Want to kiss goodbye to the decade with the help of live music? From a Jam Band tribute to some of rock’s most beloved acts to a local hip-hop champion taking to the stage in Allston, here’s where to grab 16 of the best New Year’s Eve concerts.
Atwood’s Tavern
Rooted jazz and blues trio Sugar Blood Jinx will sound like 2021 with soul, and will take place at Atwood’s with folk trio Margaret & The CoPilots to kick off the night. (Tuesday, Dec. 31 at 9:30 p.m .; Atwood’s Tavern, Cambridge; $ 15; 21+; with Margaret & The CoPilots; tickets available here)
Big Night Live
Viral rapper Lil Dicky has spent the decade writing songs for college parties, collaborating with characters such as Snoop Dogg, Ariana Grande and Chris Brown, including his recent environmental anthem “Earth”. He will headline the first New Year’s Eve celebration at Big Night Live, Boston’s newest venue. (Tuesday, Dec. 31 at 9 p.m .; Big Night Live, Boston; $ 102.50; 21+; tickets available here)
Brighton Music Hall
Local rockers in the country Dalton and the Sheriffs will help Boston celebrate the party for the second year in a row, bringing its fried southern melodies to Brighton Music Hall. (Tuesday, Dec. 31 at 8 p.m .; Brighton Music Hall, Boston; $ 25; 18+; tickets available here)
Club Passim
In a year in which his twentieth album, “The Storyteller’s Suitcase” was released, Ellis Paul closes 2020 with two shows in the cozy Club Passim neighborhood. The local composer will be accompanied by other local artists Laurie Macallister and Flynn. (Tuesday, Dec. 31, 7 to 10 p.m .; Club Passim, Cambridge; $ 50; all ages; tickets available) here)
Copley Square
The New Year’s tradition returns to the entire city of Boston First Night Boston, dealing with audiences facing the cold with representations and culture of many kinds. This year’s musical acts include British pop punks Individual For Sunday, Connecticut Family Band Sons of Levin, and a Boston-based pop sister duo Savasha. (Tuesday, Dec. 31 at 11:45 a.m .; various Boston venues; free, for all ages; with Liz Bills, GreenLight Jazz Orchestra, Daniel Laurent and more; more here)
Great Scott
Roxbury Raper and Poet Oompa has had a huge 2020, from releasing his second album “Cleo” to taking home the Boston Music Award for Live Artist of the Year. It will help Allston put an end to 2020 with a show on Great Scott along with singer-songwriter Lawrence Kaovanny, Boston funk rapper Milkshaw Benedict and Berklee soulster Dalaun. (Tuesday, Dec. 31 at 9:30 p.m .; Great Scott, Boston; $ 25; 21+; with Dalaun, Milkshaw Benedict, Kaovanny, DJ Alcide; tickets available here)
House of Blues
Heroes of the Vermont Jam Band Twiddle they have amassed a devoted following in the Northeast and beyond in recent years. To celebrate the end of a huge decade, they will play two consecutive nights in Boston, including New Year’s Eve at House of Blues with the metal trio Too Many Zooz. (Tuesday, Dec. 31 at 7 p.m .; House of Blues, Boston; $ 40.50 – $ 50.50; 18+; with Too Many Zooz; Tickets Available here)
Lizard Lounge
South Boston blues vets Ward Hayden and The Outliers they present a special evening called “Mama, Trains, Trucks and Prisons,” a celebration of country classics, accompanied by local popular rockers Wild Wild Plains at the Lizard Lounge. (Tuesday, Dec. 31 at 8 p.m .; Lizard Lounge, Cambridge; $ 40; 21+; with These Wild Plains; tickets available here)
Middle East on the ground floor
As we move toward 2021, we return to a simpler era when ripped jeans and flannel were the bomb. Saved by the 90s will make the soundtrack of the night with all your favorite hits from a previous decade. (Tuesday, Dec. 31 at 9 p.m .; Middle East Downstairs, Cambridge; $ 25; 21+; tickets available here)
O’Brien’s
Local producer and DJ Giovanni Zorzi will headline the New Year’s Eve celebration at O’Brien’s alongside New York Monograms psychologist rockers and Boston Dark Wave artist Robert Bushinsky. (Tuesday, Dec. 31 at 8 p.m .; O’Brien’s Pub, Boston; $ 10; 21+; with Monograms, Robert Bushinsky; tickets available here)
ONCE Ballroom
Local steampunk rock collective Walter Sickert and the Army of Broken Toys will bring their immersive live experience to the ONCE Somerville with the help of Boston punk noir duo The Devil’s Twins. (Tuesday, Dec. 31 at 8 p.m .; ONCE Ballroom, Somerville; $ 10; 18+; with The Devil’s Twins; tickets available here)
Paradise
Why settle for Pink Floyd, Talking Heads or Phish tunes when all three can be combined? Just for one night, the jammy collective Pink talking fish will scatter the covers of a fourth band into the mix, taking on Beastie Boys for a special New Year’s Eve performance. The evening will open the Cape Cod jammers The New Motif. (Tuesday, Dec. 31 at 9 p.m .; Paradise Rock Club, Boston; $ 30; 21+; with The New Motif; tickets available here)
Regatabar
Continuing the legacy of his late older brother Nat King Cole, Freddy Cole is on tour to celebrate Nat’s centenary, with a band that also features his son, Lionel Cole. The band will pay tribute with an evening at the Regattabar. (Tuesday, Dec. 31 at 9:30 p.m .; Regattabar, Cambridge; $ 95; 21+; tickets available here)
Scullers
Enter 2021 with a dose of jazz. Barbados-born saxophonist and Berklee family Elan Trotman combines Caribbean rhythms and contemporary jazz textures for a deep greeting to some of the best horn sounds. He will play two shows in one night at Scullers to close 2020. (Tuesday, Dec. 31, 8:30 p.m. and 11 p.m .; Scullers, Cambridge; $ 70- $ 175; all ages; tickets available here)
The Sinclair
Dear popular rockers of Providence Deer tick will do two consecutive nights at The Sinclair to close out a huge decade for the band. They will be accompanied by Houston composer Robert Ellis for the New Year celebration. (Tuesday, Dec. 31 at 8 p.m .; The Sinclair, Cambridge; $ 50; 21+; with Robert Ellis; more info here)
GUSPÍ
If rock and soul in an unpretentious Cambridge bar is your way to close out a decade, allow a local quartet Lady Lupine to provide the soundtrack. The band will place the furrow at TOAD in Porter Square. (Tuesday, Dec. 31 at 10 p.m .; TOAD, Cambridge; free; 21+; more info here)