Celebrate New Year’s Eve 2018 in Minneapolis and St. Paul: Where to see live music
by Lydia Moran
December 05, 2018
Transmission Presents ‘80s Prom - A New Year’s Eve Celebration Ft. DJ Jake Rudh
First Avenue, Minneapolis
9 p.m., $10/$20, 18+
Join The Current's own DJ Jake Rudh for a special New Year's Eve edition of Transmission at First Avenue — featuring their signature mix of new wave, indie, British pop, funk, garage rock and punk to send you back to a simpler time. Transmission also doubles as a weekly program on The Current and holds down Wednesday nights at the Uptown VFW.
Tickets and information here.
New Year’s Eve in the 7th St Entry with the Bad Man, Graveyard Club, Kiss the Tiger and Dem Yuut
7th St Entry, Minneapolis
8 p.m., $15/$20, 18+
Swing by next door to the 7th St Entry where guitar- and saxophone-driven the Bad Man will play an action-packed set featuring openers Graveyard Club, Kiss the Tiger and Dem Yuut.
Tickets and information here.
New Year's Eve with PHO/Purple Funk Metropolis/Radiochurch
Turf Club, St. Paul
8 p.m., $15/$20, 21+
PHO, now on their sophomore release, are an eight-man band whose funk sound is in true Minneapolis tradition. PHO, along with jazz-rock Purple Funk Metropolis and Radiochurch's '90s hip-hop soul vibes, make a groovy trio.
Tickets and information here.
New Year's Eve with Davina and the Vagabonds
Dakota, Minneapolis
10:30 p.m., $110
Nationally recognized for their contemporary take on old-time blues and jazz, Davina and the Vagabonds are perfectly at home at the storied Dakota. The show opens with an hour of jazz by Charmin & Shapira from 5:30 - 6:30 p.m.
Tickets and information here.
NYE with Ike Reilly
Icehouse, Minneapolis
11 p.m., $35/$100
Ike Reilly is from Chicago, but Twin Cities audiences have embraced him as our own. On his latest release, Crooked Love, he blends punk, folk and blues to explore the outlaw experience through a variety of characters. Here's an interview Ike did with MPR's Andrea Swenson to discuss his songwriting process and Icehouse residency last May.
Tickets and information here.
Y2K: A '90s New Year's Eve with You Oughta Know and special guests the '90s Preservation Society
Fine Line, Minneapolis
9 p.m., $15/$35, 18+
You Oughta Know started as a nostalgia project among a few college friends in Madison before burgeoning into an all-out tribute band featuring the music of TLC, the Spice Girls and Weezer. Several years later, the band are selling out the Uptown VFW and Icehouse and even headlined First Ave. Joining You Oughta Know will be the '90s Preservation Society, a collective that puts on a quarterly audio-visual showcase of the best of '90s rock, hip-hop and pop.
Tickets and information here.
Crystal Ball
IDS Tower, Minneapolis
8:00 p.m., $99/$119
Now in its 15th year, Crystal Ball draws huge crowds with multiple DJ sets, an ample game room and grand views of downtown Minneapolis from the 50th floor of the IDS Tower.
Tickets and information here.
Dark Energy Presents: Beyond the Veil New Year's Eve
Loring Bar & Restaurant, Minneapolis
9:30 p.m., $20/$25, 21+
Celebrate the "death of 2018" with a spooky mashup of DJs and live sets. Complete with a masquerade ball, midnight champagne toast and all black balloon drop, this funeral is soundtracked by Philadelphia's synth-laden Void Vision, New York City's DJ and goth scholar Andi Harriman and the Twin Cities' own autumn.
Tickets and information here.
Third Eye Blind
Mystic Lake Casino, Prior Lake
8 p.m., $49/$149
Another '90s throwback, Third Eye Blind show no signs of slowing down. Just this year the band released a collection of covers, Thanks For Everything, featuring artists such as Bon Iver and Queens of the Stone Age.
Tickets and information here.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=88&v=4pwPXgJnHdM
Snowta NYE Festival
Minneapolis Convention Center, Minneapolis
6 p.m., $150, 18+
Now in its third year, the event that promised to shake up NYE in Minneapolis is still going strong with a lineup featuring Skrillex, Chief Keef, Rich the Kid, Marshmello and more. The event spans two nights from Dec. 30 to 31 and tickets sell fast.
TroyBoi
Skyway Theatre, Minneapolis
7 p.m., $25, 18+
South East London's TroyBoi has both remixed tracks for pop and R&B artists and released his own body of electro-house and commercial dance-pop. TroyBoi will be joined by similar trap and EDM artists from YehMe2 to Bailo.
Tickets and information here.
Capital City: A New Year's Eve Celebration
Can Can Wonderland, St. Paul
8 p.m., $40/$70, 21+
Ah yes, Panem. Can Can Wonderland plans to ring in 2019 in post-apocalyptic glamour taking notes from the fictional capital of the The Hunger Games universe. The event features over 70 local artists on multiple stages and acts from comedian Fancy Ray McCloney to MN Queer Circus to Fiamma Disco Queen. Can Can Wonderland is asking guests to dress in their retro-futuristic best and will provide the champagne tower, confetti cannons and hundreds of balloons in exchange.
Tickets and information here.
Blues Brothers
Treasure Island Resort and Casino, Welch
10:30 p.m., $99/$129
What started as an Saturday Night Live spoof on various American blues and soul legends has become an international sensation. Join Dan Aykroyd and Jim Belushi live ringing in the new year with classic tunes such as "Soul Man" and "Sweet Home Chicago."
Tickets and information here.
Lydia Moran is a music and arts writer based in Minneapolis.