This Saturday, LAVA Presents is bringing back the LAVA Halloween Extravaganza
The Extravaganza is not your regular Halloween show, and over the years, it has evolved into the spectacle that it is today. This event is not just about dressing up in your crazy Halloween costumes or singing some classic hits from Talking Heads or Britney Spears. The LAVA Halloween Extravaganza is a true display of a local music community coming together to have fun in a way that only happens once a year.
Some of the costumed cover bands are performed by local bands that regularly play together; some of the bands come together just for this event and, in some cases, are meeting for the first time when they started rehearsals for the LAVA Halloween Extravaganza!
Year after year, a core group of musicians participate in the event. Some have performed at just about every Halloween show in some way or another. Artists have repeatedly called this one of their favorite shows of the year, citing the opportunity to work with other local musicians and push themselves creatively. It’s clear that the show’s past renditions have led to many fond memories.
Let’s look at the timeline of past shows:
2017 – LAVA Halloween broke ground at Toast with an all-original line-up. Something felt right that night and laid the groundwork for future years to come.
2018 – Not one, but two Halloween shows. A night of all originals (and a few covers) at Toast celebrating You’re Jovian’s album release, followed by an epic night in a warehouse where LAVA Halloween Extravaganza went down for the first time, as a last-ditch effort due to rain. Those who were there witnessed something truly unique this year. Acts such as Spice Girls, Jimi Hendrix, The Rolling Stones, and more graced the bill.
2019 – The floodgates are now open. LAVA Halloween Extravaganza is alive and kicking. Musicians came together from all ends of the Hampton Roads music scene to make the magic happen, featuring cover sets of Fleetwood Mac, System of a Down, Tom Petty, Black Sabbath, Pavement, and more.
2020 – Despite the pandemic, LAVA Presents powered through hosting the LAVA Halloween Extravaganza as a pod concert for a lucky group to witness. The line-up featured cover sets by ZZ Top, Sublime, Ben Folds, Kacey Musgraves, and more.
2021 – LAVA Halloween Extravaganza is back and better than ever, as they say. The line-up came out swinging with cover sets by Paramore, Beastie Boys, Backstreet Boys, The B-53’s, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, and more.
Now in 2022, with 5 years under its belt, the LAVA Halloween Extravaganza is looking like it’s going to be record-setting. The lineup includes:
The Cure as performed by Adam Hanson (Pet Name), Elliot Malvas (You’re Jovian), Jeremy Mitchell (Adroit Collective), Dave Allison, Ashley Drake (Pet Name)
Blink-182 as performed by Padfoot
ABBA as performed by Superfang and Robert (Ladada)
Brittney Spears as performed by Lindsay Anderson, Koren Grace, Shannon Jay, and Skye Zentz
New Division (Combined New Order and Joy Division cover) as performed by Berries + Robert ( Ladada)
Talking Heads as performed by Bobby Rangel (Ladada), Nate Levine (Paper Aliens), Dustin Hogue (The Mirrors), Austin Radford (Dead Friends), Jack Gallagher (Bended Light)
No Doubt as performed by Ana (Community Witch), Aaron Lachman (Mae, Mas Y Mas, Tokyo), Drew Armstrong (Pearloid)
The whole show is going down at Toast in the big lot on 24th street. The cocktails and chow that Toast is locally renowned for will be flowing all night.
You can still grab tickets online here.
