New Year's Eve 2009
Ring in 2010 with the original Chicago city guide to New Year's Eve
Centerstage has uncovered the best New Year's Eve parties all around Chicago.
52 New Year's Eve events matching your selection criteria.
Editor's Picks
Ring in the new year with Michael McDermott & The Full Band, as they play a special NYE show. Secondhand Serenade and Todd Carey open. Ticket price includes open bar and appetizer food buffet.
Feel like going big this year? It doesn't get much bigger than this two-floor, five-room venue with 30-foot-high ceilings. And the partying is no small potatoes, either, with four hours of top-shelf open bar, a heavy appetizer buffet, live performances from DJs Ryan Pollano, Shawn Edwards, Tony Tone and more. Find out more at thepalace4nye.com.
Chicago's favorite jam band, Umphrey's McGee, closes out a three-night stand (the first night is at the Vic) with this special show including opener Prefuse 73 (he'll also spin between sets). Want to hit up all three? You can get a package deal for $125.
Comedian Kevin Hart ("Soul Plane," Comedy Central's "Krod Mandoon and the Flaming Sword of Fire") performs a set at this McCormick Place theater.
Local blues vet Jimmy Johnson does his thing at this special New Year's Eve show in Lincoln Park.
Punk favorites Pegboy and Shot Baker perform a special New Year's Eve show on New Year's Eve.
Todd Hembrook & The Hemispheres play a wide range of classic soul standards, while locals the Lowdown Brass Band warm up the crowd with a funk party. Admission includes a midnight champagne toast.
Coarse-piped vocalist/guitarist Magic Slim owes a debt to mentor and friend Magic Sam, who gave Slim his start – and nickname – as a bass player in the early '50s. He draws Hound Dog Taylor comparisons for his rock-centric, muscling fretwork; when paired with backing band The Teardrops. Harpist Matt Hendricks kicks off the night at 6 p.m., followed by the strong-armed guitar antics of John Primer at 9. A champagne toast caps things off at midnight. ABC-TV/Channel 7 is also filming, if that sweetens the deal. (Gavin Paul)
Read our review of "In the Heights," and then see this Tony- and Grammy-winning musical filled with the characters of the Washington Heights neighborhood.
Local soul singer Super Percy headlines this set at the famed Hyde Park blues club. The party includes appetizers and a champagne toast.
Mashup master Girl Talk will put on a party for the ages at the Congress Theater - while it'll be a bit less intimate than his last Chicago NYE show at the Empty Bottle, it'll be just as sweaty.
The Polkaholics preside over this low-budget, cash-bar party at the German-American Cultural Center.
Yea! Man hosts this NYE bash which includes Rehab vs. Dark Wave Disco DJs, DJ Skyler and BBU (live).
Chicago favorites Local H headline a New Year's Eve show that also includes high-energy Detroit band Electric Six. Tickets include a hosted bar.
Rock in 2010 with Chicago favorites The Smoking Popes, Makeshift Prodigy and Girl in a Coma.
Model Stranger headlines this show which also includes Dan Tedesco and the Long Haul. LOUNGE will spin dance music all night long. Your ticket includes open bar 'til 1 a.m., plus party favors and champagne.
Swedish pop sensation (not in the ABBA sense) Jens Lekman brings his charming ditties to the Empty Bottle for what should be a fun and funny New Year's Eve performance. Let's hope he brings the brass, too.
Von Freeman and Ed Petersen participate in a "Battle of the Saxes" at this legendary Uptown jazz club; stick around from midnight-4 a.m. for a special late-night jam session (cover is $5 from midnight-2 a.m., and free afterward).
The HOB brings it back to the old school with a performance from '90s rockers Big Head Todd & the Monsters.
Alt-rockers Urge Overkill celebrate New Year's like it's the mid-'90s at the House of Blues' Back Porch Stage.
R&B specialist Professor John performs for a whopping eight hours (we're hoping he gets breaks) at this classic Rush Street eatery. There will be party favors and a champagne toast at midnight.
Alt-rock favorites The Gin Blossoms ("Hey Jealousy," "Till I Hear It From You") headline this music-centric bash near the airport. Other performers in the multi-space party include old-school hip-hop band Too White Crew, '80s cover band The Breakfast Club and DJ Roland and others in the Tom Tom Room. General admission includes a four-hour open bar and party favors. Room packages are available starting from $139; call the hotel for info. For tickets only, call (800) 745-3000 or visit www.ticketmaster.com.
Legendary jazz trumpeter Roy Hargrove brings his quintet to the Jazz Showcase, continuing a six-night run with a special New Year's Eve show.
Eclectic electronica group Future Rock leads a New Year's Eve concert that also includes Dark Party (Eliot Lipp & Leo123) and DJ Thibault.
You'll find three floors of entertainment at this huge speakeasy-themed bash, including four and a half hours of open bar, a full catered buffet, bands, DJs and more. The pricier VIP tickets pretty much mean better food and access to a special area on the third floor.
Super-eclectic brother-sister duo The Fiery Furnaces play Lincoln Park's newest music venue for New Year's Eve. Though their latest album, I'm Going Away (and its alternate version, Take Me Round Again), have something of a '70s pop feel, expect a variety of styles, as these two have run the gamut from experimental psychedelia to soft indie pop (they have a lot of love for the Beatles, it seems). This is also something of a homecoming, as the Friedbergers hail from Oak Park.
Electro-pop duo Crystal Castles, known for its frenetic stage show, headlines this 17-plus event which also includes DJ Alex Zelenka, Midnight Conspiracy and Pretty Good Dance Moves.
Local tribute band Tributosaurus channels Tom Petty (and the Heartbreakers, presumably) for this special New Year's Eve show.
If you saw The Jesus Lizard at the Pitchfork Music Festival over the summer, you know the alt-rockers know how to throw a party. At Metro, David Yow and company will get a dedicated crowd already looking to get crazy (instead of many indifferent Built to Spill fans), so watch out.
Theo Ubique, with its young, gutsy casts and atmospherically gunky venue, almost makes showtunes cool. Almost. For the Eve, this small company will help you get your geek on in the intimate dark of the No Exit Cafe. Start with selections from the current show, "Man of La Mancha," break for snacks, then come right back for a set of musical-theater favorites at 11 p.m. Your ticket comes with an open bar, party favors and a glass of the bubbly at midnight.
Put some twang into your celebration with a concert featuring the Infamous Stringdusters and Uncle Earl.
Start out your New Year's right with a scrumptious dinner. Chef Alain Njike will be serving a $40 three course, prix-fixe menu from 5 - 8 p.m. Stay after dinner for a New Year’s Eve soiree. A live band will entertain guests followed by DJ-spun music. Complimentary passed appetizers, mini desserts and a midnight champagne toast served in take-home keepsake flutes, as well as a cash bar and an appetizer menu for purchase will be available throughout the evening.
Classic ('70s) rockers Tight Phantomz headline a New Year's Eve show at this Logan Square beer haven.
This New Year's Eve show features the Rogers Park All-Stars - aka American/bluegrass artists from several local bands. They include Micki Croisant (Good Name Band), Justin Gillam (Mudflapps), James Weigel (Outlaw Family Band), Ian Broeker (Grizzly Sweets), Barb Hale (Super Mini Trio), Brian Koehler (Old No 8), Barrett Tasky (MWC) and Brettly Kawaguchi (The Reunion).
Seattle county-punk rockers Supersuckers ring in the new year at Reggie's.
Irish rockers The Tossers headline an eclectic night of upbeat music which also includes Yakuza (avant-garde metal), Teen Idols (punk) and Scott Lucas (of Local H) and the Married Men.
Enjoy live music (Spires That In The Sunset Rise, Loto Ball Show, Redemr, The Funeral and the Twilight, Grace Kulp, Stupid Dances), free food and drink 'til dawn (including breakfast and mimosas), aerial entertainment from Aloft and more at this Humboldt Park gallery.
Two guys, one huge blues revival sound. The Black Keys are a force of nature, and they're bringing their energy to the Riv for New Year's Eve. Prepare to have your ears ringing well into 2010.
Chicago's friendliest blues club gets even friendlier at the end of the year with an event including party favors and a champagne toast at midnight. And if you enjoy dancing all night to live blues band Melvin Taylor & the Slack Band, you're in luck; your admission gets you in free on your next visit.
Freewheeling rocker Bobby Bare Jr. headlines Schubas' New Year's Eve show, supported by Nashville '70s revivalist David Vandervelde and local psych-folk dude Ben Clarke.
The beats will be banging all night long courtesy of Santiago, The Hood Internet, John Patterson, Sassmouth, Bald E. and Nate Manic.
Beausoleil will turn this Evanston venue into a Louisiana party with its Cajun tunes. Table reservations are available.
Jill Sobule and Julia Sweeney (whom you may have seen on Saturday Night Live) join forces for a night of songs and stories at SPACE. Reserved table seating is available.
Local indie-rockers Margot and the Nuclear So and So's perform live at Subterranean on New Year's Eve.
DJ Mark Fullaflava presides over the New Year's Eve party at the city's hottest new club. DJ 33 1/3 will also do a special music video set, as guests enjoy a complimentary midnight champagne toast and food all night. For $120, VIPs get express entry, special seating and a bottle of champagne. Specials include $150 bottles of Ciroc, Nuvo and Don Julio.
The Fatum Jazz Quintet comes to Uncommon Ground's Edgewater location for a special New Year's Eve performance. But that's not all; chef Brian Millman will also offer up a special holiday menu including items like braised pork belly with sage gnocchi and cider reduction, grilled NY strip steak with thyme butter and butternut squash rosti and chocolate "pot pie." If you're an early bird, you can be seated at 5 or 5:30 p.m. and get a special menu for a reduced price of $60.
Local band Magic Murder Bag (the name comes from The Venture Bros. animated series) will rock your face off at US Beer Company on New Year's Eve.
Celebrated flutist and composer Nicole Mitchell brings her Black Earth Ensemble to Velvet Lounge for a night of improvised jazz.
Pretty Lights (producer Derek Vincent Smith and drummer Cory Eberhard) brings its electro-dance party to the Vic for a special NYE concert.
You choose how much you want to spend at this bash, ranging from your basic $40 (admission and cash bar) to "Gold" ($59, open bar from 7-11 p.m., buffet from 7-9:30 p.m.) to premium ($99, premium open bar from 8 p.m.-midnight and access to private party rooms) to super premium ($125, just like premium except you get access to the VIP Penthouse).
Enjoy dinner (a four-course meal with your choice of lobster tail, filet mignon, chicken or salmon - $70-$100 depending on entree), dancing (to the big-band sounds of the Teddy Lee Orchestra), a cash bar, snacks and more at this party in Willow Springs. The dance-only option costs $40 in advance, $50 at the door.