Happy Halloween! 🎃🎸👻🥁🦇🎵💀🎹 I thought it might be fun to celebrate with a concert, so this puzzle's theme entries are all appropriately-named bands who are putting on a Halloween show for you. I'm sure something like this has been done before, so rather than scouring lists of relevant band names, I stuck to whatever came to my mind from the bands that I know of. Sure, not all of them are widely known (and at least one of them is really obscure, although that one's my favorite of the bunch by far), but I think I put enough hints in the clues that you'll be able to suss everything out. You'll notice several other answers and clues pertaining to music, as well, to go along with the main theme. In other news, the most recent Sunday puzzle (10/24) over at The Atlantic is mine! Check it out on their site where it will be available for the next week only. (I believe it disappears two weeks after publication date, unless you have an Atlantic  subscription.) Although...

This puzzle was inspired by a Tweet that I caught on my feed a few months ago. When I saw it, I said, "BINGO, rhyme time puzzle right there!" I was happy to think of a third rhyme to round out the set and then this little puzzle fell into place. [SPOILER alert: here's that Tweet .] I typically aim for these rhyme time puzzles to be pretty easy, so I thought I'd change it up and make this one a little more challenging. I think the fill is pretty fair, but there are more tricks and misdirects in the clues than usual. So, I'm calling this one hard  but I think it's more of a fun, just past medium  and less of a mind-bending hard . Big thanks to all-star test solver Norah Sharpe for trying the puzzle and pointing me to a section that needed improving. I think this version is much better, thanks to her feedback. Speaking of Norah and midi puzzles, after solving this one, you should go to her site for Bricks , a series of fun 9x9s (which are also available on the R...

This grid has mirror symmetry in both directions: left-right and top-bottom. What would you call that? I suppose it's not technically dual symmetry:  I think that means 90-degree-rotational symmetry in a square grid, but this grid here is rectangular, not square. Let me know if there's already a common term for this kind of double-mirror symmetry, or if you have an idea yourself! Regarding the stuff in  the grid: some fun long answers, some silly clues, and some educational clues (especially 20- and 21-Down, a person I want you to know about). But, overall, I tried not to make anything too challenging, so I hope this plays as a smooth medium  for you.  Enjoy the solve, and share if you do! Constructive feedback in the comments is always welcome. Download links:   [ puz ]   [ pdf ]   [ solution ]        Direct link: [ play online ]

  Here's a 9x9 grid with diagonal symmetry along the top-right to bottom-left  diagonal. I just want to note that the mention of a "diagonal" in the clue for 4-Down refers (implicitly) to the other kind, the top-left to bottom-right  diagonal of a matrix. I think there are some fun entries (I like 3-Down and 11-Across) and clues (I like 6-Down and 14-Across) in here, and I'm guessing a  medium  difficulty, hoping that the short stuff will give you plenty of ways to crack into it. Enjoy the solve, and share if you do! Constructive feedback in the comments is always welcome. Download links:   [ puz ]   [ pdf ]   [ solution ]        Direct link: [ play online ]

  This puzzle was inspired by 16-Down. As I note in the clue, my 3-year-old daughter loves the Cosmic Kids Yoga  YouTube channel : they have fun, interactive videos where the host, Jaime, tells a story that engages children through yoga poses. When I heard 16-Down mentioned in one video, I knew I had to make a rhyming theme around it, and I was lucky enough to find the other three answers you'll encounter in this grid. (And for 7-Down, I was lucky that it was actually "a thing"! I just thought of it as a rhyme but didn't know it was actually from a current show.) I think this will be fairly easy , overall: a few proper names, but some simple short fill, as well. Enjoy the solve, and share if you do! Constructive feedback in the comments is always welcome. Download links:   [ puz ]   [ pdf ]   [ solution ]        Direct link: [ play online ]