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Live Music Picks for New Year’s Eve Weekend

New Year’s Eve falls on a Sunday this year, which means, in addition to the requisite bar hoppin’ and champagne sippin’ on the day itself, there’s a full weekend of events leading up to the final countdown. Here are our best bets for NYE-weekend music action.

Friday, Dec. 29

Ceiling Fan, Stuntdouble, Jay Gonzalez
Caledonia Lounge · 9 p.m. · $5 (21+), $7 (18–20)

Start looking towards the new year by getting blasted by the past at the ’Donia, where two riff-tastic bands from Athens’ 1990s alt-rock scene—the intermittently active Ceiling Fan and the long-dormant Stuntdouble—will be joined by Drive-By Truckers sideman and power-pop devotee Jay Gonzalez for an evening of sonic revelry.

Squalle’s Birthday Lituation
40 Watt Club · 9 p.m. · $5

One of the sharpest and most insightful lyricists to emerge from the fertile local hip-hop scene, Torrance “Squalle” Wilcher celebrates his birthday with a 40 Watt throwdown. Friday’s show also features incendiary Athens trap crew Y.O.D and longtime local emcee Dictator, plus DJ Country Boy laying it down on the ones and twos.

Mister Tie Dye
Nowhere Bar · 10 p.m.

Mister Tie Dye’s music is as exciting as it is uncategorizable. The nine-piece, horn-centric outfit blends jazz fusion, deep funk, instrumental hip hop and modern classical to create an intoxicating sound that’s unlike anything else in town. Scope the smoky single “New World,” featuring local singer Adriana Thomas, for taste of the band’s magic.

Saturday, Dec. 30

Five Eight, Dangfly, Betsy Franck
Caledonia Lounge · 9 p.m. · $5 (21+), $7 (18–20)

Athens expat Betsy Franck returns Saturday to deliver a set of her soulful, country-tinged Americana. She’ll share the bill with eclectic rockers Dangfly and Five Eight, the Athens icons who recently released one of the year’s finest local records in the vast and vigorous Songs for St. Jude.

Pylon Reenactment Society, Haunted Shed, Rebreeders
40 Watt Club · 8 p.m. · $5

With PRS, Vanessa Hay and company expertly rework Pylon’s rhythmic post-punk, providing a fitting soundtrack for year-end debauchery. Athens songwriter Etienne de Rocher’s Haunted Shed offers a textural, deconstructed take on Western folk. The party kicks off with new local tribute band Rebreeders playing the songs of—you guessed it—the Breeders.

JJ Grey & Mofro, Tyler Childers
Georgia Theatre · 7 p.m. · SOLD OUT

Roots-rock road warrior JJ Grey will perform for a capacity crowd at the Theatre. Combining funk, jam and blues flavors, Grey and Mofro are known for their energetic and exhaustive live show. If you’re one of the ticketed few, make sure to arrive early to see Tyler Childers, an upstart country artist who’s been compared to the likes of Jason Isbell and Sturgill Simpson.

Sunday, Dec. 31

Monsoon, Wieuca, Mighty
40 Watt Club · 8 p.m. · $5

It’s guitars galore on NYE at the Watt, featuring tasty licks and twisted melodies. Atlanta’s Mighty offsets grunge savagery with indie slackness, propelled by Angelo Fiaretti’s maniacal vocals. The madmen in Wieuca explore rhythm and structure within a loosey-goosey college-rock framework. Sludgy surf-pop ensemble Monsoon remains a steadfast local favorite.

Yacht Rock Schooner
The Foundry · 8 p.m. · $50 (adv.), $55 (door)

An offshoot of Atlanta’s wildly popular Yacht Rock Revue, the Schooner performs smooth-rock smashes from the 1970s and ’80s, including selections by Hall & Oates, Steely Dan, Michael McDonald and other feathered-haired white dudes of the era. If your ideal New Year’s Eve involves singing along loudly to a faithful rendition of Toto’s “Africa,” The Foundry is your HQ.

Booty Boyz, DJ My Chemical Bromance
Georgia Theatre · 8 p.m. · $5

The Classic City’s most in-demand DJ collective stages a reprisal of its New Rears Eve Ball, which it debuted in 2016 to a rave response. The Boyz, who specialize in Top 40 jams and smartly chosen dance hits from the past couple decades, will be joined by My Chemical Bromance, who, as the name suggests, specializes in late-gen emo gems.

Flamingo Shadow, Theo Grizol, Hannie and the Slobs, DJs Fog Juice & Hot Wax
Go Bar · 9 p.m. · $5

A variation of Madeline Adams and Theo Hilton’s holiday homecoming show, Go Bar’s Sunday lineup features a wide range of sounds, from the tropical art-rock of Adams’ Atlanta-based Flamingo Shadow to Hilton’s solo folk-punk confessionals. Local destructo-punks Hannie and the Slobs will also perform, and DJs Fog Juice and Hot Wax will ring in 2018 with a set of dance music.

For complete event listings, see The Calendar.

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