Caroween Was A Scream!: Celebrating the Heart of Music in Washington, D.C
Written by: Danielle Azu
Photos by: Emily Singh
This past Thursday, I had the incredible opportunity to attend the first-ever Caroween at Pearl Street Warehouse, and what a night it was!
Fellow Streetgrrl Em and I pulled up to experience this incredible show, brought to life through the hard work and creativity of Caroline Harlin of Caro’s Playlists, a well-known music blog and social media account, and her friend and local DMV artist, Danielle Phan.
While at the show, I had the chance to sit down with Caroline to hear how the idea for Caroween came to be. As it turns out, the entire event started as a bit of a joke.
“My co-host Dani and I were sitting at the ticket booth [at Pearl Street Warehouse] in June, and we were joking around about, what if I did the end of summer soiree... I was like, at some point, I have to do my own concert... so we were going back and forth with timing, and then they gave us a list of dates, and I was like, the 29th! Let’s do Halloween!”
And what a great decision that was! The crowd showed up in full Halloween spirit, dressed to the nines and ready to compete in the adjoining costume contest. Some of the standout costumes included the Blue Man Group (not sponsored), Edward Cullen, sporting more sparkle than I have ever seen on a human face, and the iconic Frank-N-Furter from The Rocky Horror Picture Show. Between the costumes, the music, and the overall energy in the room, it was clear that Caroween was going to be a night to remember.
But the evening was about more than just a good Halloween party. Caroween also supported Girls Rock DC, a nonprofit organization providing music education and opportunities for young girls and gender-expansive youth ages 8–18 in Washington, D.C.
Lily, the event coordinator for Girls Rock DC, shared more about the organization's mission and the importance of creating accessible spaces for young musicians. “This is a program for D.C.’s queer and femme youth, and we do a summer camp program that exists on a sliding scale, and try to minimize as many financial barriers as possible,” Lily explained. “The bands that we work with often reflect the communities we serve, and we try to book bands that are queer, femme, Black, brown musicians, because we want to give them a platform to do their thing.”
That spirit of representation and community was reflected throughout the evening's lineup, which featured an incredible collection of local artists and bands.The night kicked off with Nina1am, a Vietnamese-American singer-songwriter who brought an undeniable energy to the stage. Having seen her open for Eli, it was exciting to see her in her element, connecting with the crowd and owning the stage. I also had the chance to hear her thoughts on what events like Caroween mean for local artists.
“I feel super honored and grateful to be on a stacked lineup,” Nina shared. “Especially as, like, a person of color and non-man in music... I feel so honored Caroline reached out to me to be part of the lineup. The music industry is so hard, but specifically and especially for people of color, so it feels good to be validated in the work that I’m doing.”
Following Nina1am, Bluebelt took the stage and brought the house down. The six-member band delivered a fiery performance, playing original music, including “Aspirin,” the first song they ever released. Their set was another reminder of the incredible talent coming out of the D.C. music scene.
Holly from Bluebelt reflected on the sense of community among local musicians and what events like Caroween could mean for the city's music scene.“I do feel like the D.C. music scene is really tight-knit. It just feels like we’re all in this effort together to, like, bring creativity and art back into the city [D.C.],” Holly shared. “I think it will at least bring some familiarity with the idea of investing in live music and local artists, and it’ll bring people back to having fun... I think hopefully it will bring some spirit back.”
As the night continued, Enslow, a Baltimore-based pop artist, lit up the stage alongside her crew, who were dressed as characters from The Wizard of Oz. After her set, I had the opportunity to chat with Enslow about being part of such a special lineup.
“It’s so cool [Caroween] because we’re here performing with all female-fronted and queer-fronted acts tonight. We’re also raising money for Girls Rock D.C., which is super cool, and super special and important, so, you know, it’s such an honor for me to be here.”Enslow also shared her thoughts on the evolving D.C. live music scene, particularly the excitement of seeing artists across different genres come together. “Something that’s really cool is having different genres of bands on the bill, and I feel like D.C. is shifting to that... It makes it so special and so fun.”
To close out the evening, Historically Close Friends, an indie-pop band making waves throughout the city, took the stage as the night's headliners. After hearing so much about the group, I was especially excited to finally get the chance to see them perform and chat with the members. Penny, who plays guitar and provides vocals, shared how meaningful it was for the band to be part of Caroline's first independently produced event.
“I think for me, we’re always so thrilled to be a part of anything Caroline’s doing. She’s always been so supportive of this band... it’s really special to be headlining her first produced event. I could not be more excited being a part of this sold-out show.”
Maddie, the band's bassist, also spoke about how the group has grown through its connections to the D.C. music community. “As a group that formed for a hobbyist musician program, I feel like it’s empowered us to really connect with the music community in D.C.”
Penny continued by highlighting the opportunities that smaller venues and local events have created for emerging artists. “I think D.C. has such a great opportunity for bands of our size to find places to play. Like, we’ve played at Porchfest, and Caroline highlighted our set there, and we had an amazing turnout because of that. We have so many great smaller venues... that fosters a lot of development that we’ve really benefited from.”
Caroween was so much more than a Halloween concert. It was a celebration of local talent, creative expression, and the power of community. Every part of the evening reflected the passion and dedication that Caroline, Danielle, and the participating artists brought to the event. More importantly, Caroween highlighted just how much can happen when people believe in local music and actively create opportunities for artists to share their work. The event was a reminder of why supporting your local music scene matters. I left feeling inspired by the artists I got to see, the people I got to meet, and the community that came together for one magical night.
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