5 Local Music Happenings To Check Out This Halloween

Halloween season seems to stretch ever longer with each passing year, and throughout October there is no shortage of costume contests and horror-themed trivia nights to be found. But not all novelty Halloween events are created equal.

Below are a few local suggestions that find music in the magic that is Halloween:

“Nosferatu” with live score by Andrew Alden Ensemble at the Brattle Theatre in Cambridge, Oct. 30

Rochester’s Andrew Alden Ensemble adds its whimsical compositions to the classic silent film “Nosferatu,” a 1922 horror flick loosely based on Bram Stoker’s “Dracula.” There’s nothing like live music to bring a piece of art (and history) to life, and the Andrew Alden Ensemble does so with wit and feeling.

Peter Mulvey and the Crumbling Beauties play “Rain Dogs” at Club Passim in Cambridge, Oct. 31

No one does Tom Waits like Peter Mulvey. While some performers might be content to don a fedora and sing a cover song or two, the gravelly-voiced crooner will perform the entirety of Waits’ 1985 album “Rain Dogs” with a crack team of locals. It’s the final night of The Lamplighter Sessions, Mulvey’s annual week-long residency at Club Passim.

Break the Chains Queer Dance Party Halloween Edition at Make Shift Boston, Oct. 29

Boston’s most inclusive LGBTQ (and 18+) event invites you to wear your weirdest, glitteriest costume for a radical night of live music and dancing. Performers include witty, genderqueer singer-songwriter Adhamh Roland, anti-capitalist musician artist Brenna Sahatjian and Venezuelan-Moroccan-American composer and singer Miriam Elhajli. Prizes will be awarded for the best costume — though the event’s “you-do-you” ethos means that dressing up is optional.

Ladyfest and Girls Rock Campaign fundraisers at O’Brien’s Pub in Allston, Oct. 28 and 29

This Halloween, O’Brien’s Pub is hosting not one but two benefits for local feminist organizations: Ladyfest, a DIY music festival in April showcasing groups and identities at the margins of the music industry; and Girls Rock Campaign Boston, an educational nonprofit that empowers girls and women through the power of rock ‘n’ roll. Both events feature a lineup of local artists incognito as pop music icons, including Paige Chaplin as Fleetwood Mac and Gia Greene as Fiona Apple at the Ladyfest fundraiser on Oct. 28, and Solo Sexx as Salt n Pepa at the Girls Rock Campaign Boston fundraiser on Oct. 29.

A “Heroes” Halloween at the Middle East Upstairs, Oct. 31

The long-running, weekly New Wave/goth/industrial dance night offers the perfect combination of dark and retro vibes for this nostalgic, spooky time of year. DJ Chris Ewen presides over the event, as well as — you guessed it — a costume contest.