Photo by Jim Agius.
The Phoenix Theater, besides being a safe haven for teenagers and adults alike, has been producing annual Halloween shows that feature some of the greatest talent in the area.
For the uninitiated, it’s an all-night affair featuring some of the best local musicians from a handful of different eras. Each group of musicians picks their favorite band and plays a spirited handful of songs of their choosing and adds their own distinctive flair.
Featured acts this year include The Killers (as interpreted by Brandon Hendrickson & Trebuchet), The Adolescents (Tiger Brown and friends), Lady Gaga (Tisha Coates and friends), Stone Temple Pilots (Gas Money), The Cure (James Ryall, Michael Weldon, Derek Nielsen, Tony Ferronato, Campbell McIntosh), Alice in Chains (The Jellyfish Method), Ozzy Osborne (Eric Lee, Lance Brown, Billy O’Donnell and more), Gwen Stefani (MOGGS) and Pink Floyd (Dylan Baltazar, Alex Fabian-Davies and friends).
Phoenix Theater’s talent buyer Jim Agius offers some background on the tradition.
North Bay Bohemian: When was your first Halloween Covers Show?
“Our first Halloween Covers Show took place in 2016. It was originally booked to be a house show in Santa Rosa, but the venue could no longer host it, so we took the lineup at the Phoenix and then started booking it ourselves as an annual tradition. This will be our eighth year,” says Agius.
Highlights of that first show included Cara LP doing Post Malone, which Agius calls “a wild one.” Down Dirty Shakes doing Spice Girls was “a lot of fun,” according to Agius. And Bad Thoughts doing Sex Bob-Omb “is our most popular YouTube one, with over 150k views,” Agius continues.
“We like to do a mix of older and younger bands. We have veterans of the show who are pros who always get a slot if they want it. Tisha Coates/Moon Sick, Trebuchet, Brandon Hendrickson and James Ryall are among them and have some incredible moments on our YouTube playlist,” says Agius.
Tickets are $10 in advance and can be purchased at thephoenixtheater.com. Doors open at 6:30pm, and the show starts promptly at 7pm. The Phoenix Theater is located at 201 Washington St. in downtown Petaluma. All ages are welcome. Costumes are encouraged.
Each group of musicians picks their favorite band and plays a spirited handful of songs of their choosing.
(North Bay Bohemian)