Who’s ready to rock on New Year’s Eve?
If you’re one of those with their hands raised (you can lower them now) then look no further than this guide to the Top 11 concerts happening on Dec. 31 in the Bay Area.
And if rocking isn’t your thing, well, that’s perfectly fine, too. This guide rounds the musical bases, from sludge metal to smooth jazz — with, to put it mildly, there being so much in between.
Want to hear some amazing bluegrass guitar? We’ve got you covered. Prefer New Orleans grooves? Check. How about an indie-pop doubleheader? Yep, that too.
Our performers range from some of the biggest names in the Bay Area music scene to A-List, multiplatinum contemporary jazz musicians.
So read on and figure out where you want to be — and what you want to be listening to — on the last night of 2025.
Bring on 2026!
The Grammy-winning bluegrass star will likely see some familiar faces in the crowd (as well as backstage) when she performs her next Bay Area gig.
That’s because Tuttle won’t be taking the stage at some random tour stop on any ol’ night, but rather ending the year in grand style with a big NYE blowout at the Guild Theatre in Menlo Park — located just mere minutes away from where she grew up and attended high school in Palo Alto.
It was a pretty special evening when we last saw the highly accomplished singer-guitarist — who now calls Nashville home — perform at the Guild in 2023. And we’re expecting Tuttle will be just as good — maybe even a little better — when she returns on Dec. 31.
Details: 9:30 p.m. Dec. 31; tickets start at $118.88; guildtheatre.com
A lot of indie-rock fans are hyped up about ending the year with this doubleheader, which takes over the legendary Fillmore in San Francisco for three nights, Dec. 28, 29 and 31. (That’s right – no show on Dec. 30 — which allows fans to rest their feet and just listen to Luna’s “Penthouse” at home).
Luna, which headlined a NYE show last year at the Fillmore, is our favorite of the two – which, we know, might not sit well with some of the fervent Yo La Tengo fans. But we just really dig those ‘90s Luna discs like “Lunapark,” “Bewitched” and the aforementioned “Penthouse.” Yet, we also enjoy such Yo La Tengo classics as “Fakebook” and, of course, “I Can Hear the Heart Beating as One.”
Like we said, it’s a great doubleheader.
Details: 8 p.m. Dec. 28-29, 9 p.m. Dec. 31; tickets start at $72.50 for Dec. 28-29, and $107 for Dec. 31; livenation.com.
The multi-million-selling saxophonist, who Billboard magazine ranked among the top 3 contemporary jazz artists of the decade back in 2009, is set to end 2025 by performing five shows in three nights at Yoshi’s in Oakland.
James, who has four gold-certified albums to his name, will be celebrating both the dawning of the new year and his most recent album, “Slow Burn.” Of course, fans will be hoping that he’ll play such smooth jazz chart-toppers as “Batucada (The Beat)” and “Drumline.”
Details: 7:30 p.m. Dec. 29, 7:30 and 9:30 p.m. Dec. 30, 8 and 11 p.m. Dec. 31; tickets start at $85 for Dec. 29, $89 for Dec. 30, $99 for Dec. 31; yoshis.com.
The New Orleans brass band institution returns to San Francisco for its second consecutive NYE fandango at the SFJAZZ Center.
So lace up your boogie shoes, hit the dance floor — yes, SFJAZZ Center has a dance floor for these two shows — and enjoy the Fat City sounds of this tremendous troupe, which was formed in 1977 and is currently led by founding members Gregory Davis, Kirk Joseph and Roger Lewis.
Ask Terence Blanchard, SFJAZZ’s executive artistic director, and he’ll tell you that you really don’t want to miss this band in concert.
“The Dirty Dozen (is) one of the most contagious performances you’ll ever witness,” he says.
Details: 8 and 10:30 p.m. Dec. 31; tickets start at $54.50; sfjazz.org
Les Claypool basically never takes Dec. 31 off. He can seemingly always be found in some Bay Area venue — with one of his many different musical projects — showing fans a good time on New Year’s Eve.
For the second consecutive year, the Richmond-born, El Sobrante-raised vocalist-bassist brings his most popular rock outfit — Primus — to the Fox Theater in Oakland Dec. 30-31.
Puddles Pity Party will also take the stage on the second night.
Details: 8 p.m. Dec. 30, 9 p.m. Dec. 31; tickets start at $78 for Dec. 30, $110 for Dec. 31; apeconcerts.com.
The Oakland R&B/blues/soul artist is an absolute Grammy favorite, releasing three records in the span of five years — each of which went on to win the trophy for best contemporary blues album.
Those Grammy Awards came for 2016’s “The Last Days of Oakland,” 2019’s “Please Don’t Be Dead” and 2020’s “Have You Lost Your Mind Yet?”
Fantastic Negrito, whose latest album is “Son of a Broken Man,” performs a NYE gig at The Chapel in San Francisco. Mild Universe, Joel Robinow and Walkin’ Love are also on the bill.
Details: 8:30 p.m. Dec. 31; $70.51; thechapelsf.com
Matt Axton and Badmoon
Axton’s father was songwriter Hoyt Axton, who penned such ‘60s/’70s hits as “Greenback Dollar,” “Joy to the World” and “Never Been to Spain”; and his grandmother was Mae Boren Axton, who co-wrote the Elvis Presley smash “Heartbreak Hotel” and crafted tunes for Patsy Cline, Perry Como and other notable artists.
And his mom is Donna Roberts Axton, who was the head of the music department at Sierra Nevada College.
So, yeah, music definitely runs in the blood of this singer-songwriter, who was born and raised in Lake Tahoe.
Matt Axton is carrying on the family tradition with his Badmoon band and will perform a blend of Americana, blues, folk and rock styles on Dec. 31 at The Bankhead Theater in Livermore.
Details: 7 p.m. Dec. 31; tickets are $175 (for two tickets); and $100 for a single ducat; livermorearts.org
No NYE celebrations in the Bay Area — or, in all likelihood, the entire world at large — will rock harder than the one scheduled to happen at the Great American Music Hall.
So rejoice and get ready to bang your head big time when these Oakland heavy metal heroes — with a sound that crisscrosses through the stoner, sludge and thrash metal subgenres — performs two nights, Dec. 30-31, at one of the very best places to see live music in San Francisco.
The Grammy-winning outfit, which picked up the trophy for best metal performance in 2019, will be joined by Secret Chiefs 3, Necrot and ÖLÜM.
Details: 7 p.m. Dec. 30, 8:30 p.m. Dec. 31; $35 advance/$45 door; gamh.com
Once Culbertson gets done playing his three-night New Year’s Eve stand at Blue Note Napa then organizers can just turn out the lights.
Literally. And for good.
That’s because this famed smooth jazz keyboardist, known for such top 10 contemporary jazz albums as “Somethin’ Bout Love,” “Nice & Slow,” “It’s On Tonight” and “Another Long Night Out,” is the last act scheduled to perform at this Blue Note outpost before it shutters its doors in Napa and possibly re-opens down the line in San Francisco.
That “last hurrah” element will certainly factor into these shows, as Napa regulars mourn the big loss of this cool club.
Details: 7 and 9:30 p.m. Dec. 29-30, 7 and 10:30 p.m. Dec. 31; tickets start at $119.96, bluenotejazz.com/napa
Paul Cauthen
Close out your 2025 with an evening (or two) of alt-country goodness courtesy of this East Texas troubadour, who began his musical career as a member of the indie-folk-rock duo Sons of Fathers before venturing out on his own solo career.
Cauthen, who has collaborated with both Orville Peck and Cody Jinks, performs Dec. 30-31 at The Independent in San Francisco.
Details: 8 p.m. Dec. 30, 9 p.m. Dec. 31; tickets start at $59.50 for Dec. 30, $145.04 for Dec. 30; apeconcerts.com
The Emo Night Tour
Do you like Taking Back Sunday, Fall Out Boy, My Chemical Romance and Panic! At The Disco?
If your answer is yes then we’ve definitely got the event for you on New Year’s Eve.
Just make your way over to The Ritz in San Jose on Dec. 31 to see The Emo Night Tour, a celebration of emo culture and music.
The Emo Night Tour Band will be playing songs — and we’re talking the hits, not the lesser-known material — from the aforementioned bands as well as plenty of other emo favorites.
Details: 8 p.m.; $20-$30; theritzsanjose.com