she wanted to go to the benefit concert to support her classmates’ senior project.

“Jeremy is the nicest guy you’ll ever meet,” Leonard said. “He’s always just so compassionate and caring about other people. This passion project really helps other people rather than just himself. What him and Riley are doing is promoting children with disabilities and what they can overcome.”

Local band Torn in Two is an alternative rock band that played at the benefit concert. Lead singer Scott Smith said it’s cool to be apart of something bigger that helps the area.

“Tonight is about community and that’s really what we’ve been pushing for lately whenever we play in town is to come together as a community, because that’s what music does,” Smith said.

The battle of the bands benefit concert featured six bands who all played original music.

Emily Kinner can be contacted at [email protected].