Before I bend your ear about this week's array of shows of both the Halloween and non-Halloween persuasion, I have a few notes from the field to share.

Last Thursday, I made my way to the third annual Launch Party for the Portland Music Foundation. The organization's mission is simple: "Educate, Inspire, Incite." PMF sponsors educational forums on just about every aspect of the music business, and holds several networking nights each year. These can be invaluable to local musicians and people like me who wanna rub elbows with them. Join them at www.portlandmusicfoundation.org.

I was blown away by a performance at said party by Will Gattis. I was already a fan, having heard his stuff online and on CD, but hearing it live was another experience altogether. Sitting behind his electric piano, Gattis tore the paint off the walls with "Metropolis," a song that chronicles the death of Superman but is about so much more.

Another highlight from last week was that I finally made it up to the Venue Music Bar & Bistro in Freeport for an electrifying night of music from the Guggenheim Grotto and headliner Maia Sharp with her jaw-dropping guitarist Linda Taylor. Despite the close quarters of a sold-out show, I give high marks to the space. Keep tabs on the calendar at www.venuemusicbar.com.

Happy Halloween to you all. And that reminds me – I picked a fine time to leave you, sweet sugar. But that means all the more KitKats and Reese's Peanut Butter Cups out there for the rest of you, or so I tell myself.

Vermont singer-songwriter Jer Coons is celebrating the release of his debut CD, "Speak," with a show at One Longfellow Square. He's wearing a huge smile on the cover of the CD, and I say good for him.

He's all of 20 years old, and it was about five minutes ago that his high school yearbook named him most musical. After listening to his CD and spending a half-hour on his Web site, I find myself quite enchanted with his music and charm. "Legs" is as catchy as can be, and Coons' voice is as bright as sunshine. The song's video includes snow, a horse, a robot and Jer's constant smile. Beam your way over to www.jercoons.com.

Jer Coons Halloween Bash. 8 p.m. Saturday. One Longfellow Square, Portland. 761-1757; www.onelongfellowsquare.com. $7.

Over a Cardboard Sea kills me. I mean this as a compliment. The group is a four- to nine-piece nostalgia act that plays American popular songs from the golden age of Tin Pan Alley. With revivals of songs like "Paper Moon" and "Come Josephine in My Flying Machine," Over a Cardboard Sea's members are ukulele-wielding harmonizers with tongue-in-cheek pizzazz to spare. Promenade on over to www.myspace.com/sailingoveracardboardsea and let the retro rapture begin.

As if that's not enough, North Star's Halloween Carnival also includes a performance from six-woman troupe the Dirty Dishes Burlesque Revue, who will be letting their bawdy flag fly. There will be music, burlesque, fortune-telling, tarot cards and treats all under one roof for one-stop shopping Halloween mirth.

Halloween Carnival with Over a Cardboard Sea and the Dirty Dishes. 8 p.m. Saturday. North Star Music Caf, 226 Congress St., Portland.

Another Vermonter will be in town on Halloween in the person of blues guitarist Seth Yacovone. Yacovone will be celebrating the music of the Grateful Dead with members of Liquid Dead. Also performing is the Portland five-piece band Los Federales, who'll be bringing their "psychedelic Americana folk rock" to the show. Partake in four Los Federales...