Creative Loafing Atlanta

10/30/2025

Netherworld Haunted House Rises Again! Atlanta’s legendary haunt has once again clawed its way into USA Today's Top 10 Haunted Houses—out of 2,800 nationwide! Open nightly through November 2, with one last scream-worthy weekend on November 7–8. Experience the legend. CL dares you.
https://bit.ly/NW25TIX

10/29/2025

CRITIC’S PICK:
Mon., Nov. 3
Paul McCartney: Got Back 2025 – The Tour Continues, State Farm Arena — Sir Paul returns to Atlanta, carrying decades of musical DNA across two nights at State Farm Arena, and he hasn’t lost a step—or a note. From Beatles classics to Wings anthems to solo gems, the setlist is sure to feel like a greatest hits playlist curated by fate itself. You’ll watch him strum, sing, and wink like time didn’t touch him, and yet feel the weight of decades of performance in every nuance. He’s older, yes, but the songs still have the power to reset the room. He’s been doing this s**t for 60 years. This is his second nature. — Matthew Warhol https://bit.ly/4haik5L

10/28/2025

CRITIC’S PICK
Oct. 31

Halloween delight at the Goat Farm consists of two Atlanta punk bands, Upchuck and Muelas, plus New York-based Miranda & the Beat bringing 21st century fast, loud, hard, crunchy, harshly fine rock to the party along with Takaat and Orb Weavers.

In the Tuareg language, Takaat (pronounced tuh-cot), means “noise.” It’s also the name of the trio of Ahmoudou Madassane, Mikey Coltun, and Souleymane Ibrahim, who form the rhythm section of Mdou Moctar. Based on “sonic chaos, improvisation, freedom of exploration, and the punk styles of bands such as Fugazi and Unwound, all mixed together with the guitar music from the Sahel,” their music sounds wonderfully wild.

Orb Weavers (Ipek Eginli, Deisha Oliver, Luci Lu, Ray) will be performing outside the venue, looking to tangle unsuspecting visitors in a web of amplified cello, piano and electro-effects, complemented by special costumes and creative movement. – Doug DeLoach
https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=1369766324514513&set=pcb.1369766354514510

10/27/2025

CRITIC’S PICK:
Fri., Oct. 31
The Beths, Phoebe Rings, Variety Playhouse — You can’t call New Zealander’s The Beths a “girl group” because only lead singer/songwriter Elizabeth Stokes fits that genre description. But the quartet’s chiming, charming indie-pop jangle compares favorably with that of The Bangles, The Bats, Belly and at times a more pensive Go-Gos. The focus is on Stokes’ trilling voice and sharp-edged lyrics that mesh with easy melodies, accompanied by ever-strumming backing from what is somewhat of an anonymous backing band. Opener Rings is another female-fronted quartet filled out by men. Crystal Choi’s Latin-tinged, bossa nova-styled music is luminous, low-key, lilting and lovely. — Hal Horowitz https://bit.ly/4qb1Uhq

10/27/2025

CRITIC’S PICK:
Thu., Oct. 30
ALASKA’s Haunted Halloween 2025 (w/ Brigitte Bidet & JAGU4R), Heaven at The Masquerade — Halloween, but make it drag and absolutely terrifying. Alaska floats, shrieks, vampiric and sequined. JAGU4R punches beats. Brigitte Bidet glides like a ghost. It’s a haunted fashion show that beats like a drum in your chest. The energy hits you before you’ve even found a drink. This is drag turned séance: glamor with a side of shiver. You will scream. You will laugh. You might curse. It’s exactly what a Halloween show should be. — Matthew Warhol https://bit.ly/3KNtBNi

10/27/2025

CRITIC’S PICK:
Fri., Oct. 31
Azealia Banks, The Eastern — Halloween suits Azealia Banks. She brings bratty electric bravado and the sort of unpredictability that makes a show feel alive. Her bars slice, her cadence stabs, and the crowd feeds off every sudden swerve. This isn’t a tidy set but a livewire ride—sharp lines, strange generosity, and those moments that feel like being on the edge of a very good collapse. If you want polite, pick another night. She’s here to provoke and electrify. Come ready for anything and leave with an anecdote you’ll repeat to slightly horrified friends. It’s volatile and kind of perfect for the date. — Matthew Warhol https://bit.ly/42Epk4X

10/27/2025

CRITIC’S PICK:
Wed. Oct. 29
Richy Mitch and the Coal Miners, Field Medic, Variety Playhouse — Never heard of Richy Mitch and his band? You’re not alone, and while that mouthful of a name seems jokey, their mellow folk-pop goes down smooth with flowing melodies and an easy-like-Sunday-morning vibe. They have been around for almost a decade, gradually collecting fans and releasing pleasant, often stripped-down albums that find the sweet spot between folk and slightly skewed pop. They will be playing plenty of tracks from 2024s somewhat darker, often delicately beautiful, under-the-radar Colorado’s on Fire Again release. — Hal Horowitz https://bit.ly/42G3Vs9

10/27/2025

CRITIC’S PICK:
Fri., Oct. 31
Grace Bowers & The Hodge Podge, Vinyl — The young Bowers hasn’t even graduated from high school but is on everyone’s radar as a prime mover in the next generation of roots blues, funk, retro rocking, and even psychedelic guitar players. Her rise came quickly, based on only one album plus an aggressive live schedule that would embarrass most other musicians. She is seemingly everywhere; hitting the late night talk shows, playing the GRAMMY® Awards, touring with Slash…and now on her first visit to Atlanta for a show that will surely sell out. Check her new single, a hypnotic acoustic version of Led Zepp’s “Going to California.” — Hal Horowitz https://bit.ly/42FbOxW

10/26/2025

CRITIC’S PICK
Tuesday, Oct. 28

One of Atlanta’s finest contemporary chamber groups, ensemble vim, celebrates Halloween with a program called “Mystery & Transformation.” This special concert features a collaborative dance "preview" performance by Wabi Sabi Terminus, an Atlanta-based community troupe pushing the boundaries of contemporary ballet.

“Rooted in Japanese philosophy, Wabi Sabi is the art of finding beauty in imperfection, impermanence, and the natural rhythms of life,” notes the dance company website. “It honors the quiet elegance of things weathered by time, the asymmetry of nature, and the deep presence found in simplicity.”

The program features works by Majid Araim ‘(Life Cycle Ex3’), Michael Kurth (‘The Monster Never Tires!’), Yu Kuwabara (‘Bai and Dharani’), Edna Longoria (‘Inspiracio Huasteca’), Kaija Saariaho (‘Im Traume’) and Caroline Shaw (‘Gustave Le Gray’).

The concert is free, but RSVP required. Halloween costumes are encouraged.

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/ensemble-vim-presents-mystery-transformation-tickets-1543044209769?utm-campaign=social&utm-content=attendeeshare&utm-medium=discovery&utm-term=listing&utm-source=cp&aff=ebdsshcopyurl&fbclid=IwY2xjawNrWrpleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHtwrXRXRZ_omAi5GTmvB_E-DMeRpZqwe_X0UtOPTqfaor7iu-vQr-IwFiIQq_aem_r-LgZOz3IPac_rNe4D0_rQ

ensemble vim presents a spooky October program featuring a special collaborative dance preview performance! Free admission; RSVP required.

10/25/2025

CRITIC’S PICK:
Tues. Oct. 28
Faye Webster, Symphony Hall — It’s hard to tell if the ‘70s-‘80s soft rock of Atlanta-bred Webster’s Underdressed at the Symphony (2024) is serious or a sweet farce played for artistic yacht-rock satire chuckles. But Webster will employ the Atlanta Symphony to deliver them live with full orchestral accompaniment. Her gently flowing indie-pop has always featured odd, twisty components heightened by Webster’s dry yet tuneful vocals. Whatever the motives for her approach, this should be a unique experience, one unlikely to be repeated. — Hal Horowitz https://bit.ly/43aYMbA

10/25/2025

CRITIC’S PICK:
Tues. Oct. 28
Messer Chups, The Compartmentalizationalists, Minima, The EARL — The opening track on Messer Chups’ recently remixed version of their decade old debut grabs the theme from The Twilight Zone for its riff. And that’s where you’ll think you’ve landed as frontman/founder Oleg Gitarkin and whoever he has roped into his long running ‘60s sci-fi, surf, classic monster movie outfit unleash whatever it is they do. Strap in for lots of Theremin, audio samples from old movies and trashy guitar as the band crash and burn through their wonderfully unhinged shtick. Look no further than albums titled Surf Riders from the Swamp Lagoon, Dracula Hates Killer Icicles, and the relatively tame Visiting the Skeleton in the Closet for a dose of what to expect. The always eclectic Compartmentalizationalists, one of many Jeffrey Butzer side projects, makes a logical opener for an off-the-hook show you’ll likely never forget. — Hal Horowitz https://bit.ly/3KQe0wm

10/24/2025

CRITIC’S PICK:
Mon. Oct. 27
Joanne Shaw Taylor, Variety Playhouse — Only a few female blues rockers can headline medium sized venues. Taylor is one; a veteran who joins peers Samantha Fish, Ana Popovic, Larkin Poe, Ally Venable and a handful of others in that slim category. She’s been releasing impressive, occasionally delicate, but more often charging soul/blues albums since 2009, with two arriving in the last few years. Taylor can shred with the best of them, has a gutsy, husky voice and writes tough, memorable songs like “Grayer Shade of Blue” from her terrific new album Black & Gold. — Hal Horowitz https://bit.ly/4q8B8pV