NEWRY — Rustic Overtones, with guests The Mallett Brothers Band, will headline a Halloween bash on Saturday, Oct. 27, at the Phoenix.

Opening the 21+ show will be local band Shut Down Brown.

From its humble beginnings 20 years ago playing in basements and garages in Portland, Rustic Overtones has risen to prominence as one of New England’s most popular rock bands.

The band combines a three-piece horn section with a rhythm section to create a mix of rock, ska, jazz and funk.

After several indie releases in the mid-1990s, Rustic Overtones attracted the attention of Clive Davis, legendary head of Columbia, and then Arista Records. In 1999, the band was in the recording studio with guests David Bowie, Imogene Heap, Funkmaster Flex and producer Tony Visconti . The result was the groundbreaking “Viva Nueva” album.

Complications led to Rustic Overtones releasing the album in 2002 on Tommy Boy, with mixed commercial results. The entire debacle took the starch out of the young band, which took a five-year hiatus. All the while, band members created music with new side projects Seekonk, Paranoid Social Club and As Fast As. Some took on solo projects and others worked as sidemen for Ray Lamontagne, Soulive, Lettuce and other artists.

A reunion concert in Portland drew 6,000 fans in July 2007 and two years later, the band released its “New Way Out” CD, described in a Boston Herald review as “Rustic Overtones’ magnum opus —a great piece of work in every way.” This year, the band is on the road promoting its new CD, “Let’s Start A Cult”.

The Mallet Brothers Band is an alt-country/rock band from Portland voted Best Band/Act In Maine by the 2011 New England Music Awards. The six-piece band, headed by Luke and Will Mallett, sons of legendary singer-songwriter David Mallett, has toured extensively throughout the Eastern United State this year and is working on a follow up to 2011’s sophomore CD, “Low Down.”

The concert, put on by Phoenix in association with Black Bear Energy, will begin at 8 p.m.; doors will open at 7 p.m. Costumes are encouraged. The Phoenix, near the base of South Ridge at Sunday River, plays host to The Black Bear Music Series throughout the winter season.

This concert marks the first time Rustic Overtones and The Mallet Brothers will play on the same bill. Tickets, $25, are available at thephoenixhalloweenbash.eventbrite.com. For information on Halloween lodging deals, visit sundayriver.com.

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