Bayshore pop band brings spooky tunes, comedy and a tribute to Tim Curry to Monmouth, Ocean venues
Bayshore-based The Wag will perform its Halloween Spectacular in three shows this month. Bassist and singer Brian Ostering said creating an all-ages holiday show remains a primary mission for the band. JOHN POSADA
By Alex Biese
Bayshore-area pop/rock group The Wag has long entertained local audiences with catchy melodies, rich harmonies and unbridled enthusiasm. But when autumn arrives, the quartet trades its standard concert setup for full-blown seasonal theatrical fun.
The Wag’s Halloween Spectacular returns to Monmouth and Ocean counties for a trio of multi-generational, crowd-pleasing, costumed performances. The regional mini-tour kicks off Oct. 10 at the Middletown Arts Center, moves to The Strand Theater in Lakewood and finishes at the Lizzie Rose Music Room in Tuckerton on Mischief Night.
For bassist and singer Brian Ostering, creating an all-ages holiday show remains a primary mission for the band.
“It’s important to us to be able to reach out to everybody, all ages,” Ostering said in an interview with The Two River Times. “We want to be the band that can put a smile on a kid’s face all the way up to a grandparent.”
The Halloween Spectacular is a full theatrical variety show combining live music, dance routines, comedy sketches, props and set changes. Ostering explained that the concept grew out of the band’s popular Christmas shows. “We hit on a formula when we did our Christmas shows that adding a little bit of a show makes it a little bit more fun and exciting,” he said.
The set list mixes popular seasonal favorites with band originals. Audiences will hear familiar staples such as “The Monster Mash,” “Ghostbusters” and “Thriller,” alongside original tracks written by the group.
A key feature of this year’s show is a special tribute honoring stage and screen icon Tim Curry. Following Curry’s death in late August, the band arranged a selection of songs from the iconic 1975 Curry-led film “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” as their concert’s finale.
“Many different generations really love Tim Curry and the roles he played, especially in ‘The Rocky Horror Picture Show,’ ” Ostering said. “It’s a cult classic and losing somebody like that hurts. It’s a hard loss. So what we want to do is just honor what he did for everybody and hopefully come up with a nice tribute to him.”
At the Oct. 30 Tuckerton performance, attendees will receive an extra perk: Every ticket holder gets a free Wag CD at the door, followed by a special movie screening of “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” after the concert.
Audience participation is central to the Halloween Spectacular experience. Attendees are invited to wear costumes and enter an on-stage contest with prizes awarded by the band. “The audience participation has been awesome,” Ostering said. “Everybody comes dressed up and they’re excited to be part of it. It extends the Halloween holiday by a few extra weeks.”
The Wag’s 2026 Halloween tour dates and locations are:
• Middletown Arts Center:
7 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 10,
36 Church St., Middletown, $15.
• The Strand Theater:
7 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 24,
400 Clifton Ave., Lakewood, $25 to $30.
• The Lizzie Rose Music Room: 7:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 30,
217 East Main St., Tuckerton, $35.
For tickets and more details, visit thewagband.com.
This article originally appeared in the October 1-7, 2026 print edition of The Two River Times.
