New Year’s Eve 2020 is here. Which means it’s time to stop reading those best of 2019 lists and focus on giving the New Year a proper ringing in. For those last-minute shoppers still in the market for a way to celebrate, we put together a list of recommendations. It includes parties, concerts, comedy and more for both New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day. Whatever you choose, cheers to a Happy New Year!

New Year’s Eve 2020

COMEDY: Pregame with Gethard and Friends
2019 was a pretty good year for comedian Chris Gethard. He became a dad. He launched a new public access television project, Chris Gethard Presents. And he kept up with his weekly call-in podcast, Beautiful Stories from Anonymous People. On the eve of the new year, the entertainer wants you to join him and other comedians, including Meg Stalter, Martin Urbano, and Brittany Carney, for an early evening of stand-up. He’s promoting it as being the perfect show for curmudgeons who want to be home by 10pm.
at Littlefield, 635 Sackett Street, Brooklyn, NY 11217
7pm-9pm
Tickets: $12 in adv/$15 dos

*******************************PARTY: Rubulad Presents The Big Bang!
Becoming the granddaddy of New York City’s underground party scene, Rubulad is welcoming 2020 with a bang, a Big Bang! The collective’s New Year’s Eve shindig features live performances by Van Goose, Les Sans Culottes, Funkrust Brass Band, Preacherman and the Revival, and a magic show by MC Tanya Solomon. Also on the bill, dancing, projections, art, a midnight toast, and more. The dress code is sparkle and shine.
email rubulad@outlook.com for location
8:00 pm doors; 8:30 pm show.
Tickets: $25 in advance or before 9:00 pm. $20 after 1:30am or $30 otherwise.

*******************************

PARTY: StyleZeitGeist Magazine NYE 2020 Party
Eugene Rabkin and Tommy Saleh host this StyleZeitGeist Magazine NYE soirée that should deliver in the chic dance party department. DJs Joseph Quartana, Karlo Steel, and Baby Delgado promise a mix of disco, house, electro, and pop. And, Dia Luna performs live.
at Fig 19, 131 Chrystie St, Lower East Side, NYC 10002
10pm-4am
Tickets: $25

*******************************

MUSIC: Presented by Baby’s & AdHoc: Wavves, Stuyedeyed, Clipping Wings
2020 could be a return to form for Nathan Williams’ Wavves. The SoCal garage-pop band has been ebbing and flowing since the release of their self-titled debut studio album in 2008. According to a recent post on Instagram, the band recorded a new album, produced by Dave Sitek. Advance tickets to this show, which also features Stuyedeyed and Clipping Wings, are gone, but there will be limited tickets available at the door starting at 10pm (after the open bar ends).
at Baby’s All Right, 146 Broadway, Brooklyn, NY, 11211
Limited tickets at the door starting at 10pm
Tickets: $40

*******************************

PERFORMANCE: Sandra Bernhard: Sandy’s Holiday Extravaganza – A Decade of Madness
Shockertainer Sandra Bernhard tells it like it is. Back at Joe’s Pub with another one of her comedic end-of-year rants, Bernhard always delivers. This time out Sandyland Squad Band accompany her as she looks back at the decade and also looks ahead at what the future may hold.
at Joe’s Pub, 425 Lafayette Street, New York, NY 10003
9pm & 11pm
Tickets: $155-$205

*******************************

MUSIC: The Strokes with Mac DeMarco & Hinds
The Strokes are another rock group that may have a new album coming in 2020. They take to the stage at Barclays Center to ring in the new. Opening for Julian and gang are Spanish indie rockers Hinds, Mac DeMarco, and it’s rumored Aussie musician Kirin J Callinan is performing too.
at Barclays Center, 620 Atlantic Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11217
8:30pm
Tickets: $59 & up

*******************************

FILM: Varda: A Retrospective – The World of Jacques Demy
Say au revoir to 2019 and filmmaker Agnès Varda, who passed away earlier this year, by catching her 1995 documentary, The World of Jacques Demy. A tribute to her late husband, the film revisits the director’s life work through film clips and interviews. The film screens as part of Varda: A Retrospective, a series that runs through January 6.
at Walter Reade Theater, 165 West 65th Street, New York, NY 10023
8:30pm
Tickets: $15

*******************************

PARTY: NY Night Train 13th Annual New Years Ball!
Jonathan Toubin’s annual soiree pops up at a new multi-room nightclub in Ridgewood. The 2020 edition features performances by Daddy Long Legs, The Advertisers, Miranda and the Beat, Flasyd, and C.T. Hustle, plus DJ sets by Toubin, Josh Styles, Todd O Phonic Todd, William Martin, Avi Spivak, Bailey, Drew Redmond, Leah Beth, DJ Mars, Matt Clarke, Foxx Smoulder, and Reyes Rodriguez. Champagne toast at midnight. Online sales for the early part of the evening have ended, but there will be a limited amount of tickets available at the door. Get there early. After 1am tickets are still available.
at TV Eye NYC, 1647 Weirfield Street, Ridgewood, NY 11385
8pm-4am
Tickets: $20 8pm-1am, $10 1am-3am, free after 3am.

*******************************

PARTY: Dances of Vice: Demimonde
Dances of Vice invites you to join them for an evening of debonair decadence this New Year’s Eve. Think burlesque, Parisian showgirls, absinthe, jazz, bondage installations, and more. It takes place at Down Town Association, a landmarked four-story, multi-room old-world speakeasy.
at Down Town Association, 60 Pine Street, New York, NY 10005
9pm – 2:30am
Tickets: $95 & up

*******************************

PARTY: Max Fish NYE with Ron Allen’s Art & Music Experience
Lower East Side bar Max Fish hosts a groovy shindig featuring a musical performance by skaters Ron Allen and Chuck Treece, plus a DJ set by Joshua Wildman.
at Max Fish Bar, 120 Orchard St, New York, NY 10002
Show at 9:30pm
Tickets: $10 at the door

*******************************

PARTY: Corpus NYE
Get down and get sweaty at Manhattan’s newest “it” spot The Dance. RP BOO, Show Me the Body, Lil Ugly Mane, Eartheater, Yung Mayne, BEARCAT, Sporting life and many more will be providing the beats at this multi-room affair.
at The Dance, 428 Lafayette Street, New York, NY, 10003
9pm
Tickets: $30

*******************************
*******************************

New Year’s Day 2020

READING: The 46th Annual New Year’s Day Marathon Benefit Reading
As far as New Year’s traditions go, stopping in on the Poetry Project’s annual marathon reading is up there with drinking champagne at midnight and singing “Auld Lang Syne” with friends. Now in its 46th year, the inspiring 10-hour benefit features an all-star cast of poets, writers, performers and other luminaries expounding on whatever they see fit for the occasion. Among those stepping up to this year’s podium are Kembra Pfahler, Constance de Jong, Edgar Oliver, Jaye Bartell, Eileen Myles, Molly Pope, Penny Arcade, and many, many more. It’s very free form, so folks can stop in whenever, but keep in mind that the most crowded times are between 7pm-10pm.
The Poetry Project at St. Mark’s Church, 131 E. 10th St., New York, NY 10003
2pm-12am
Tickets: $20 in adv, $25 at the door

*******************************

FILM: New Year’s Day (1989)
“The final of Henry Jaglom’s autobiographical trilogy, New Year’s Day features Jaglom as a wayward recent divorcé who, through miscommunication, spends a long January 1st in a soon-to-be-vacated Central Park apartment with three young women each at a crossroads in their personal lives.” The film features David Duchovny, Maggie Wheeler, Milos Forman, Michael Emil, and Roger Parsons.
at Spectacle Theater, 124 S 3rd St, Brooklyn, NY 11249
7:30pm
Tickets: $5

*******************************

FILM: The Contenders 2019 – Diamantino (2018)
We can’t think of a better film to set the tone for 2020 than Gabriel Abrantes and Daniel Schmidt’s Diamantino. Featured in the 56th New York Film Festival Projection’s program, Diamantino is a rollicking satire that takes on such topics as Brexit, the refugee crisis, and genetic modification. Plus, you will fall in love with the film’s giant fluffy Pekingese puppies. A Portugal/France/Brazil co-production, Diamantino screens as part of the Museum of Modern Art’s The Contenders 2019 series.
at the Museum of Modern Art, 11 W 53rd St, New York, NY 10019
2pm
Tickets: $14

*******************************

FILM: Holidays at Metrograph – Eyes Wide Shut (1999)
No holiday season is complete without a peek at Stanley Kubrick’s Eyes Wide Shut. Come on, we know you like to watch. Plus, the film celebrates its 20th anniversary in 2019. The film finds Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman playing a couple going through a rough patch. Sex fantasies and dungeons are revealed.
at Metrograph, 7 Ludlow Street, New York, NY 10002
9pm
Tickets: $15

Photo Credit: Image from Dances of Vice