Halloween has a headliner again. Harry Styles brought back “Harryween” at Madison Square Garden on Friday night, October 30, turning the penultimate show of his 30-night New York residency into a costume party, complete with an Elvis jumpsuit, a band dressed as past versions of himself, and a nostalgic nod to the TV audition that started it all.

Here is what happened, according to Rolling Stone and People, plus what to know about the grand finale on Halloween night.

Elvis has entered the building

Styles opened the night in a full Elvis Presley costume. Reports describe a white sequined suit with a cape and sunglasses, and fans in the arena got the full King treatment, hip moves included.

Behind him, the band and dancers leaned into the theme in a clever way: they dressed as different versions of Styles from across his career. According to Rolling Stone, which cited a fan account tracking the tour, the looks included his “As It Was” era, the green feather boa from the Grammys, his Coachella outfit, his Met Gala look and the “Fine Line” album cover.

Back to where it all began

Harryween has a tradition: a surprise cover. This year, Styles skipped the Elvis catalogue and picked something personal.

He changed into the outfit he wore for his “X Factor” audition as a 16-year-old and performed Stevie Wonder’s “Isn’t She Lovely,” the same song he sang for the judges back then. Rolling Stone reports that at one point he even told the crowd, “I work in a bakery,” echoing a line from that famous audition.

It was a sweet full-circle moment for a crowd that has followed him from boy band beginnings to stadium-sized solo stardom.

Harryween through the years

This is not the first time Styles has turned Halloween into an event. Rolling Stone notes it has been five years since he last hosted Harryween in New York City.

  1. In 2021 at Madison Square Garden, he dressed as Dorothy from “The Wizard of Oz” and covered “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” on night one.
  2. On the second night that year, he wore a white ruffled clown costume and covered Britney Spears’ “Toxic.”
  3. In 2022 at the Kia Forum in Los Angeles, he dressed as Danny Zuko from “Grease” and sang “Hopelessly Devoted to You.”

A celebrity in the stands

Styles had at least one famous fan watching. Several outlets reported that his fiancée, Zoe Kravitz, was in the audience, and also in costume for the occasion.

The finale is tonight

Friday’s show was the second-to-last date of the “Together, Together” residency. The final concert is on Halloween night, Saturday, October 31, at Madison Square Garden, and Rolling Stone noted that fans are already guessing what costume and surprise cover Styles has saved for the closing show.

It also comes days after another surprise. On Wednesday, October 28, at the last non-Harryween show of the run, Styles performed “Ever Since New York” for the first time in four years, according to Rolling Stone.

Why Harryween works

Part of the appeal is that Harryween turns a concert into a shared event. Fans plan their own costumes for weeks, swap theories online about what Styles will wear, and treat the surprise cover as the night’s big reveal. For a residency that has already run for two months, the Halloween shows give long-time fans a reason to come back and newcomers a story to tell. It also suits an artist whose stage looks have always been part of the show, from feather boas to sequins, so dressing up for Halloween feels like a natural extension rather than a gimmick.

The wrap-up

Thirty nights at one of the world’s most famous arenas would be a milestone on its own. Ending it with two nights of costumes, callbacks and surprise covers is pure Harry Styles. If night one is any guide, Halloween at the Garden is going to be quite a party.

Image: Madison Square Garden Penn Station 7th Ave Entrance 2024 by Richiekim via Wikimedia Commons, CC0 1.0