Features

10 Wild and Wicked Halloween Costumes Worn by Musicians

It’s not just the fans who dress up in costumes for Halloween shows: musicians have been giving their audience a run for their money recently, oftentimes dressing up to fit their musical theme or just to get into the Halloween spirit. We compiled some of the best, goofiest and funniest costumes musicians have donned in the past ten years. In chronological order…

1. Widespread Panic Halloween 2002: Widespread Panic’s John Bell dressed as _South Park_character Cartman while Dave Schools dressed as the Grim Reaper at their show in New Orleans.

2. String Cheese Incident Halloween 2002: The String Cheese Incident dressed as dead rock stars. Michael Kang was Jimi Hendrix (playing a Stratocaster that he, in keeping with character, smashed later in the set), Keith Moseley was Stevie Ray Vaughan, Kyle Hollingsworth was Kurt Cobain, Michael Travis was Freddie Mercury and Billy Nershi was Jim Morrison. The band also covered songs by the respective rock legends.

3. Perpetual Groove Halloween 2003: Perpetual Groove dressed as former presidents – Matt McDonald as Clinton, Albert Suttle as Nixon, Adam Perry as Kennedy and Brock Butler as Reagan – while quotes from the movie Inside Man were broadcast over the PA system and images of political unrest were projected onto screens.

4. Bob Weir Halloween 2006: Bob Weir wore dreads and fairy wings (rasta-fairy?) for the Ratdog show in Westbury, New York. View photos here.

5. The Motet Halloween 2009: The Motet were decking out in 1970s garb as they played their 2009 Halloween tribute to Sly and the Family Stone.

6. Lotus Halloween 2009: Lotus dressed up as David Bowie characters to fit with their musical theme.

7. Ween Halloween 2010: For Halloween in Denver, Colorado, Ween got weird and dressed in creepy bunny suits.

8. Grace Potter and the Nocturnals: Halloween 2010: Grace Potter and the Nocturnals dressed as zoo animals while playing a show at the National Zoo in Washington, D.C.:

9. Karl Denson’s Tiny Universe Halloween 2010: Karl Denson’s Tiny Universe dressed as superheroes, in keeping with their musical theme.

10. Umphrey’s McGee Halloween 2010: Umphrey’s McGee came up with ingenious mash-ups – both in their costumes and in their setlist – for Halloween in 2010, blending Phoenix and Van Halen, Cee Lo Green and Michael Jackson, Journey and Rush, among many other unusual combinations. The band always goes over the top with their costumes, but Jake Cinninger may have taken the cake with his “Paul Stanley Cup” costume. Check out images here.