City of Kingston
Kingston’s celebration will be held at the corner of Wall St. and North Front St. in Uptown Kingston on Sunday, Dec. 31 at 11 p.m. Residents and visitors will be treated to an outdoor performance by local rockabilly band Lara Hope and the Ark-Tones. As the clock nears midnight, attendees will enjoy a rendition of “Auld Lang Syne” and count down the final moments of 2017. A decorative ball, created by local business Possibility Studios, will drop as the clock strikes midnight, accompanied by a fireworks display. Shuttles will be running through Uptown, Midtown and Downtown from 7 p.m.–1 a.m.
Caprice Rouge plays Kingston’s Stockade Tavern NYE show
The Stockade Tavern in Kingston proves that it is intent, more than physical capacity, that makes a venue a venue. On New Year’s Eve, the lively and fashionable bar on Fair Street in Kingston’s Stockade District features the Balkan and Gypsy dance music of longtime local legends Caprice Rouge. With fiddles, accordions, clarinet, various world string instruments and percussion, Caprice Rouge turns the odd time signatures and exotic tonalities of Eastern folk music into a very danceable kind of fun.
Deejay Ryan Lion and Keith Boogie will keep the party going until the wee hours of 2018. The cover charge is $5. The Stockade Tavern is located at 313 Fair Street in Kingston.
Marco Benevento at BSP
Keyboard ace, songwriter/composer and psychedelic electro-cabaret ringleader Marco Benevento has been tapped to headline the coveted New Year’s Eve show at BSP in Kingston. The longtime local made his name as an especially fine player on the New York jam and skronky fusion scene, but in his solo work a distinctly different personality emerges: that of an eccentric party master and groovescaper who is not above a simple song or a heartfelt sentiment.
Rubblebucket shares the bill, making this show a dancer’s delight. It all goes down on Sunday, December 31 starting at 9 p.m. Tickets cost $40. For more information, visit www.bspkingston.com. BSP is located at 323 Wall Street in Kingston.
Saugerties
Saugerties will host its fourth annual New Year’s Eve celebration in the Village on Sunday, December 31 at 10 p.m. Initiated in 2014 by police chief Joe Sinagra and mayor William Murphy as a way for Sawyers to “stay local, stay safe” on the big night, it also helps small businesses and local restaurants keep diners, shoppers and revelers close to home, rather than lose them to nearby Kingston’s big New Year’s Eve shindig.
Expect to see performances from 10:30 p.m. to 12:30 a.m. and a countdown video and ball-drop at midnight at the corner of Main and Partition Streets. Many of the restaurants and bars will plan special New Year’s Eve menus and offer specials. Some streets will be closed from 10 p.m. to 1 a.m. Attendees are advised to dress warmly and bring a folding chair to sit on. More information is available by visiting http://village.saugerties.ny.us.
Saugerties American Legion hosts Soul Purpose on NYE
The long-running regional soul, rock, and rhythm-and-blues band Soul Purpose is long-running for a reason. It’s their no-nonsense, proceed-directly-to-a-good-time commitment to groove and classic repertoire that has made them an in-demand party and event band for so long.
Soul Purpose headlines a New Year’s Eve Dance Party at American Legion Post #72, located at 30 John Street in Saugerties. Soul Purpose starts the music at 8:30 p.m. and will play straight through the Saugerties ball drop. There is no cover charge, and a full cash bar is available. For more information, visit www.soulpurposehudsonvalley.com.
Glen David Andrews at Helsinki Hudson
Singer/trombonist/bandleader Glen David Andrews brings his jazzy New Orleans funk and soul to Club Helsinki in Hudson for a New Year’s get-down. Andrews’ set offers a mix of traditional jazz, rock, gospel, funk and a touch of zydeco. With a menu already steeped in Louisiana flavors, courtesy of bayou-native chef Hugh Horner, Helsinki Hudson will feel a little like Preservation Hall, where Andrews performs regularly.
The show begins at 9 p.m. on Sunday, December 31. Ticket prices range from $35 to $65. For more information visit www.helsinkihudson.com. Club Helsinki is located at 405 Columbia Street in Hudson.
Colony in Woodstock features Big Takeover
It is big-show-to-big-show for the Big Takeover, the long-running, nationally trending reggae band that has been packing the local clubs for a decade. Another feather for their already gaudy cap: The Big Takeover headlines a New Year’s Eve ball at Colony in Woodstock. New Paltz-based compatriots, the “ska-grass” band Los Thujones, open.
Tickets cost $30 in advance, $40 at the door. For more information, visit www.colonywoodstock.com. Colony is located at 22 Rock City Road in Woodstock.
Dead & Dread at Bearsville
The Bearsville Theater cements its reputation as a national Mecca of reggae and jam music with a Dead & Dread New Year’s Eve, bringing together reggae and music from the tradition of the Grateful Dead. The lineup features Dead specialists Gratefully Yours, Ras T Asheber, deejay Justin Case and Bianca Boom. General admission tickets cost $30; balcony seating goes for $40. The show begins at 9 p.m.
For more information, visit www.bearsvilletheater.com. The Bearsville Theater is located at 291 Tinker Street in Woodstock.
Slam Allen headlines at Beacon’s Towne Crier
For a New Year’s Eve celebration, the Towne Crier Cafe in Beacon calls on the regional blues and soul legends the Slam Allen Band. Also on the bill for the big night is singer/songwriter Willa Vincitore. Tickets cost $45 (show only) and $100 (dinner and show). For more information, visit www.townecriercafe.com. The Towne Crier is located at 379 Main Street in Beacon.
Deadgrass plays Falcon Underground
The Falcon Underground in Marlboro brings back Deadgrass on New Year’s Eve. The acoustic quintet reinterprets the music of Jerry Garcia in a traditional string-band way that the bluegrass aficionado Garcia would have appreciated. Deadgrass is rapidly becoming one of the Falcon Underground’s preferred house bands. The New Year’s Eve show begins at 8 p.m. on Sunday, December 31. As usual at the Falcon, there is no cover charge, but donation is encouraged.
For more information, visit wwwliveatthefalcon.com. The Falcon is located at 1348 Route 9W in Marlboro.
Bedtime Kissers at Rosendale Café
The Bedtime Kissers are the funkier, wilder and somewhat-racier version of the legendary Dean Jones-led children’s music band Dog on Fleas, and their dance party has become the New Year’s Eve ritual at the Rosendale Café. Rosendale royalty, as well as musicians who have performed with the likes of Taj Mahal, George Clinton and P. Funk and Jon Hendricks, the Bedtime Kissers are musically unpredictable, stylish, funny and effortlessly groovy.
The Café’s regular dinner menu and specials will be served until 9:30 p.m., when the music starts and continues until nearly 1 a.m. Snacks will be offered throughout the late night, as well as a free champagne toast at midnight. The cost of admission is $15.
For more information, visit http://rosendalecafe.com. The Rosendale Café is located at 434 Main Street in Rosendale.
New Wave New Year’s at New World
New World Home Cooking celebrates New Year’s Eve with a big dinner buffet and a New Wave dance party with the band the Relatives. The 6:30 p.m. seating costs $55 per person. The 8:30 p.m. seating costs $69. The band starts at 10 p.m., and admission to non-diners in $10. For more information, visit www.newworldhomecooking.com. New World Home Cooking is located at 1411 Route 212 in Saugerties.
Dance in the New Year at Ashokan Center
The Ashokan Center in Olivebridge offers a New Year’s Eve celebration featuring swing, Cajun, Zydeco, contras, squares, blues and waltzes from 8 p.m. on Sunday, December 31 until the wee hours of the nascent year. Guest caller Bob Isaacs will be on hand along with special guests Ball, Bell and VanNorstrand, whose driving and inventive contradance music offers Tim Ball on fiddle and guitar, Rachel Bell on accordion and Andrew VanNorstrand on fiddle, banjo and guitar. You have your choice of two rustic ballrooms: one for couples dancing and the other for squares and contras.
Admission to the dance portion (only by paid reservation and in advance) costs $30 for adults, $15 for kids and teens. For an additional charge of $30, a family-style dinner will be served beginning at 6 p.m., with vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free options. Non-alcoholic beverages are included in the price, and local beers and wines will also be available.
Want to make a mini-vacation of it? With a paid reservation in advance, you can arrive for the Ashokan New Year’s Camp as early as 2 p.m. on Friday, December 29 and stay through 2 p.m. on Monday, January 1, learning the moves of square and contradancing, swing, Cajun and zydeco. When you get tired of music and dance lessons, you can step outside and enjoy the site’s cross-country skiing trails and a sauna. The Ashokan Center is located at 477 Beaverkill Road in Olivebridge. To register and for more information, visit http://bit.ly/2Byw0Ue.
New Paltz Eve offers scavenger hunt, free dinner and a movie
For a family-friendly celebration, consider attending the fourth annual “New Paltz Eve” on Sunday, December 31. The Greater New Paltz Community Partnership and the Town of New Paltz are joining forces to provide a number of fun, alcohol- and drug-free community activities for people of all ages. Everyone is welcome, and all activities are free of charge.
The festivities kick off at 1 p.m. with a two-hour scavenger hunt at the New Paltz Youth Program’s 220 Main Street center. The Elting Memorial Library at 93 Main Street will host a holiday story and crafts hour for ages 3 to 5 from 2:45 to 3:45 p.m., followed by an hour of sleight-of-hand with illusionist Jace from 4 to 5 p.m.
A free community dinner with continuous serving and live music will be hosted from 5 to 7 p.m. by the New Paltz United Methodist Church at the corner of Main and Grove Streets. Diners will have a selection of homemade chili (beef, turkey and veggie versions), along with salad, rice, cornbread and dessert; gluten-free options will be available.
And there’s something new this year: Anybody who attends any of the New Paltz Eve events will receive a coupon good for a free early-evening movie at the New Paltz Cinema in town that night (paid for by organizers of New Paltz Eve). The coupon can be redeemed on New Year’s Eve only for an early-evening showing of any of the major motion pictures on view there.
New Paltz Eve was inaugurated as a townwide celebration in 2014, with the underlying idea to support youth and the local recovery community by providing fun New Year’s Eve activities that weren’t alcohol-fueled. For more information, call Phoenix at (845) 256-5014 or visit https://newpaltzeve.org.
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