When the phrase “music festival” is used, Louisiana is rarely the venue, much less Baton Rouge.That’s a problem owner of local art house and coffee shop InsomkneeAcks Peter Excho aimed to solve Saturday and Sunday by hosting music festival Insomtoberfest.”Many people in Baton Rouge overlook music and the arts,” Excho said. “But for a lot of people around here, music and art is the reason we breathe.”With about 50 local bands performing inside and outside the art house simultaneously for close to 20 hours in two days, Insomtoberfest made its first appearance in the Baton Rouge music scene.The festival is the autumn supplement to InsomkneeAcks other annual music festival Insomkneestock, held every spring. Insomtoberfest featured everything from slow solo performances to fire twirlers, as well as performances by fan favorite bands like Norcio, No Fuego and Zero Order.Tickets were $10, but the performers didn’t get a cent. Every band contacted was willing to play for free to help out the art house and local music scene, according to Excho.Some of the money goes to art funds, but most helps keep InsomkneeAcks open for another year. That allows the art house to continue catering to the Baton Rouge “underground.””For underground Baton Rouge, music and art is everything,” Excho said. “It’s life. It’s the reason we get out of bed in the morning. Above ground, where people watch football and love to eat hot wings, they just want us to go away. The underground doesn’t even care about watching football. InsomkneeAcks doesn’t even have a TV.”While Excho claims underground Baton Rouge can’t coexist with the “university type,” some University students think a love for music makes both lifestyles come together.Nick Boudreau, electrical engineering junior and bassist for Prom Date, the final band to perform at Insomtoberfest, said as an area native, he hates the way big bands bypass the area and would like the Baton Rouge music scene to flourish.”A lot of times, people look at Baton Rouge and just end it at football,” Boudreau said. “They assume there’s no art scene. That’s a problem. Louisiana has a rich music history. People forget that. That’s why music festivals are great.”Joshua Quinn, general studies junior and bassist for Norcio, a progressive alternative band headed to Voodoo Fest this year, said as a student he doesn’t see a problem between university types and hardcore music and art fans, but in age groups and tastes.”The current music scene in Baton Rouge is geared toward … emo-screamo music,” Quinn said. “Little kids, high school kids are into that. But college students like other types of music. That’s where music festivals and alternative music come in.”This was the Insomtoberfest’s first year, and Excho said he hopes there will be many more. – – – -Contact Abraham Felix at [email protected]