“Halloween” came early this year.
Iconic director and composer John Carpenter recently announced he’s hitting the road this fall for a quick six-concert tour where he’ll play tense, synth-y tracks from classic films of his like “The Thing,” “Assault on Precinct 13,” “Big Trouble In Little China” and more at all shows.
And, yes, the man who brought the world “Escape From New York” is scheduled to swing into the City That Never Sleeps.
Carpenter’s brief run kicks off with a pair of back-to-back gigs at Queens’ Knockdown Center on Thursday, Oct. 9 and Friday, Oct. 10.
These shows will be his first official concerts since 2018; the last time, the 77-year-old performed in the Five Boroughs was when he played Terminal 5 in November 2017.
Based on our findings at Set List FM, he took 18 songs to the stage that night including the “Halloween Theme,” “Darkness Begins” and “Christine Attacks (Plymouth Fury).”
As an added bonus, this time around, Carpenter will be joined by his son, Cody Carpenter and Kinks guitarist Dave Davies’ son, Daniel Davies. Both men are also composers; the three collaborated on the scores for the 2018 “Halloween” remake, 2021 “Halloween Kills” and the 2022 remake of “Firestarter.”
“…we’ll get to really dig deep into our musical souls, which is something I can’t wait to share,” Carpenter said, according to Brooklyn Vegan.
For more information, our team has everything you need to know and more about John Carpenter’s fall 2025 tour below.
John Carpenter tour schedule 2025
A complete calendar including all tour dates, venues and links to buy tickets can be found below.
John Carpenter set list
Carpenter’s Terminal 5 show went down on Nov. 16, 2017. According to Set List FM, here’s what made the cut that spooky evening:
01.) “Escape From New York: Main Title” (from “Escape From New York”)
02.) “Assault on Precinct 13: Main Title” (from “Assault on Precinct 13”)
03.) “March of the Children” (from “Village of the Damned”)
04.) “The Fog: Main Title Theme” (from “The Fog”)
05.) “Vortex” (from Carpenter’s “Lost Themes”)
06.) “Mystery” (from Carpenter’s “Lost Themes”)
07.) “Coming to L.A.” (from “They Live”)
08.) “Starman Leaves / End Title” (Jack Nitzsche cover) (from “Starman”)
09.) “The Thing: Main Theme – Desolation” (Ennio Morricone cover) (from “The Thing”)
10.) “Distant Dream” (from Carpenter’s “Lost Themes II”)
11.) “Pork Chop Express” (from “Big Troube In Little China”)
12.) “Wraith” (from Carpenter’s “Lost Themes”)
13.) “Halloween Theme – Main Title” (from “Halloween”)
14.) “In the Mouth of Madness” (from “In the Mouth of Madness”)
Encore
15.) “Body Bags” (from “Body Bags”)
16.) “Santiago” (from “Vampires”)
17.) “Darkness Begins” (from “Prince of Darkness”)
18.) “Christine Attacks (Plymouth Fury)” (from “Christine”)
John Carpenter new music
Although Carpenter hasn’t directed a film since 2010’s “The Ward,” he has stayed quite active musically. Just this year, he dropped the menacing single “Cruisin’ With Mr. Scratch” that may or may not feature a cowbell.
Before that, he collaborated with his son and Davies on “Lost Themes IV: Noir,” the fourth album in his series of themes written for movies that were never produced.
In the event, you haven’t given this record a spin, it’s a hair-raising blast. Harkening back to his classic sound, the atmospheric album is full of spacey, creepy tunes one could easily imagine populating a terrifying horror picture.
Standouts include the urgent “He Walks By Night,” bass-heavy thumper “My Name Is Death” and lively dancefloor-ready “Kiss The Blood Off My Fingers.”
To hear for yourself, you can find “Lost Themes IV: Noir” here.
John Carpenter special guests
As noted above, Carpenter is bringing his son and Daniel Davies on the road this October and November.
To make sure you’re familiar with their respective sounds, you can find their most-streamed songs — other than music from the “Halloween” reboots — on Spotify below.
Cody Carpenter: “My Name Is Death”
Daniel Davies: “Dead Pilot” (from “Cyberpunk 2077”)
Huge film composers on tour in 2025
If film scores are your thing, we’re here to let you know they can be heard live in concert at venues all over the world and not just over the credits at your local multiplex.
Need proof?
Here are just five film composers/famous scores performed live you won’t want to miss these next few months.
• Nine Inch Nails (Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross)
• The Lord of the Rings in concert
Who else is out and about? Take a look at our list of all the biggest artists on tour in 2025 to find the show for you.
This article was written by Matt Levy, New York Post live events reporter. Levy stays up-to-date on all the latest tour announcements from your favorite musical artists and comedians, as well as Broadway openings, sporting events and more live shows – and finds great ticket prices online. Since he started his tenure at the Post in 2022, Levy has reviewed a Bruce Springsteen concert and interviewed Melissa Villaseñor of SNL fame, to name a few. Please note that deals can expire, and all prices are subject to change
