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Photograph: Neal O'Bryan

The best Halloween concerts in NYC

Plan an exciting night out in New York City with one of our favorite ghoulish Halloween shows and concerts

Written by
Ro Samarth
&
Andrew Frisicano
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No matter how macabre your taste, you’re sure to find something spooktacular this season with our list of phantabulous Halloween entertainment. Put on our playlist of the best Halloween songs while you plan your weekend with our guide to the best shows and concerts in NYC. And if you're looking for some more late-night fun, be sure to check out our list of the best Halloween parties in NYC!

RECOMMENDED: Full guide to Halloween in NYC

Best Halloween concerts in NYC

  • Music
  • Punk and metal

The legendary shock-rock outfit returns for its annual Halloween throwdown. With a quarter-century and fourteen studio albums under its belt, the grotesquely costumed band and its giddy Grand Guignol theatrics remain one of the most hilariously over-the-top rock experiences on the planet. Bring a raincoat.

  • Music
  • Rock and indie

The local dance-music label throws this rager with a lineup sweeter than a bag full of candy: Bop to post-punk outfit Guerilla Toss, synthy enigma George Clanton, outré street-band What Cheer? Brigade and skilled DJs Juan MacLean and stud1nt.

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  • Music
  • Rock and indie

The Grateful Dead bassist hits the Capitol Theatre for a "Phil-O-Ween" run. Over the course of three nights, Lesh takes the stage for sets with Vermont jam band Twiddle and the Terrapin Family Band. GEM (Grahame Lesh, Elliott Peck and Mihali Savoulidis) and Widespread Panic guitarist Jimmy Herring round out the evenings' lineups.

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  • Music
  • Rap, hip-hop and R&B

B-Real & Co. might be over the hill at this point, but they still know how to get a crowd going live. In honor of Halloween, the crew brings its annual "Haunted Hill" concert to Gramercy Theatre (followed by a gig in Brooklyn two nights later). Insane in the membrane indeed.

  • Music
  • Punk and metal

San Francisco's Deafheaven dips into black metal’s battle-tested playbook—rage-against-the-void screams and vein-popping blast beats—while boasting a distinctly blissed-out, dream-pop guitar palette. They stop off in Jersey City on Halloween as part of their co-headlining tour with fellow shoegaze dabblers DIIV.

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  • Music
  • Rock and indie

Ugh, spooky Halloween events are so predictable. Switch it up with this co-headling show at Elsewhere featuring blissed-out indie faves Beach Fossils and Los Angeles surf-punk trio Wavves. Expect both bands to trot out tunes from their latest albums (Somersault and You're Welcome, respectively) and create a thoroughly jovial vibe in celebration of the venue's first birthday.

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Looking for more things to do on Halloween?

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