Musical Treats for Halloween — and Beyond

In the heart of autumn, with Halloween approaching and Thanksgiving not far off, Brooklyn’s musical cornucopia is overflowing. The following sampling of what’s coming up abounds with frighteningly good treats – and there’s not a turkey in the bunch.

Big Daddy Kane /photo by Al Pereira

On October 31st, The Bell House hosts the  presented by Brooklyn’s own The Occasionalists with special guest singers. The show benefits the Ali Forney Center, advocating for homeless LGBTQ youth, and The Center for Anti-Violence Education. For those seeking to escape the traditional Halloween madness, Barbès has two shows that night: jazz saxophonist Michael Attias and band at 7 p.m., followed by local Balkan-soul/gypsy-funk sensations Slavic Soul Party at 9. New Orleans rapper Pell performs at Rough Trade, while San Francisco’s Griffage (Charlie Yin) does his electro-pop thing at Music Hall of Williamsburg. At National Sawdust, Heartbeat Opera combines music, Shakespeare and cross-dressing with its “All the World’s a Drag” extravaganza on both October 30 and 31.

Nicole Atkins/ Photo by Anna Webber / courtesy of Girlie Action Media

Longtime local favorites Grizzly Bear are doing three shows, November 2-4, at Brooklyn Steel. They’re touring in support of their brand new album, Painted Ruins. Opening for them is Baltimore-born, Brooklyn-based Serpent With Feet, a classically trained R&B singer.

On November 7th, Nicole Atkins makes her third return appearance in her former home town, opening for JD McPherson at Music Hall of Williamsburg. You can catch Flatbush folk singer Carolann Solebello performing solo at Pete’s Candy Store on the 14th and as part of No Fuss and Feathers on the 19th at First Acoustics (First Unitarian Church) in Brooklyn Heights.

November highlights at Kings Theater include The Art of Rap on the 4th, featuring Brooklyn’s own Big Daddy Kane and Raekwon, among others; the Yeah Yeah Yeahs on the 7th;  Tegan and Sara on the 8th and Evanescence on the 10th. Barclays Center presents Masters of Ceremony with local rappers Busta Rhymes and Fabolous joining 50 Cent and other hip-hop luminaries, on the 3rd, while Janet Jackson brings her State of the World Tour there on the 15th.